For Michael Hirschorn, VH-1’s programming boss, the pop culture zeitgeist has an easy formula: use C-list wiseguys to comment on the real-life activities of B-list celebrities for grade A content.
When VH-1 decided to move into scripted programming, for instance, Hirschorn couldn’t have cast his lot with a more recognizable television name than Spelling.
But instead of going with hugely successful producer Aaron, VH-1 chose Tori, his only-slightly-more-talented-than-Paris Hilton daughter, to star in the April premiere of the sitcom “So Notorious.”
“The real cardinal way to fail in a complex, challenging marketplace such as cable is to play it safe,” said Hirschorn from his sparsely decorated office.
Before Hirschorn’s arrival in 2001, VH-1 was indeed safe – and boring. It was little more than MTV’s bastard sibling.
“It’s no secret to say that in 2001 VH-1 was a turnaround candidate,” said Hirschorn, who comes across as that friend of yours who knows everything about pop culture and is more than just a little embarrassed by it.
“But what was really striking to me was the network’s low self-esteem, which it had precisely because of the secondary connotation that came from viewing itself as the older MTV.”
So Hirschorn and Brian Graden, the president of entertainment for MTV Networks Music Group, hit upon a sensibility for VH-1 that has both affection for and an affectionate contempt of pop culture.
An unending string of hits fitting that description, from “Flavor of Love” and “Breaking Bonaduce” to “Surreal Life” and “Celebrity Fit Club” has catapulted VH-1 to 14 consecutive quarters of ratings growth and its highest rated year ever in 2005.
Viewership among 18-to-49 year olds in 2005 was up 12 percent over 2004, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Advertising dollars have followed the eyeballs. VH-1’s coffers were stuffed with $560 million in revenue, up an impressive 14 percent over the prior year.
Despite Hirschorn’s successes, VH-1 still hasn’t been able to blow through the 2.0 rating benchmark, considered a breakout success for a cable television show. To do so, it needs a franchise program along the lines of MTV’s “Laguna Beach” or “The Osbournes,” experts said.
“VH-1 is a destination network, which people will check into a few times daily, but it lacks a destination program,” said Jason Kanefsky of media buying firm MPG.
“So Notorious” could very well be that program. But even if it pulls only a 1.0 rating, Hirschorn said he’d be happy because he hasn’t programmed the network for long shots and big rewards.
“The goal is to improve each series, each quarter, each year, little by little, and ultimately that will yield greater dividends than a go-for-broke approach,” Hirschorn said. [email protected]