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Old January 25, 2001, 10:26 AM   #9
Bill Mitchell
Staff Alumnus
 
Join Date: October 15, 1998
Location: Roswell,GA
Posts: 433
From The New York Times:

A Hit for TNT

On Sunday TNT showed another of the original movies it has been making lately: "Crossfire Trail," a Louis L'Amour western starring Tom Selleck.

There was nothing special about the way it was promoted: the network bought about as many advertisements for it as it usually does for an original movie on basic cable. Likewise, it used its usual public relations effort to get notice for the film in the press but did nothing beyond the norm.

With that in mind, the film's performance in the ratings on Sunday night seemed amazing. The film's 8 p.m. showing was watched in 7.7 million homes, the largest audience ever for an original movie shown on cable, TNT executives said. For cable, it is the kind of ratings number that makes executives at other networks stop and take notice.

The record was previously held by the USA network's "China Lake Murders," which starred Tom Skerritt and was seen in about 4.3 million homes when it was shown in January 1990.

So, what gives? Steven R. Koonin, TNT's executive vice president and general manager, said he believed that several factors fueled the film.

First, he said, he believes it was a very good movie (but what would you expect him to say?) Also, he pointed out, it was shown on the first Sunday of the television season on which professional football games were not shown — meaning there were millions of men who did not get their weekly fill of testosterone-inducing action and were, thus, ripe for a good, old-fashioned western. To lure them to its new original movie, TNT showed westerns all weekend (including "The Quick and the Dead" and "Wyatt Earp"), he said.

Mr. Koonin said he thought the strategy was effective because the genre is still ripe for television, and that those who enjoy them are thirsty for them.

"There's a lot of pent-up demand for westerns," Mr. Koonin said. "It's a strong genre that's underexploited."

But, he added, "Having a Texan in the White House didn't hurt either."

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