Wednesday, August 29, 2007

TBS grabs black viewers

And they are doing this on the strength of House Of Payne and the theatrical Diary of a Mad Black Woman. With the broadcast networks abandoning the African-American audience in prime-time (or any audience that isn't a female aged 18-49), TBS has taken up the slack and has benefited greatly, with Payne the numero uno show in black households and Diary has been numero deux, beating out fare on cable and broadcast channels.

The article notes that there are no new shows that feature predominately black casts this fall on the broadcast networks. The only programs that have such casts this fall are all on the CW's Monday night lineup: Everybody Hates Chris, Girlfriends, and The Game. Despite low overall (and declining) ratings, all three still rank in the top 10 in black households, and that's just enough to keep each of those shows on the air.

Also on the TBS beat: Jonathan Katz was tapped to become the general manager of the local WTBS in Atlanta, which will split off from the national TBS Oct. 1 to become WPCH-TV, or Peachtree TV.

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