The New TNN changing name

[k272br]

TNN Gets Spiked

by Julie Keller
Apr 16, 2003, 12:25 PM PT



Break out the beer and bimbettes. Spike, the first man-geared TV network, has arrived.

Well, it actually didn't arrive--it kind of morphed into existence. Beginning June 16, Spike will be the latest moniker for The National Network (TNN), which changed its name two years ago from The Nashville Network.



But execs for TNN/Spike and its parent, Viacom's MTV Networks, think that this latest version of the network, which is making a hard push for an all-male viewership in response to such female-friendly fare as Lifetime, WE and Oxygen, will be a home run.

"Today's men have a wide variety of entertainment interests, including movies, music, finance, cars, women, sports, comedy and health," TNN's president Albie Hecht tells the Boston Globe. "They want it all, and they want it all in one place."

Shooting for an all-guy audience is actually not that much of a stretch for the network, which is available in 86 million homes. Almost 65 percent of its current viewers are 18- to 49-year-old men. It is already home to such dude-friendly fare as the new reality game Slamball, along with WWE Wrestling and reruns of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Under the auspices of Spike, new programs will include shows on fitness and relationships from Men's Health and Stuff magazines, as well as financial updates from CBS Marketwatch. New shows include the gadget special A Guy and His Stuff, Top 10 Things Every Guy Should Experience, which takes lucky viewers to big-time sporting events, 100 Most Irresistible Women and the reality series The Scene, which follows a group of guys trying to start a restaurant business.

Also on tap will be uncut versions of testosterone-favored movies like The Godfather and The Terminator and three animated series: Stripperella (voiced by Pamela Anderson); Gary the Rat, (voiced by Kelsey Grammer); and a grown-up version of Nickelodeon's 1990s hit Ren & Stimpy. Hecht says he hopes Spike will be made up of 100 percent original programming by 2005.

Right now, sports-themed networks like ESPN are the main vehicles for pulling in male viewers while women's networks dot the TV landscape, something Hecht wants to change.

"We'll be unapologetically male," he told reporters Tuesday. "My aspiration is to be the home base for men's programming."

The move will also give the network a true identity. While The Nashville Network appellation made sense, giving viewers a healthy dose of country, The National Network was pretty vague. And by keeping the TNN initials, many viewers were still expecting Garth Brooks-centric shows and instead got Star Trek reruns.

The announcement of Spike comes as the publishers of Maxim are planning their own male-targeted station, Maxim Entertainment Network, or MEN for short.

Though some skeptics question the wisdom of such a drastic name and programming switch for Spike, the corporate suits have been under pressure to make some sort of change. TNN's ratings have been on the decline for months, down 16 percent from the first quarter last year. The network has also dropped from the eighth-most popular basic cable station to 14th, according to Nielsen Media Research.

But Hecht is optimistic that Spike will turn things around: "Hopefully it will produce a spike in ratings."

[KBlue10]

So does that mean no more TC on TNN? or Spike TV

[David]

Maybe