Networks target ‘Idol’ reign

Crack teams of FBI profilers and Pentagon analysts are arming for battle.

Their high-stakes mission? To combat threats to the American way of life – and, hopefully, loosen the stranglehold of “American Idol.”

Now that the broadcast networks have announced their 2005-06 schedules, Wednesdays at 9 p.m. has turned into a key battleground.

That’s where NBC’s “E-Ring,” the highly promoted Pentagon thriller from producer Jerry Bruckheimer, will stare down “Criminal Minds,” CBS’ new FBI procedural starring Mandy Patinkin.

Both entries will face formidable competition from “Lost,” ABC’s deserted-island ensemble that turned into a major hit this season and is moving from its current 8 p.m. Wednesday slot.

But network executives are still facing a force far scarier than serial killers, terrorists or tropical beasts: Simon Cowell.

The half-hour “results show” for “Idol” will return to the 9 p.m. Wednesday slot next January – and rivals don’t want to spend a fourth straight winter gaping helplessly as Fox’s hugely popular talent contest, featuring the tart-tongued judge Cowell, savages their midweek schedules.

” ‘Idol’ is a complete hammer,” says ABC prime-time entertainment chief Stephen McPherson.

Case in point: “Idol” has wreaked havoc with ABC’s once-healthy midweek comedy block; partly as a result, the network axed Damon Wayans’ Tuesday sitcom “My Wife & Kids.”

Viacom co-chief operating officer Leslie Moonves, who oversees CBS, sees a storm gathering as he and other network bosses race to beat back “Idol.”

“Wednesday … is going to be very hard,” Moonves admits. ” ‘Lost’ is tough. ‘E-Ring’ is obviously one of NBC’s big guns.”

NBC, which has slipped from first to fourth among young-adult viewers this season, says it’s finally ready to take on “Idol.”

The network has suffered considerably as its once-hot White House drama, “The West Wing,” has faded in the ratings (it moves to Sundays in the fall). Its midseason replacement, “Revelations,” about a professor and nun investigating signs of a looming Apocalypse, stalled with viewers.

“E-Ring” is the perfect antidote, NBC entertainment boss Kevin Reilly says.

“This is like a Bruckheimer movie,” Reilly says. “It’s big. It’s glossy. It’s got two big stars at the center (Benjamin Bratt and Dennis Hopper). …

“Frankly, we also think (that) as ‘American Idol’ counterprogramming, we finally have a show we can glue to the schedule. It’s got a different audience base.”

Advertisers couldn’t be more thrilled by such a hard-fought matchup. They like the idea of big hits spread across multiple networks, because that keeps any one player from becoming too dominant and dictating the price of 30-second spots.

At the same time, viewers obviously are more engaged with hit shows than mediocre performers – and, ad buyers hope, more likely to spring for products they see advertised during breaks.

Whether viewers will enjoy all the schedule posturing is another matter. Another fierce brawl this fall is on tap for 8 p.m. Thursdays, when CBS’ “Survivor 11: Guatemala” will try to fend off three existing dramas with strong fan bases: ABC’s “Alias,” Fox’s “The O.C.” and the WB’s “Smallville.”

At the same time, NBC’s struggling sitcom “Joey” probably will face a surprisingly strong challenge from UPN’s “Everybody Hates Chris,” comic Chris Rock’s take on his Brooklyn childhood in the early 1980s.

Says Brad Adgate, senior vice president at Horizon Media in New York: “You’re gonna need two or three TiVos for that time period.”