Movie Box Review

The most recent Promo Watch numbers are based on prime time broadcast network programming between March 4 and March 8, with about 10 hours of programming sampled for each network over that period.  (Click "read more" to see the latest chart.)


ABC.  Missing has become the top promotional priority for ABC over the past week, now running at about 38 seconds per hour.  GCB receded to a still substantial 33 seconds per hour, with promos trumpeting its premiere viewership Sunday.  Some promos mentioned "11 million viewers fell in love", while others said "18 million viewers watched".  The first number refers to the average audience in any given minute, and the second measures who many people saw at least a few minutes of the show (the "total audience").  Rather than throwing two numbers around, why not pick one and stick with it?  Don't Trust the Bitch in Apt 23 and Scandal are up from previous weeks, now at 18 and 15 seconds, respectively. 

NBC.  Fashion Star increased to 37 seconds per hour over the past week, clearly the #1 promo priority for the struggling network.  Awake has been dialed back to 24 seconds per hour, promoting the second episode and referencing the show's premiere performance.  Rather than saying a number, NBC said "millions were thrilled".  
        
CBS.  Person of Interest increased again this past week to 28 seconds per hour.  The episode (featuring a cute baby and a "two men and a baby" theme in the promos) was one of the few original episodes on CBS among a sea of repeats, and the on-air promotion paid off as Person of Interest edged past its previous season high.  Big Bang Theory, also an original episode, moved into the top priority list, up to 11 seconds per hour after bumping around the 5-6 second range in recent weeks.  .      


FOX.  Bob's Burgers, returning Sunday, moved up to 22 seconds per hour -- as heavy a commitment as FOX has given recently.  .     



                          PROMO WATCH

Grimm is now up to 240 promo seconds over the last week, and the return of Chuck has worked its way up to 75 seconds.  Now, NBC has to hold its breath that Texas wins tonight and ends the World Series.  Otherwise, these two shows will face an additional headwind on Friday, a Game 7.  Rock Center has had 80 seconds over the last week, and Wednesday featured a topical promo for the premiere telecast Monday, highlighting a story by Harry Smith about a town where jobs are plentiful.     

ABC's #1 priority over the past week was last night's Halloween-themed Wednesday comedy block, a bet that paid off because stunts like that work and because the episodes faced mostly repeats on the other networks.
 
 
FOX is shifting most of its limited time to "animation domination" on Sunday, particularly The Simpsons "Treehouse of Terror" episode and the premiere of Jonah Hill in Allen Gregory. 

To make the chart easier to read at a glance, there is now a "Cliffs Notes" version below that just lists the top four priorities for each network, making it easier to compare each network to the other.  For greater detail, the chart at the bottom lists all shows each network has promoted in the last week in case you are interested in finding a particular series.
   
ON-AIR PROMOTION PRIORITIES
TOP FOUR SHOWS EACH NETWORK
Over the Last Seven Days 
(# of promo-seconds)
Dates sampled: October 20 & 23-26, 2011

ABC
  Wed Comedy Block   120
  Once Upon a Time   100
  Desperate Hswvs    95
  Grey's Anatomy     95
CBS
  Unforgettable      85
  Person of Interest 70
  Rules Engagement   60
  Late Show          60
NBC
  Grimm              240
  Prime Suspect      105
  Rock Center        80
  Chuck              75
  Thu Comedy Block   75
FOX
  Allen Gregory      75
  The Simpsons       65
  American Idol      60 
  New Girl           50 


ALL SHOWS PROMOTED
(# of promo-seconds)
Dates sampled: October 20 & 23-26, 2011

ABC
  Wed Comedy Block   120
  Once Upon a Time   100
  Desperate Hswvs    95
  Grey's Anatomy     95
  Pan Am             65 
  Man Up!            60
  Extreme Mak. Home  50
  Castle             45
  Body of Proof      45
  Revenge            30
  Private Practice   30
  Last Man Standing  30
  Modern Family      30
  20/20              30
  Dancing...Stars    25
  CMA Awards         10
  Great Pumpkin      05
CBS
  Unforgettable      85
  Person of Interest 70
  Rules Engagement   60
  Late Show          60
  Big Bang Theory    50
  The Mentalist      50
  2 Broke Girls      50
  A Gifted Man       45
  Survivor           40
  NCIS: LA           30
  Hawaii Five-O      30
  Amazing Race       30
  Two Half Men       30  
  NCIS               30 
  CSI: Miami         25
  CSI                20
  How I Met Mother   20
  The Talk           20
  Criminal Minds     15
  Good Wife          10 
  NFL on CBS         10 

Grimm is now up to 220 promo seconds over the last week.  The good news is that the network is standing behind the show and giving it all it has to give.  The bad news is that all that time is in little-watched programs (except of course for Sunday Night Football).  Coming soon in a new version of Promo Watch, we will include promo seconds as well as an estimate of exposures -- the equivalent of "GRP's" (Gross Ratings Points) as they are called in the trade.  Basically, we will count the time given to a program's promotion and adjust for the ratings of the show in which the promo was placed.  Also, Rock Center is also inching up -- now 80 promo seconds over the past week. 

ABC was able to give 30 seconds to five different programs last night in Dancing with the Stars from 9-10 pm.  (Reality shows are very promo-friendly, as the running times of unscripted are much more flexible than those for scripted shows.)  ABC assigned half a minute of time to: Once Upon a Time (heralding the hit status of the new show), Revenge (using the word "complicated" to describe the main character's life -- always a risky word in television promotion), Grey's Anatomy (Sandra Oh looking very shocked when told she is "finished!" as a doctor), Wednesday's Comedy Block (concentrating on the Halloween theme for the lineup), and Castle (not sure what the selling point was, quite frankly).
 
 
Last night CBS gave Unforgettable the most time in the 8-9 pm comedy hour -- 40 seconds, which is a substantial investment for The Eye in any given hour.  CBS clearly wants to hold the line at a 2.5 rating for the new drama (to avoid another 2.3) or even inch it up to a 2.6 this week. 

To make the chart easier to read at a glance, there is now a "Cliffs Notes" version below that just lists the top four priorities for each network, making it easier to compare each network to the other.  For greater detail, the chart at the bottom lists all shows each network has promoted in the last week in case you are interested in finding a particular series.
   
ON-AIR PROMOTION PRIORITIES
TOP FOUR SHOWS EACH NETWORK
Over the Last Seven Days 
(# of promo-seconds)
Dates sampled: October 18-20 & 23-24, 2011

ABC
  Once Upon a Time   135
  Man Up!            90
  Revenge            90
  Desperate Hswvs    80
CBS
  Person of Interest 135
  Unforgettable      115
  Rules Engagement   100
  Big Bang Theory    55
NBC
  Grimm              220
  Rock Center        80
  Prime Suspect      70
  Up All Night       55
FOX
  Allen Gregory      85
  American Idol      60 
  The Simpsons       55
  The X Factor       45


ALL SHOWS PROMOTED
(# of promo-seconds)
Dates sampled: October 18-20 & 23-24, 2011

ABC
  Once Upon a Time   135
  Man Up!            90
  Revenge            90
  Desperate Hswvs    80
  Pan Am             65 
  Grey's Anatomy     65
  Extreme Mak. Home  60
  Wed Comedy Block   60 
  Happy Endings      45
  Castle             45
  Dancing...Stars    30
  Private Practice   30
  Last Man Standing  30
  The Middle         20
  Suburgatory        15
  Modern Family      15
  20/20              15
  Body of Proof      15
CBS
  Person of Interest 135
  Unforgettable      115
  Rules Engagement   100
  Big Bang Theory    55 
  NCIS: LA           50
  2 Broke Girls      50
  A Gifted Man       45
  The Mentalist      45
  Survivor           45
  Hawaii Five-O      40
  Amazing Race       30
  Two Half Men       30  
  NCIS               30 
  Late Show          25
  CSI: Miami         25
  How I Met Mother   20
  CSI                15
  Criminal Minds     15
  Good Wife          10 
  NFL on CBS         10
  Blue Bloods        10
  Mike & Molly       10
  60 Minutes         10
  College FB Sat     10
  Early Show         10
  CBS News           05
NBC
  Grimm              220
  Rock Center        80
  Prime Suspect      70
  Up All Night       55
  Leno/Fallon        50 
  Thu Comedy Block   50
  L&O: SVU           45
  Chuck              45
  Biggest Loser      30
  Harry's Law        25 
  Whitney            20
  Sunday Night FB    20
  Notre Dame FB      10
  The Office         05
  Community          05
  Parks & Rec        05
FOX
  Allen Gregory      85
  American Idol      60 
  The Simpsons       55
  The X Factor       45
  Terra Nova         35
  House              20
  MLB Postseason     20 
  Glee               20
  Alcatraz           20
  Bones              15 
  Kitchen Nightmares 10
  NFL on FOX         10


Programs Sampled
Mon Oct 24 2011: Dancing with the Stars (9-10 pm), How I Met Your Mother & 2 Broke Girls, Prime Suspect, World Series Game 5 (10-11:15 pm)