THE SKED: New Fall Show On-Air Promotion -- September 6 Update

With network on-air promotion activity tracked in hit summer shows (those near or above a 2.0 Adult 18-49 rating) for about seven weeks since mid-July, the networks' promotional priorities are summarized below.


CBS has given a healthy dose of on-air promotion time to Person of Interest inside the past few installments of Big Brother (which is really starting to hit its ratings stride).  Person is now the #1 new show priority for CBS, passing Unforgettable during the past week.  The other CBS new shows received very little attention last week, except for brief mentions within generic fall schedule promos or nightly line-up spots.  Inside these more generic promos, CBS is using footage of cast members dancing and acting looking silly -- kind of a throwback technique reminiscent of the 1970s and 80s when stars would gather and even sing fall theme songs ("ABC is the place!" or "Come Home to NBC!").  Also, this is the time of year that second- or third-tier new show priorities start to disappear altogether, as more promotion time is allocated to premieres of returning series, to new time periods, or to new cast members (such as Ted Danson on CSI or that new guy on Two and a Half Men).    




At ABC, the push for Revenge is just incredible.  The promo time for The Hamptons soap is now almost double the level for the #2 priority (Charlie's Angels).  ABC marketing is now in a tough spot.  If Revenge works, the department will be questioned about over-saturating the air with spots, reducing the likelihood of other shows working well.  Believe me, in such a scenario a simple thank you or job well done is rarely in the cards for those who toil making promos and ads.  In a success scenario, all credit will go to the show and those who developed it.  In contrast, if Revenge fails, the target will be the creative approach of the campaign (which has barely changed all summer).  And why, internal critics will ask, did you over-saturate the air with all those same lousy spots?  In a failure situation, the quality of the show will rarely come up as a reason. 


At FOX and NBC, X-Factor and Up All Night remain the big bets.  Also on NBC there has been a big surge in activity for The Sing-Off, including a 90 second promo inside Tuesday's America's Got Talent.  A full minute and a half.  This often means a show is not tracking well in the weekly Awareness and Intention to View survey, or it can mean the network is feeling generous toward the producers.  In any case, America is in love with singing shows, and it will be fun to watch how X-Factor and Sing-Off fare in just a few weeks.  By the way, starting Monday (September 12), we will review our ratings predictions for each time period and point out any last-minute adjustments we want to make.