Extensive branding initiative! Coveted psychographic! Unruly snowboarders!

or,

"Why I quit wasting money on cable TV."




Court TV's New Name Unveiled: truTV
July 11, 2007

As part of an extensive branding initiative that will also include a new look, new logo and expanded line-up, Court TV is about to become truTV. This new name reflects the network's popular line-up of series that offer first-person access to exciting, real-life stories, according to the announcement today by Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks, and Marc Juris, the network's general manager. Through a dynamic original programming line-up that has been providing the network with strong and consistent audience growth, truTV will target a highly coveted psychographic known as "Real Engagers." In addition, the network has put four new projects into development in support of the new brand, including shows from Granada Television, producer of Nanny 911; Original Productions, co-producer of Deadliest Catch; Bunim/Murray Productions, creators of The Real World; and Tiger Aspect USA, producer of Ms. Adventure. The complete re-branding will launch Jan. 1, 2008.


...

In prime time, early fringe and late night, truTV will continue to feature a line-up of already-popular signature series that target Real Engagers, including such shows as Speeders, Forensic Files and Haunting Evidence. Upcoming series slated to join the line-up in support of the new brand include projects like Bounty Girls, featuring four tough, smart, beautiful and diverse female professionals on the hunt for some of Miami's most dangerous fugitives; The Real Hustle, featuring a trio of con artists going after unsuspecting marks; and Most Daring, a gripping series that focuses on life-or-death rescues.

The network is also in development on a number of unique, high-profile series and specials from top-name producers. "Our new development projects are the kind of compelling stories and people our audience of Real Engagers is seeking," said Juris. "We're proud to be working with successful, top-name producers in crafting series that will continue building on the network's growing success."


Among the projects in development are the following:

Neighbors 911 (working title) – From Granada America and executive producer Curt Northrup (Nanny 911) comes this new series in which former Green Beret Myke Hawke goes into the homes of people whose feuding has escalated into all-out war. He then uses video evidence to force them to confront each other and resolve their differences.

Ski Patrol (working title) – This exciting, character-driven series from Bunim/Murray Productions (The Real World) gets viewers up close and personal with the men and women who work in some of the most extreme environments in the country. They do everything from dynamiting snowdrifts and performing daring out-of-bounds rescues to busting unruly snowboarders looking to party on the slopes.

Black Gold (working title) – Few jobs have higher stakes than those of "wildcatters" in Texas, oil prospectors who race one another to tap into the last remaining U.S. reserves. From Original Productions' Thom Beers, executive producer of hit series Deadliest Catch, this show will follow several of these wildcatters and their crew of roughnecks as they risk their lives, limbs and hundreds of thousands of dollars setting up rigs in an attempt to strike oil.

Outlaw Chasers (working title) – Randy Hicks and Lanny Dean are a renegade pair of storm junkies who, armed with just a radio and some video cameras, pursue twisters all around the Midwest in their customized pick-up truck. Using incredibly dramatic present and past-tense footage from their most exciting pursuits, this collection of specials from Tiger Aspect USA and executive producer Lawrence Cumbo (Ms. Adventure) will tell their story while following them in their quest to fulfill their dream: filming a tornado from the inside.

This did not come from The Onion. It's real. When you see an expression like 'Real Engagers' pop up out of nowhere, you can be pretty sure some market research firm has jumped the rails and is spinning PowerPoints out of control somewhere.