Viacom's VH1 Gains Traction With Women

VH1's bid to draw young women with a line-up of flashy new reality shows is working—so far.

"Mob Wives," a provocative reality program about a group of women who were born into, or married into, reputed Mafia families, drew 1.4 million viewers when it premiered on the Viacom Inc. cable channel a week ago Sunday. About 68% of those viewers were women.

By comparison, the reality hit "Jersey Shore" drew about 1.38 million viewers when it debuted on VH1's sister channel, MTV, in December 2009.

The new show's audience represented a 32% increase from the average number of women 18- to 49-years-old who watched VH1 at 8 p.m. on Sundays during the first three months of 2011. On the Sunday of its debut, "Mob Wives" ranked No. 3 in Google searches.

After seeing its audience erode in recent years, VH1 recently overhauled its programming to target young women. "Mob Wives" is a cornerstone of the channel's new strategy as its executives turn away from dating-competition shows to programs that focus on more serious subjects, such as family, religion, and the Mafia.
—Lauren A.E. Schuker
CBS Aims to Name New Anchor Soon

The new brass at CBS Corp.'s CBS News hopes to name a new anchor and unveil other changes in the network's evening newscast as early as next week, regardless of whether current anchor Katie Couric has picked her next job, said people familiar with the matter.

Ms. Couric's contract at the network expires in early June, and she is still weighing offers, including one from CBS, to host a daytime talk show. She likely won't finalize her plans before CBS News announces its changes, one of the people familiar with the matter said. But Ms. Couric, who is going to London to cover the royal wedding this week, may publicly acknowledge that she is leaving her anchor seat in coming days, this person added.

CBS News is expected to name "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley as its "CBS Evening News" anchor, and make other behind-the-camera changes at the show, the people familiar with the matter said. CBS is hoping to improve the news broadcast's No. 3 ratings, in part by focusing on traditional news coverage, one of these people added.
—Sam Schechner
WNET Bids to Run New Jersey Network

WNET, the top public-television provider to the New York metropolitan area, has submitted a bid to manage New Jersey Network, one of the country's largest statewide public-broadcasting networks, and is expecting to hear back next week, according to people familiar with the situation.

Last year, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signaled his desire to sever ties with NJN, planning to eliminate its $11 million state subsidy. He is one of several public officials trying to extricate their states from the public-television business, which is undergoing a wave of consolidation in the face of cutbacks.

NJN, which has been on the air for more than 40 years, is a member of the Public Broadcasting Service television network and the National Public Radio network. It also broadcasts its own programming, mostly related to issues in New Jersey.

In addition to WNET, which runs public-television channels WNET13 and WLIW21, potential suitors for NJN are WHYY, a PBS member in Philadelphia, and local organizations such as WBGO, a public-radio station broadcast out of Newark.
—Lauren A. E. Schuker
Self-Publishing Leads to Literary Break-Up

Can literary agents survive in an era of self-publishing? A high-profile author-agent break-up is a cautionary tale.

A few weeks ago, thriller writer Barry Eisler parted ways with agent Dan Conaway, who had represented him since the summer of 2007.

Part of the reason: Mr. Eisler just didn't need him.

The author had recently rejected a $500,000, two-book deal from a leading publisher in favor of self-publishing "The Detachment," a thriller featuring his character John Rain, a Japanese-American assassin. He plans to publish the title this summer as an e-book and a physical book.

"The thing that has enabled agents to take their 15% cut is brokering the deal and managing the relationship that results from the deal," said Mr. Eisler. "In a self-published world, those things don't apply."

To survive, agents need to morph into business managers who also handle the traditional publishing roles such as copy-editing, proof-reading, and jacket design. "That will be their value proposition," he said.

Mr. Conaway declined to comment, except to confirm that he no longer represents Mr. Eisler.

Mr. Eisler may not have slammed the door shut on traditional publishing, however. "If circumstances change, and I decide I'd be better off in the legacy world again, I could always go back," he said. "If there's anything to go back to."