Viewpoints: acquisitions strategies

Mark Ringwald
VP, Programming
AmericanLife TV Networksm
United States

What are your acquisition strategies?

AmericanLife TV Network is the cable network devoted to America' s Baby Boomer generation.  The network delivers classic TV, lifestyle, original and socially conscious programming that addresses compelling issues.  Primetime consists of the classic television Baby Boomers grew up with and can escape to with their family. Daytime and evening fringe programming is centered on lifestyle programming that entertains and informs.

What programs are you looking for?

At MIPCOM, I am looking for lifestyle programming, mostly from Canada. We are looking for programs that deal with the issues Baby Boomers deal with every day (teenagers, their aging parents, job security, staying healthy, saving the earth, paying for college, relationships both current and new, trying to hold on to their youth, mid life crises, you name it) in a light and entertaining way. The programs should feature real people and have a few real answers that help make the show relevant to them.

What foreign programs did you buy this year?

" Save Our House, Save Our Family " (Canada) (Canadian title: " Save Us from Our House ") In this fast-paced and fun relationship-renovation-reality television series, the house-saving team responds to frantic families who have been suffering in their space. Our Relationship Strategist, Hina Khan, tackles the emotional renovation, leading the family through a series of challenges and therapy models designed to address fractured relationships. Meanwhile Contractor Dylan Marcel and his crew of professional craftsmen break down the walls tearing this family apart, finding innovative solutions. " This Food That Wine " (Canada) is a wine and food pairing show hosted by Chef Angie MacRae and Sommelier Stacey Metulynsky. In every episode, Angie & Stacey meet up with someone planning a party. They get together in Angie's kitchen for a day of menu planning, cooking and wine pairing. Then, armed with recipes and a wine list, our "guest du jour" returns to home to cook up a feast and bask in the adulation of his/her happy guests.

What national programs did you buy this year?

Twentieth Television: " Batman ", " Big Valley ", " Bob Newhart ", " Burkes' Law ", " Hill Street Blues ", " LA Law ", " Land of the Giants ", " Lost in Space ", " Lou Grant ", " Mary Tyler Moore ", " Newhart ", " St. Elsewhere ", " The Green Hornet ", " Time Tunnel ", " Trapper John ", " MD ", " Twelve O' clock High ", " Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea ", " WKRP in Cincinnati ".

CBS Paramount: " Mission Impossible ".

MGM: " Rat Patrol ".

What are your acquisition plans?

We are hoping to add one or two lifestyle programs next summer.