Day: January 31, 2005

version 5? 6? I’ve lost count

Spike TV Cheif Resigns Amid Shakeup (Yahoo) Sources now say MTV Networks brass want to broaden Spike TV’s appeal beyond its traditional male focus by potentially creating scripted dramas rather than stick with Hecht’s unscripted-comedic approach. … The network likely will build a new, broader identity around “CSI” and another recent acquisition, “CSI: NY,” which … Continue reading “version 5? 6? I’ve lost count”

Spike TV Cheif Resigns Amid Shakeup (Yahoo)

Sources now say MTV Networks brass want to broaden Spike TV’s appeal beyond its traditional male focus by potentially creating scripted dramas rather than stick with Hecht’s unscripted-comedic approach.

…

The network likely will build a new, broader identity around “CSI” and another recent acquisition, “CSI: NY,” which it purchased for $1.9 million per episode in November — then a record sum in syndication. That won’t necessarily mean changing the Spike TV name, but it could mean refining the Maxim-ish brand sensibility Viacom has spent millions to market with little success (though a widely reported legal battle over the brand name with filmmaker Spike Lee helped).

They must mean CSI: Miami, right? Awful daring to buy syndication rights to a show that’s been on the air two months, no matter the pedigree.

Anyway, this direction seems vaguely familiar. I wouldn’t bank on 7 hours of WWE on SpikeTV in 2006.