`office,' 'family' NATPE darlings; Distributors Will Focus on Audience.(National Association of Television Program Executives)(Family Guy)(The Office)

TelevisionWeek, December, 2006 by Pursell, Chris

Byline: Chris Pursell Onetime cult favorites "Family Guy'' and "The Office'' are poised to become the darlings of this year's National Association of Television Program Executives convention as a dearth of new first-run programming shifts attendees' focus toward off-net fare. The irony is that among major distributors, little selling for these shows will even take place.

In fact, the two series either are already mostly cleared and poised for a 2007 launch or won't even be taking sales meetings. But that isn't stopping distributors for the series from capitalizing on their shows' impressive followings both with audiences and with stations seeking to hit home runs in key demographics. `Family Guy' Cleared in more than 75 percent of the country,...