Citytv is in the midst of its first full fall season under Rogers ownership, and the schedule has seen a major overhaul. Media buyers say the new programming direction at Citytv makes sense, but ratings have declined.

Gone are the weeknight movie blocks and the sci-fi/fantasy series such as Stargate SG-1, Blood Ties, Supernatural, Reaper and Battlestar Galactica.

Instead, primetime is dominated by mainstream comedy and drama series, as well as reality and competition shows.

The five City stations (Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg) were sold to Rogers last year when the CRTC forced CTVglobemedia to divest itself of the stations following its purchase of CHUM. The Rogers transaction was completed at the end of October 2007.

City’s fall 2008 schedule includes the soapish new drama Privileged, from The CW. The channel has also picked up NBC’s adventure series Crusoe, as well as returning series Lipstick Jungle.

Canadian series on the schedule include the award-winning period procedural drama Murdoch Mysteries, comedy Less Than Kind, and rock star drama Kaya.

Reality and competition series include Stylista and Celebrity Fit Club. The ABC game show Opportunity Knocks, exec produced by Ashton Kutcher, was swiftly canceled.

Returning to the schedule from last year are the NBC comedy Chuck, The CW’s Everybody Hates Chris, and ABC’s Ugly Betty. It also has NBC’s 30 Rock, which has picked up additional buzz thanks to creator/star Tina Fey’s celebrated Sarah Palin impressions on Saturday Night Live.

‘Citytv looks to be moving into more mainstream programming aimed at the 18-49 demo – not 18-34, where their shows used to focus,’ says Michael Walker of The Walker Media Group.

‘The 18-34 demo is tough to get, as they are just as likely to download your show from a website, so you are up against the Internet, not just other stations,’ he adds. ‘So, going a bit older and broader is a good idea – it’s like diversifying your portfolio.’

Dennis Dinga, M2 Universal’s VP, director of broadcast buying, says chopping the movie blocks was also smart.

‘Citytv should probably have gotten rid of them years ago,’ he says. ‘People have short attention spans, and it is hard to get them to sit down on a weeknight to watch a movie. It isn’t appointment viewing.’

However, while it all sounds good in theory, and it is still early in the fall schedule, so far Rogers’ programming picks are not proving to be strong performers.

‘It is not a good-news story for these guys,’ says one media buyer, who asked to remain anonymous. ‘It’s not a bad schedule, but competitors Global and CTV have all the best U.S. programs.’

City’s ratings share for fall 2008, as compared to the same period last year, is down in Toronto from 4.2 to 3.5 among adults 25-54, and in Vancouver from 3.6 to 2.3. City has also seen its share fall in Vancouver and Toronto in the female 25-54 demo. (BBM Nielsen data, Sept. 8 to Oct. 14.)

‘Their schedule as a whole isn’t performing up to par,’ says Dinga.

He points out that in the Ontario market, overall TV viewing in the adult 18-49 demo is up 5.1%, while City’s viewership so far this fall is down 10% compared to the same period last year. In Calgary, overall viewing is up 15%, while the City schedule is down 16%. In Vancouver, overall viewing is up 2% and City’s viewership has fallen 24%.

City’s top-rated show this fall is its computer-geek-turned-secret-agent action comedy Chuck, with an average-minute audience in Ontario (18-49) of 116,000 – up from 104,000 at this time last year.

But its other comedy staple, Ugly Betty, has seen audiences decline from 86,000 at this time last year to 75,000 in Ontario in the 18-49 demo. The initially hyped Crusoe isn’t delivering well, adds Dinga, noting it picked up just 37,500 viewers 18-49 in Ontario. And new Canuck comedy Less Than Kind – which was renewed before its first episode went to air – has had a slow start, averaging just 47,000 viewers (2+) for its premiere episode and earning a 0.2 rating in Toronto and a 0.6 rating in Vancouver among adults 18-49.

‘But it is still early in the season, and this fall has been very abnormal, with the federal election in Canada and the U.S. election debates distracting viewers,’ says Dinga. ‘So I wouldn’t make any great conclusions from these numbers as yet. It is too early to judge whether Citytv’s tactics have worked. I think we have to let it play out for a year.’

However, while the City stations are off to a slow start under Rogers’ ownership, CTVgm’s newly acquired A stations have been quick to show improvements. For example, this year A’s numbers are up 55% in the 25-54 demographic, based on the Sept. 22 to Oct. 19 time frame.

‘Citytv, on the other hand, isn’t exactly setting the world on fire,’ Walker says.

Dinga suggests City could be suffering from an identity crisis.

‘Their viewers used to tune in for news and movies, and now they are running Law & Order and Two and a Half Men, so people who used to watch may not know who they are anymore.’

But Sunni Boot, president and CEO of ZenithOptimedia, thinks Rogers is maintaining City’s brand well. The stations are still in a state of transition, she says.

‘Their schedule will require some additional work, but we are giving them some time to do that,’ she says. ‘Their news is strong, but they need higher-rated dramas and comedies. I think they are maintaining the strong independent urban street feel and community focus, and need a year to see what they have in this brand and enhance it.’

Rogers Media declined to comment on its fall ratings performance.