Can Broadcasters Keep the Fall Season Fresh?

All the broadcast networks are at a welldocumented disadvantage this fall season amp8230 and possibly beyond But it isn39t as though they don39t have many of their biggest successes on hand to work with One might flash on that old expression about making lemonade from lemons amp8230 but the networks39 unscripted hits including ABC39s Dancing with the Stars CBS39 Survivor and The Amazing Race NBC39s The Voice and Fox39 The Masked Singer hardly qualify for that dismal distinctionI began to fear that all might be lost amp8230 until September 13 when Fox kicked off the latest incarnation of its usual robust promotional efforts by way of an unusual press release It read in part as followsWelcome to Today39s quotFox Fall Frenzyquot the FirstEver DayLong Celebration of Fox39s Upcoming Fall Season Every hour from 8 am4 pm PT today expect exciting first looks special announcements exclusive content debuts and social media drops from our upcoming fall lineup including Dan Harmon39s new animated comedy quotKrapopolisquot the second season of our hit series quotSpecial Forces World39s Toughest Testquot Gordon Ramsay39s much anticipated quotKitchen Nightmaresquot and quotHell39s Kitchenquot quotSnake Oilquot hosted by David Spade and executive produced by Will Arnett Season 10 of the longrunning fanfavorite quotThe Masked Singerquot Will Arnett39s popular quotLEGO Mastersquot the iconic Fox Animation Domination block and more surprises along the way Get ready and stay tuned for a full day of Fox funAs promised the quotfunquot or at least the fresh information kept coming It included these announcements some with links to videosLEGO Masters Season Four Premieres Thursday September 28th at 98cGuest Star Gods Smile Down on quotKrapopolisquot Rob Lowe Crushes quotThe Floorquot as Host and Producer of Fox39s AllNew Ultimate Trivia Quiz Show Premiering MidSeasonBreak Everything Including the Kitchen Sink Fox Opens quotKitchen Nightmaresquot Rage Rooms in Five Cities on Saturday September 30 and Sunday October 1For the first time this summer I felt a twinge of anticipation for the television season to come I happened to be in New York City at the time these emails came in and as I entered Times Square I focused immediately on a blocklong digital billboard promoting Fox39s fall fare including Krapopolis and Snake OilFox didn39t stop there Yesterday a mailer for Krapopolis arrived that contained among other things a large cardboard temple cardboard characters from the series and two goblets Mailers used to arrive all the time promoting almost everything including new and returning shows especially during the pandemic Lately however it seems that journalists receive nothing more than emails that say and I am paraphrasing quotHello We have a new show Here39s a link to a couple episodes Thank youquot That39s all well and good but with hundreds of emails coming in every week it39s difficult to get excited about most of them Obviously on September 13 Fox found a way around thatI39m not suggesting that members of the press require mailers and other extra efforts to become aware of a new show but they surely don39t hurt When it comes to journalists many industries understand the effectiveness of going an extra mile or simply taking an extra step to place their products on their radar and by extension that of their readers online in print and perhaps of most importance across their social media platformsSo what if scripted fare will be largely absent from broadcast schedules for the time being The right promotion and marketing efforts can still instill excitement in potential viewers amp8230 not to mention the journalists who cover television Fox knows this better than most In fact not even the pandemic compromised its outreach No press events No worries No talent available for interviews Not a problem Fox has always led the way with its increasingly creative publicity efforts In fact even after 30 years the network continues to unfailingly support the annual Treehouse of Terror episode of The SimpsonsEnd note As I was filing this column an email came in about a CBS promotion for the upcoming 45th season of Survivor It39s only fair that I mention it here although the campaign is so elaborate it deserves a story all its own Maybe there39s hope after all But for now here are the top takeawaysCBS39 quotSurvivor Buff Takeoverquot will bedeck famous statues icons and landmarks from coasttocoast with enormous adaptations of the reality show39s signature buffsamp174 from Sept 21 through this season39s Wednesday Sept 27 premiereThe landmarks include Green Giant in Blue Earth Minn Make Way for Ducklings in Boston Mass Forever Marilyn in Palm Springs Calif Ripley39s Believe It or Not in Hollywood Calif pictured above Monster Monument at Dover Motor Speedway in Dover Del Gulfstream Park39s Pegasus and The Dragon in Hallandale Beach Fla the Tuska statue at University of Alabama and the Ralphie statue at University of Colorado BoulderAdditionally the takeover will blitz football fields nationwide with game day mascots including the Seattle Seahawks39 quotBlitzquot the University of Alabama39s quotBig Alquot and University of Colorado39s quotChipquot sporting Survivor buffsFans are encouraged to post SurvivorBuffTakeover from their closest quotbuffedquot landmark and to engage with the firstoftheirkind Survivor buff AR Augmented Reality lenses on Snapchat and TikTokThat39s more like itPhoto of Times Square billboard courtesy of James GauthierPosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Can Broadcasters Keep the Fall Season Fresh?

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Ed Martin

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Can Broadcasters Keep the Fall Season Fresh?

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