Cable TV Is Having Breakout Summer
By BILL CARTER The New York Times August 9, 2007
Cable television has always feasted on the summer audiences abandoned by the largely vacationing broadcast networks, but this season has been a spectacularly good one.
A host of cable channels have generated significant successes with original shows this summer, mainly hourlong dramas like "The Closer" and "Saving Grace" on TNT; "Army Wives" on Lifetime; "Burn Notice" on USA; "Damages" on FX; and "Mad Men" on the most unlikely channel, AMC.
All these shows, many of which have been critically acclaimed as well as popular with viewers, have emerged on basic cable, not a premium channel like HBO.
If that seems like a trend, some cable executives are bold enough to claim even more. "We're at the tipping point," said Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment, which has the season's most-watched dramas in "The Closer" and "Saving Grace."
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