Hosts vie for viewers as the ball drops

Dick Clark will again make an appearance on his ABC special.
By SCOTT COLLINS
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Carson Daly and Ryan Seacrest are roughly the same age (early 30s), have similar job descriptions (broadcasters/emcees-turned-producers with a pop-music bent) and even favor the same fashionably laid-back, I-didn't-shave-this-morning look. But Daly dismisses any notion that the pair is engaged in a fizzy rivalry to replace you-know-who.
"Dick Clark is a huge inspiration for the huge success he's achieved," Daly said in a recent interview. "But that's where I stop. The world is changing. I'm young; I have my own thoughts as a producer. I'm not trying to keep his tradition. I'm trying to do my own."
Clark, of course, has repackaged the Times Square madness for the homebound masses nearly every Dec. 31 since 1972, when he was considered the youthful interloper horning in on the turf of Guy Lombardo, the bandleader who popularized "Auld Lang Syne."
They're back
So, there you go: It's purely coincidental that Daly and Seacrest will be back Sunday night for their second annual New Year's Eve programming duel, which threatens to become an annual rite as the 77-year-old Clark -- another broadcaster-turned-producer who made his name breaking pop-music acts on TV -- continues his recovery from a stroke he had in 2004.
This year, Seacrest, Clark's heir apparent as well as Simon Cowell's sparring partner on "American Idol," will again do the heavy lifting in the booth for "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2007," ABC's 3 1/2-hour extravaganza. The chief competition will be "NBC's New Year's Eve With Carson Daly, Presented by Chevrolet."
Last year's "Rockin' Eve" was Clark's first national TV appearance since the stroke, which he admitted to viewers had left him "in bad shape": "My speech is not perfect, but I'm getting there," he said then.
Newspaper and blog opinion was divided on the wisdom of having the former "American Bandstand" host on the show when he was visibly unsteady and sometimes difficult to understand; for perhaps the first time in his career, the preternaturally youthful Clark couldn't beat time. But his condition seemed to have improved a bit when he turned up for a short tribute at the Emmys in August, and he's saved himself at least a small role on this year's "Rockin' Eve."
"He is the most comfortable and at ease when doing these shows," Seacrest said in an interview. "These shows are like kids to him, his babies." (Seacrest speaks of "Rockin' Eve" with the pride of a scion taking over the family business: "It's a heritage operation," he said.)
But really, why all this TV succession drama on New Year's Eve? Can't the networks just take the night off? Aren't there too few sober people planted on their sofas for television execs to bother with?
To answer the last two: no and no.
History
Broadcasters started tussling for exclusive rights to the nation's No. 1 party night almost as soon as the medium was invented. Lombardo's radio telecasts from New York, which started in 1929, proved so popular that an unusual agreement was struck for CBS to broadcast the first part up until midnight, when NBC would take over.
The holiday's importance has grown along with the media industry, which seldom misses an opportunity to lock down viewer loyalty. Last year's ratings make it depressingly clear that, when the last night of the year rolls around, many of us still have nothing better to do than ... yes, watch more TV.
Planting the flag on New Year's "really brands a network," said Tim Brooks, a TV historian and executive vice president of research at Lifetime Entertainment. "It helps promote and drive people to other programs. It's one of the things that makes networks special to people."
"Rockin' Eve" essentially consists of two parts: musical performances, some taped in advance, and the dropping of the ball in Times Square, which viewers see live in the Eastern and Central time zones. The producers put a premium on big "gets"; last year Mariah Carey, the queen of mainstream pop, was the headline attraction. Sunday's roster includes the Carey-esque diva Christina Aguilera, country pop group Rascal Flatts and hip-hop queen Fergie.
Someday, Seacrest presumably will take over the "Rockin' Eve" franchise.
Daly, former host of MTV's "TRL" and current host of NBC's late-night talkfest "Last Call," is going after a cooler, hipper vibe on his New Year's Eve show, which is decidedly not a heritage operation. The tunes will come from alternative rockers such as Panic! at the Disco and OK Go, acts probably found on far fewer iPods than Fergie.
Daly has some way to go before his program poses a serious ratings threat to "Rockin' Eve." But he's willing to take the long view.
"It's about us staking a claim," Daly said, "and trying to build a tradition."
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