CBS Eyes Victoria's Secret Special

Thu., Jun. 20, 2002 10:50 AM PDT by Josh Grossberg

The Tiffany network is dressing down. Literally.

CBS announced Wednesday that it has inked a deal with Victoria's Secret to broadcast its annual fall fashion show, featuring the lingerie-clad likes of Tyra Banks, Gisele Bundchen, Heidi Klum and Laetitia Costa, in another one-hour prime-time special certain to send tongues wagging again.

Last year's broadcast of the Victoria's Secret show aired in November on ABC and was a ratings hit--gartering, er, garnering DD-sized ratings and an estimated 12 million oglers for the Alphabet network. The show also generated plenty of controversy.

Despite labeling the show with a TV-14 rating warning parents the contents were inappropriate for children under the age of 14 and airing it in the Thursday, 9 p.m. time slot, ABC took heat from feminist groups and family-values pushers accusing the network of broadcasting softcore porn.

But after reviewing indecency complaints from hundreds of irate viewers, the Federal Communications Commission ruled the show did not violate the agency's standards for lewd behavior that would require them to fine the network.

Still, with corporate parent Disney worried about its family-friendly image, ABC shied away from Victoria's Secret this year, leaving the door open for other suitors.

Enter CBS, a network that used to have a reputation for skewing towards the AARP crowd, until Survivor helped to put CBS on the dial for younger viewers.

Shedding their old inhibitions, executives at the Eye were more than happy to climb aboard the catwalk, especially knowing a bunch of barely dressed models will pull in the 18- to 34-year-old set, the most coveted demographic for advertisers.

And to maximize the, um, exposure, CBS is slating the special for November sweeps, one of the most-watched months of the season. And expect CBS parent Viacom to plug the show on ancillary outlets like MTV and VH1.

Aware of the controversy that dogged ABC for supposedly marketing sex to children, a network rep says that CBS' special will be well within the bounds of decency.

"Victoria's Secret is a well-respected all-American brand," the spokesperson says. "Based on what we've seen, the complaints lodged last year were a very vocal minority...You have the top models in the entire fashion industry there, [and] it's going to be a beautifully done, classy show."

A source close to the production tells TV Guide that because the prime-time special is essentially an hourlong commercial for Victoria's Secret, the panties-peddling company will most likely pick up a majority of the production costs, as it did when it ponied up an estimated $5 million for ABC's special last year.

"[CBS] couldn't afford to do a show like this if [Victoria's Secret] wasn't picking up most of the freight," the source says.

While CBS will titillate with Victoria's barest of essentials, the network won't skimp on entertainment and is planning to line up several high-profile musical guests.

"[CBS] is going to amp it up, even beyond what ABC did. Everybody involved thinks the hotter the better," the source tells TV Guide. "[The network] plans to give it all the big-time production values they give the Grammys. This will be like a high-fashion strip show and rock concert all in one."