Twentieth Television’s syndicated strip “Good Day Live,” considered by some analysts to be a bubble show for the fall, will in fact return for another go-round next season.
The renewal of the Los Angeles-based show, which began as a local experiment on select Fox-owned stations, came as Twentieth and the Fox owned-and-operated stations solidified their entire daytime lineups for the fall. Together, the Fox divisions also have renewed “Texas Justice” and “Divorce Court,” both of which Twentieth distributes, for another season on the Fox stations. These series will join the national rollout of Twentieth’s “Ambush Makeover” in the fall on the Fox stations and the January debut of Twentieth’s “On-Air With Ryan Seacrest” on the Fox O&Os.
“`Good Day Live’ was never in danger, in my mind, of being canceled,” said Bob Cook, president and chief operating officer of Twentieth. “A lot of TV station groups have voiced support and told us they would renew. They realize that the more books the show has under its belt, the better it’s done in their ratings.”
Overall, “Good Day Live’s” growth has delivered time period improvements in some key demographics since its debut in January 2003, according to the distributor. According to Twentieth, “GDL’s” growth since its debut in January 2003 has been greater than that of any other syndicated talk show with key women demos and the second-best growth in households (up 22 percent in households-just behind “The Oprah Winfrey Show’s” 26 percent increase). Among women 18 to 34 it’s up 75 percent; with women 18 to 49 it’s up 40 percent; and among women 25 to 54 it’s up 50 percent.
“On the Fox O&Os it’s clear the show is doing numbers in the demos, and anytime you can show up in the women 18 to 34 or 25 to 54 across the board that means the station can sell the show to advertisers,” Mr. Cook said. “I can tell you that it’s when you have a household number but no demos that things can get frustrating for those stations.”
The series recently underwent a set makeover, and Mr. Cook said fine-tuning the program has paid dividends.
“I think the show looks good now that we’ve made some changes as far as putting more content up at the front. We’ve also focused more on celebrity guests and set visits and that’s starting to pay off,” he said. “On top of that, we used to have to scramble to get celebrity guests for bookings, and now they come to us.”
Twentieth’s pair of court shows has added a solid block of programming that continues to deliver, he said.
In November “Divorce Court” had its highest-rated sweeps nationally since July 2003, with a 2.8 household rating. On the Fox O&Os, the court show improved its time periods compared with November 2002 by 5 percent in households.
“Texas Justice” grew in the November book over its current season debut by 5 percent in households, 11 percent in women 18 to 34 and 9 percent in women 18 to 49 and 25 to 54.
“We continue to support these shows well with promotion and advertising as well as research and fine-tuning,” Mr. Cook said. “Competition is always changing … this means the way we evaluate the way the shows becomes more and more difficult as time grows on, but we understand the fact that it has to be about local programming first.”
Mr. Cook said he expected “Classmates” would soon join “Ambush Makeover” in preparation for a national rollout after months of testing in local markets.