Networks get original for summer

The audiences are smaller, but the risks are minimal.
By TERRY MORROW
SCRIPPS HOWARD
Summer reruns? That's cute.
Bet you still use a rotary phone, VCRs and play vinyl albums, too, huh? Get with it. Original programming on television is the wave of the present.
Always looking for an audience, the major networks are tapping into the summer months to premiere new programming. Cable has employed this method since the 1980s.
It's worked for networks in recent years. Summer is when America discovered "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," "American Idol" and the original "Survivor."NBC didn't wait for June. "Fame" is already on the air..
There's wisdom is introducing new shows. The networks have discovered there's little drama left in a second or third showing of a "Law & amp; Order" episode or a "West Wing" for that matter.
Comedy repeats fare slightly better. But as cable rolls out new shows in the summer, the networks looked over their collective shoulders and began to sweat.
Now, smart programmers are placing their bets on new shows for a summer run, when the audiences are smaller and risks are minimal.
Big hits
"ABC's success with 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' during the summer of 1999, CBS's victory with the first 'Survivor' during the summer of 2000 and Fox's huge growth last summer with 'American Idol' have prompted big changes," says Ed Martin of the Myers Report, which covers TV industry trends.
"These shows have demonstrated to the broadcast networks that summer is the perfect time to experiment with new reality series and grow new hits that can be utilized during the traditional September through May broadcast season."
Fox is using the summer to launch shows that will remain on the fall schedule, too. The network's "American Juniors," a spin-off of "American Idol," is planned for a fall and early winter run. It debuts in June.
NBC is boasting 150 hours of original programming for summer.
Over on cable, TNN will reinvent itself again with a new name: Spike TV, aimed toward a male audience, on June 16.