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Entertainment December 7, 2016
As fans grab their dancing shoes for NBC musical spectacular “Hairspray Live!,” the network is making a grab for young viewers.
By casting Disney Channel stars like Dove Cameron and Garrett Clayton in key roles along with pop star Ariana Grande, the strategy is to draw more of the millennial audiences so coveted by advertisers to NBC.
Grande’s large social following is key to attracting a big number of viewers, especially those who may not be familiar with the Broadway original “Hairspray.” Earlier this year, Ariana announced on Instagram, “I’ve never been more excited for anything in my life.”
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NBC entertainment chief Robert Greenblat said, “We look forward to her millions of fans seeing yet another side to this multifaceted performer and we welcome her to this incredible ensemble of artists.”
Teaming the youngsters with an ensemble including well established and multi-award winning co-stars like Jennifer Hudson and Kristin Chenoweth should achieve the other mission of cementing the network’s position at the top of the live TV musical arena.
“Hairspray Live!” marks the entertainment network’s fourth live event, following the productions of “The Sound of Music,” “Peter Pan” and “The Wiz.” And according to co-producer Craig Zadan, their fourth show is the “biggest production [they] have done so far.”
And NBC prepared for this event Robert Greenblat, acknowledged how strategic the company had to be to make it in live-TV.
“We are in a very challenging place in terms of the current climate with so many channels, shows and streaming platforms,” Greenblat said. “We wanted to get an advantage in a disadvantaged playing field and a couple of years ago we discussed how to open up live television beyond reality shows and sports events.”
In 2013, when NBC aired “The Sound of Music Live!,” the network was the first one in 50 years to air a live musical on television. And while Greenblat acknowledged this move as “an experiment of sorts,” it proved beneficial for the company because “The Sound of Music Live!” garnered 18.6 million viewers with the live broadcast and 3 million more the following week.
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“Anywhere between 10-20 million viewers for a musical is just a huge success,” Greenblat added. “We wouldn’t be doing this if there wasn’t a big audience and there seems to be.” In 2014 “Peter Pan Live!” reached over 9 million viewers and “The Wiz Live!” in the following year received 11.5 million.
Since then, live musicals have become a yearly tradition for the network, especially because of the positive ratings NBC has received. “In terms of ratings they’re huge and they bring in a lot of advertising revenue,” Greenblat said. “More than double for a typical primetime night and they bring in new advertisers because of this.”
And while Greenblat admits that it’s challenging to get people to commit to watching a live TV special during the holiday season, the executive has found that because the delayed viewing is very small, people want to watch these shows as they are happening.
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“It’s always a gamble, especially when people are busy, to tie them down to watch television,” he explained. “There’s an immediacy to the live and you have to set aside the time to watch … [but] live can be really seductive when you have a reason to watch. It seems to be working.”
“Hairspray Live!” premieres on Dec. 7. For a full list of the cast, visit the Playbill website.
