‘Empire’ May Provide Fox the Big Hit It Needs

Fox’s new hip-hop drama “Empire” is proving to be a platinum property for a network that desperately needed one.

Heading into this television season, Fox was reeling. It ranked last among the four broadcast networks in ratings; its flagship show, “American Idol,” was falling off the map; and it had shaken up its managerial ranks.

Now comes “Empire.” Starring the Oscar-nominated actor Terrence Howard and featuring a lineup of original songs, the series follows a former drug dealer turned hip-hop mogul, Lucious Lyon, whose three sons vie for the throne of his music empire after he is found to have a fatal disease.

“Empire’s” premiere earlier this month ranked as Fox’s highest-rated debut in three years, and its ratings have continued to climb. The series increased its ratings in its second and third weeks among adults 18 to 49 years old, a rare occurrence for a top-rated television drama. It also has ranked at the top for video on demand and other digital viewing, a sign that viewers now may be trying to catch up on the series after hearing about it.

That attention, critical acclaim and ratings success for “Empire” is crucial for Fox. Broadcasters have suffered staggering ratings declines this season because of competition from cable networks, streaming services and other digital media, and Fox has been the hardest hit. Prime-time ratings at the network have plummeted more than 20 percent so far this season, compared with the same period last year for the viewing of programs live and on the same day that they are televised, according to Macquarie Research.

One hit doesn’t equal a turnaround. But so far in 2015, Fox is off to a better start — tied with ABC in third place, according to Macquarie — in part because of the strong ratings for “Empire,” the popularity of football and improved ratings for “American Idol,” whose ratings had collapsed in recent years.

Network executives already have picked up “Empire” for a second season, calling it the “perfect show for Fox.” The success of its fourth episode, to be broadcast Wednesday night, and the rest of the season will test whether the series and the network will be able to maintain that momentum.

“A network is built show by show, brick by brick,” said Dana Walden, co-chairman and chief executive of the Fox Television Group. “We’re very happy with ‘Empire.’ We’re happy that it is looking like it will be a long-term show on our schedule.”

Ms. Walden is about six months into her role as the co-leader of the network alongside Gary Newman. The pair succeeded Kevin Reilly, who stepped down as head of entertainment programming at Fox last year after seven years on the job, in the face of weakness at “Idol” that laid bare instability across the network.

Longtime business partners, Ms. Walden and Mr. Newman together led the 20th-Century Fox Television studios group for the last 15 years and now are responsible for both the studios group and the broadcast network.

During their tenure, the studio scored a number of hit series on Fox and other networks, including the musical drama “Glee,” the ABC comedy “Modern Family” and Showtime’s political thriller “Homeland.”

Ms. Walden and Mr. Newman have said their vision now is to rebuild the broadcaster into a home for big, bold, culturally relevant shows that appeal to broad audiences.

They have held up “Empire” as an example of how the newly combined studio and broadcast group should work. The show was created by Lee Daniels, the Oscar-nominated director of films including “The Butler” and “Precious,” and Danny Strong, an Emmy award-winning writer. It started at the studio and quickly was identified as right for Fox. In their first week on the job, Ms. Walden and Mr. Newman established “Empire” as Fox’s midseason priority, and the network soon went to work on a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign.

“The broad sell was: ‘Music. Power. Family. Let the battle begin,’ ” said Joe Earley, Fox TV Group’s chief operating officer. “But there is so much more happening in the show,” he added, noting plotlines about Mr. Lyon’s struggle to accept his gay son and the drama related to his ex-wife, who served 17 years in prison so that he could build a career based on drug money.

The wild but relatable twists and turns of the plotline, along with the program’s original music and the diverse cast, are helping it break through, both network executives and ad buyers said.

Music shows have long been a central part of Fox’s programming. “American Idol” has reportedly generated close to $3 billion in profit for the network since it began in 2002. “Glee,” which started in 2009, has been another valuable franchise for both Fox and Columbia Records, which releases its music. The label has sold some 7.8 million albums and at least 44 million song downloads from the show, which, like “American Idol,” primarily relies on cover versions of familiar hits.

Fox has teamed with Columbia again for “Empire,” whose music is overseen by the star producer Timbaland. With mostly original songs, the music plan for “Empire” is more akin to that of ABC’s “Nashville.” That show’s songs, contributed by working songwriters in the real-life Nashville music business, have drawn critical praise but had more modest sales, with about 370,000 soundtrack albums sold.

As with “Glee,” Columbia releases songs from “Empire” each week, and the music promotion for the show began early. Last month, weeks before the premiere, the song “No Apologies” was released on iTunes and YouTube, and characters from the show even have their own profiles on Spotify.

On shows like “Empire” and “Nashville,” the presentation of each song on camera is often carefully finessed for its impact on the plot. Russell Ziecker, head of television music at Lionsgate, who works on “Nashville” and other shows, said that offering multiple versions of a song in a single episode — say, as it is being written and later being performed — and even strategizing the length of time it is shown can make a big difference in how that song is received by the audience.

“The longer you have people’s attention to a song, the more time you have to make an emotional impact with it,” Mr. Ziecker said.

“Empire” has likewise used particular songs in pivotal plot moments, as when two sons of the show’s patriarch are shown performing “No Apologies” together in the second episode.

But for “Empire,” success in the ratings may ultimately depend less on the quality of its music than its ability to draw audiences with its story week after week.

“The music is kind of the icing on the cake,” said Gary Calamar, a music supervisor who has worked on shows like “True Blood” and “Six Feet Under.” “If the show is not good, people aren’t going to tune in just for the music. If the cake is dry and tasteless, the icing isn’t going to be all that important.”