E! Entertainment Television

World Screen Weekly, September 6, 2007

COUNTRY: U.S.

LAUNCH DATE: June 1, 1990

OWNERSHIP: E! Networks, a division of Comcast Corporation’s Comcast Entertainment Group.

NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBERS: 90.4 million via cable and satellite.

DESCRIPTION: E! Entertainment Television is a 24-hour channel that aims to bring viewers closer to celebrities and pop culture. It offers a variety of programming, acquired and original, including news, docudramas, behind-the-scenes specials, reality series, movies, countdown shows and live coverage from the red carpet at some of Hollywood’s biggest events. Targeted at the 18-to-49 demographic, the core audience tends to skew towards females aged 18 to 34.

PRESIDENT & CEO,

COMCAST ENTERTAINMENT GROUP: Ted Harbert

SENIOR VP, PROGRAM STRATEGY & RESEARCH,

COMCAST ENTERTAINMENT GROUP: Cyndi McClellan

EXECUTIVE VP, ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING

& SERIES DEVELOPMENT, E!: Lisa Berger

SENIOR VP, PRODUCTION,

COMCAST ENTERTAINMENT GROUP: Jeff Shore

SENIOR VP, DEVELOPMENT,

COMCAST ENTERTAINMENT GROUP: Jay James

SENIOR VP, ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING & SERIES DEVELOPMENT,

COMCAST ENTERTAINMENT GROUP: Alex Maggioni

PROGRAMMING STRATEGY: Rooted in news and entertainment, the network has done extensive research in understanding how its viewers are connecting with and using the E! Entertainment brand. "What keeps us in such a unique place is that the brand really provides viewers with social grease—it gives them something to talk about with others," says Cyndi McClellan, the senior VP of program strategy and research for the network.

In terms of entertainment channel competitors, VH1, Bravo and A&E all feature celebrity-based content, however McClellan explains that E! still feels "fairly unique in how we’re covering the category." She adds, "It’s really our topical programming that differentiates us from our competitors who are using off-net [content], movies or originals."

The channel currently airs three daily topical shows that cover the world of celebrity and pop culture: E! News, Daily 10 and Chelsea Lately. The Soup, a series that built off the brand equity of its predecessor, Talk Soup, serves as a weekly wrap-up to highlight the entertainment world’s biggest stories. All are original productions for the network.

E! also produces a handful of specials, including The E! True Hollywood Story and E! Entertainment Specials, which recently featured an edition titled Celebrity Rehab Exposed. Along with countdown shows, like the 101s, other originals for the network include Dr. 90210, Sunset Tan and The Girls Next Door, which is an example of an original show that has really taken off for the channel. "What’s fascinating about the Girls series is that it’s a female 18-34 appeal show for us; when we greenlit it we thought that it would appeal to our Howard Stern audience. We’ve had to make it work for our female audience now, but that hasn’t been an issue," says McClellan.

The percentage of original versus acquired programming on E! fluctuates weekly. In general less than 10 percent of E!’s schedule is acquired, with around 3 percent having been picked up from outside of the U.S.

Notable acquisitions for the network include the upcoming British documentary Diana’s Last Day from Target Entertainment; The Simple Life episodes produced for FOX; Saturday Night Live from NBC Universal; Katie and Peter from CAN Associates; and movies from studios including Sony, Disney, New Line and Warner Bros., among others.

The website is almost a business all its own, working hand in hand with the linear channel while also still operating fairly autonomously. "The interesting thing with our site, versus say Bravo’s website, is that ours is a push-pull situation," explains McClellan. "On air, we’re pushing people to the site for more information and to get information throughout the day. Once you’re on the site, we’re pulling people back onto the network saying which shows to check out and what’s coming up."

The main drivers behind the site are the News, Gossip and Photo Gallery areas. The site also provides message boards for audiences to discuss series and interact with other viewers as well as with hosts and network personalities. The Vine is another facet of the website, featuring a broadband video player. It includes both originals exclusive to The Vine as well as on-air content and companion series.

WHAT’S NEW: E! has two new reality projects in the works. On the heels of the final season of The Simple Life, another socialite has stepped into the spotlight: Kim Kardashian. The as-yet-untitled reality show will follow the goings-on of the 26-year-old paparazzi target and her Hollywood family. Also in the celebrity family vein, Snoop Dogg’s household happenings will be the focus of another reality series slated to air in late 2007.

In terms of new media, E! has recently announced the launch of E! News Now, a multimedia series that provides viewers with video news segments created by E! News specifically for non-linear platforms. Hosted by E! News reporters Valery Ortiz and Ashlan Gorse, the two-minute segments will be produced around the clock to air as news breaks, starting with at least 12 videos per day, available on broadband and mobile phones.

WEBSITE: www.eonline.com

—By Kristin Brzoznowski