Memo to Fox: Take the air out of O.J. interviews
11/20/06 09:37 AM
By ED BARK
Fox still has ample time to mercy-kill next week's planned O.J. Simpson specials.
Criminally scheduled for Monday and Wednesday, O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened has put the not always high-aiming network in an indefensible position. It's been wall-to-wall denouncement since last Tuesday's announcement. Leading the charge are two of Fox's biggest stars, Bill O'Reilly and Geraldo Rivera.
O'Reilly, the most-watched personality on cable's Fox News Channel, has urged viewers of The O'Reilly Factor to follow his lead in not watching the specials and shunning any products advertised during them.
"If any company sponsors the TV program, I will not buy anything that company sells -- ever," O'Reilly vowed. He also predicted, "I don't think they're going to be able to sell one spot on that program."
Rivera, opining on Fox's syndicated Geraldo At Large, called Simpson a "smug pig" and a "punk."
"I'm ashamed to say that Simpson is being paid $3.5 million by Regan Books and by Harper Collins, sister companies to the one that produces this program, for the book and related television interviews," he said.
On CNN's Reliable Sources Sunday, host Howard Kurtz kept wringing his hands over whether to even talk about Simpson's deal with Fox. But he did, of course, leading his program with withering criticism from four guests, including CNN's former O.J. trial commentator, Roger Cossack. He called the Simpson specials "true pornography" before urging rabbis, priests and ministers to tell their congregations "why you shouldn't watch this."
Then again, "I think we're all guilty in some way of promoting this," Cossack said.
Let's step back to look at the dollars and cents realities. The entire country could watch the Simpson specials without Fox profiting monetarily. No matter how large the audience, a network can't make money without advertisers on board.
Rivera should know this better than anyone. On October 25, 1988, he presented his first prime-time special under a new deal with NBC. But his grisly two-hour Devil Worship: Exploring Satan's Underground left advertisers cold. The program went almost entirely unsponsored, but had a big enough audience to rank among the top five programs for that week. This prompted NBC entertainment president Brandon Tartikoff to quickly sever ties with Rivera while ripping him in public as well. Without advertisers, a big Nielsen rating isn't worth the paper it's printed on.
NBC encountered a similar problem earlier this year with The Book of Daniel, a provocative drama series about a troubled Episcopal priest. When advertisers bailed, so did the Peacock. Immediately.
O'Reilly almost surely is right in deducing that advertisers will stay well clear of the Simpson specials. Why would any company in its right mind want to be associated with them? Given that likelihood, what's the upside for Fox? Maybe a few more companion Simpson books will be sold. But that's hardly worth the huge hits Fox otherwise will take, both financially and to its image. A network that's about to put its best foot forward again with 24 and American Idol should be mindful of polluting its overall atmosphere.
It's hoped that Fox will reach these same conclusions. Write these Simpson specials off as a very bad idea and admit as much. You're already the network of The Simpsons. So why not substitute a few reruns of Homer and brood next week? You'll be glad you did.