DeBitetto Brings New Script to Drama at A&E

Cable World, Jan 13, 2003

Byline: JON LAFAYETTE

Robert DeBitetto has a big job in front of him. As the new SVP of programming at A&E Network, DeBitetto will have to grapple with falling ratings, a flagging flagship show and an uncertain brand identity.

"It's going to be a challenge," he acknowledged. DeBitetto insisted that some of A&E's problems are hardly unique. The landscape is cluttered, and there is an endless stream of copycat programming.

But some critics say A&E's problems run particularly deep, from the loss of the high-rated Law & Order to cannibalizing its male viewers with the History Channel spin-off to an ingrained culture that resists both outsiders and change.

Abbe Raven, named EVP and general manager of A&E last year, said DeBitteto, who most recently was president of original programming at TNT, was picked because of "the combination between his creative instincts...and his business background. I felt that match was terrific."

DeBitetto at TNT helped develop Witchblade, Crossfire Trail and Mists of Avalon as the network launched its We Know Drama theme. "The idea that he was involved in the rebranding of TNT and their focus on drama fits very well with the kinds of things that we're doing," Raven said.

Raven expects to reverse the network's ratings slide this year. "I'm very optimistic we're going to have the needle go in the other direction," she said.

A&E's prime-time delivery of 25-to-54-year-old viewers dropped 13% last year. And although A&E shows including Biography command some of the highest rates in cable, ad revenues dropped to $290 million in 2002 from $363 million in 2000, according to estimates by Kagan World Media.

The network has acquired off-net series, such as Third Watch and Crossing Jordan to replace Law & Order, but is also planning to spend more to produce shows. "We are totally focused on continuing to do original programming and doing more than ever before," Raven said. "We are looking at doing more original movies and miniseries. We are looking to strengthen what we've been doing in the documentary area."

A&E's programming expenses were $197.7 million in 2002, up slightly from $191 million in 2001, according to Kagan.

The network also hired Nancy Dubuc, who has been named A&E Network's new VP of documentary development. Dubuc was the director of historical programming for the History Channel.

The first important chore at A&E is reviving Biography. Raven said the show will go after more "A-list" figures for its profiles, and will be more closely tied to current movie releases or political events.

The network also plans more two-hour Biography specials. A&E aired one on John Travolta last week and is producing another on Elizabeth Taylor.

Raven said the network will continue its focus on the 25-to-54 demographic, but DeBitetto said, "there's some work to do in refining exactly who the target audience is...the network must consistently and efficiently deliver an upscale, educated audience."

And it must do that at a time when other networks are looking to lure younger viewers, and often doing it with cheap reality programming. "That's good for us," he said. "There's room for a network that delivers high-end entertainment."

Some have argued that A&E's niche is filled by PBS, which by its nature is not commercial. "PBS and its programming and its brand is something we need to study," he added.

It was unclear just how the mix between fiction and nonfiction programming would evolve under DeBitetto, who has little experience producing documentaries but said he loves and watches documentaries.

DeBitetto noted that A&E had some success with the expensive quality dramas 100 Centre Street and Nero Wolf under his predecessor Allen Sabinson. But the ratings for both shows fell off after their initial burst.

Still the newcomer to the channel, DeBitetto said he hadn't even found his office at A&E yet. But he expects to work with the people who have made A&E a success, and who are now the same people perplexed by its problems.

"I get a sense that there's change in the wind, that everything is up for reevaluation," he said.

THE NEXT QUESTION:

*With an outsider running the programming department, will more longtime A&E staffers be leaving?

*How will A&E differentiate its documentary programming from similar fare at networks ranging from Discovery to Court TV?