Steve Harvey's happy to be back on The WB with his new variety show "Steve Harvey's Big Time," despite comments he made at a previous Television Critics Association Press tour, accusing the network of paying him less money because he is African-American.
At the time, Mr. Harvey said The WB wouldn't pay him as much money to star in his sitcom "The Steve Harvey Show" as they would a white lead on a lower-rated series. "Now I'm back in bed with them," he said Sunday at the TCA to promote his new show. "That pretty much makes me a ho at this moment," he joked.
Mr. Harvey said he has a good relationship with The WB. "I was dissatisfied not with The WB as much as television in general," he said. "The problem we have in television is strictly economics."
African Americans watch more TV than the general population so advertisers won't pay a premium on shows with African American casts because they know they can reach that audience in broader based shows such as "Friends" or "Monday Night Football," Mr. Harvey said. Until advertisers value the audience enough to pay the same money for a spot in an African American show as a show with a white cast, things won't change, he said.
After an executive session, WB Chairman and CEO Jamie Kellner said the advertising disparity is not a race issue. He said high cost-per-thousands are driven by hard to reach audiences. For example, the WB has gotten double-digit CPM increases the past few years because they reach a younger 12 to 34 audience that isn't watching as much TV.
Mr. Kellner also said that when Mr. Harvey was starring in his sitcom on the network he was one of the highest paid actors on The WB.
| Television Week: "Advertisers key to parity, Harvey says"
The economics of television advertising discriminate against black-oriented shows and those who work on them, says actor-comedian Steve Harvey.
Advertisers pay less for such programs even when the ratings equal or exceed those of other shows, Harvey told a meeting of the Television Critics Association on Sunday.
The result is, "African-Americans don't get to make what they deserve to make when they have a hit show," Harvey said, appearing before TV critics to promote his WB fall series, "Steve Harvey's Big Time."
Advertisers pay lower rates for programs that attract black audiences because they reason that blacks are among TV's more loyal customers, and it's easy to reach them across the TV dial, Harvey said.
That does represent the thinking of the ad community, WB executives said in a later session Sunday with TV critics. In contrast, shows that attract harder-to-reach young viewers can command higher ad rates.
"There is a truth in what he's saying, that advertisers are trying to find people that they can't get easily. And they do pay a premium for those people," said Jamie Kellner, WB's chairman and chief executive officer.
| Associated Press (via Tacoma News-Tribune), "Steve Harvey says black actors shortchanged by cheaper ad rates"
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