Networks Embrace Cable’s Way of Introducing New Shows

That applies not only to the newest roster of network programs, which are increasingly being influenced by standout cable series like “Homeland,” “Breaking Bad” and “Justified,” but also to how forthcoming network entries like “Smash” on NBC, “The River” on ABC, and “Touch” on Fox are going to be marketed and scheduled.

The networks have embraced the idea — originally hatched by cable networks — of introducing initial episodes of their shows through other distribution outlets like YouTube before they have their premiere on their own schedules. And executives also suggested that a growing number of series might shift to the cable model of 10 to 13 episodes a season — to be run consecutively with no pre-emptions or repeats — rather than 22 to 24 episodes spread out over nine months.

That the strategies found on cable are infiltrating the broadcast networks comes as little surprise, since three of the four network programming chiefs built their reputations at cable networks: NBC’s Bob Greenblatt at Showtime; Fox’s Kevin Reilly at FX; and ABC’s Paul Lee at the Disney Family Channel.

“The beauty of cable is you make three pilots, you pick up three pilots, and you declare them hits, and they run for five years,” Mr. Greenblatt said during the press tour here.

He pointed to the drama “Prime Suspect,” a conspicuous flop for NBC last fall. “At Showtime, ‘Prime Suspect’ would have been picked up in the third episode and declared a hit,” Mr. Greenblatt said.

Mr. Reilly said much the same thing about the disastrous debut of the Fox drama “Lone Star” last year. “If I was still at cable, I would have gotten genius points” for that show, he said.

Both “Prime Suspect” and “Lone Star” drew audiences of about three million, tiny by network standards, but substantial for cable, making it possible to declare a network failure a hit for cable.

The programmers’ commitment to reshaping network strategy is most apparent in their move toward introducing series in more aggressive ways. For example, ABC’s plan for its new horror drama, “The River,” calls for its pilot episode to be shown on numerous Internet outlets, including YouTube and Hulu, as well as in movie theaters in several cities and on college campuses.

“We feel strongly that presampling is a great thing to do,” Mr. Lee said. He and other network executives cited the example this season of the Fox comedy “New Girl.” That show was aggressively sampled on Web sites and proved to be such a success on iTunes — where it totaled about two million downloads — that some Fox marketing executives feared those might have undercut the ratings for its premiere on the network.

Instead, the show was a breakout ratings hit.

“What we have found again and again,” Mr. Lee said of ABC’s experiments in sampling, “was that the amount of buzz you create from somebody who loves the show and will talk about it on Facebook is going to give you far more audience than it takes away.”

That is certainly what NBC is hoping for with its most promoted show of the year, the musical drama, “Smash.” Mr. Greenblatt tried to ease some of the pressure on “Smash” by saying, “You need four or five shows to start to turn things around. ‘Smash’ could be one of those. I hope it is one of those. If it isn’t, you know, it’s not like we’re going to go into receivership.”

But he conceded that NBC, in clear need of a game-changing show, plans a “full court press” of promotion, including a heavy presence during the network’s coverage of the Super Bowl — one day before the “Smash” premiere on Feb 6.

The all-out effort began with screenings of the pilot episode in 10 cities on Jan. 9. NBC also will make the pilot available on other downloading and streaming platforms starting Monday, including XFinity, iTunes, Amazon, Xbox, PlayStation, Voodoo and Samsung Media Hub. Then, a week before the premiere, NBC will start making it available for streaming on NBC.com and Hulu.

“We’re doing everything we can think of to generate buzz for this show,” Mr. Greenblatt said.

“Smash” also will benefit from being able to run straight through on Monday nights for 15 episodes — with no disruptive breaks filled with repeats. Several other midseason shows will do the same thing, like the sci-fi family drama “Touch” on Fox, with 13 episodes. “The River” will try to grab viewers with an eight-episode miniseason.

Mr. Reilly said this scheduling — which is essentially how cable networks schedule their programs — had a chance to gain traction at the networks.

“I’d like to try it,” Mr. Reilly said. “I do think we’re at a place where the 13-episode pattern is appealing. There are a lot of shows that would be better off creatively doing fewer than 22 episodes and the viewers would probably enjoy them more. When you sit down to 13 from the get-go, the end is in sight, so it feels doable.”

One network, CBS, does not have a program chief who graduated from cable and has no plans for short-run, cable-style series or free giveaways of pilots. Why? CBS is sailing along, knee-deep in hits, holding to the same network course it has always followed.

“The philosophy we live by is: if it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” said Nina Tassler, the president for entertainment at CBS. “We’re doing something right, and not just good enough to get by. We’re doing really well.”

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=84ec45dccdd01d4ddc7c3e512983c87a