Can Broadcasters Keep the Fall Season Fresh?

All the broadcast networks are at a well-documented disadvantage this fall season … and possibly beyond. But it isn't as though they don't have many of their biggest successes on hand to work with. One might flash on that old expression about making lemonade from lemons … but the networks' unscripted hits -- including ABC's Dancing with the Stars, CBS' Survivor and The Amazing Race, NBC's The Voice and Fox' The Masked Singer -- hardly qualify for that dismal distinction.

I began to fear that all might be lost … 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 follows:

Welcome to Today's "Fox Fall Frenzy," the First-Ever, Day-Long Celebration of Fox's Upcoming Fall Season!

Every hour from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. PT today, expect exciting first looks, special announcements, exclusive content debuts and social media drops from our upcoming fall lineup, including Dan Harmon's new animated comedy "Krapopolis," the second season of our hit series "Special Forces: World's Toughest Test," Gordon Ramsay's much anticipated "Kitchen Nightmares" and "Hell's Kitchen," "Snake Oil" hosted by David Spade and executive produced by Will Arnett, Season 10 of the long-running fan-favorite "The Masked Singer," Will Arnett's popular "LEGO Masters," the iconic Fox Animation Domination block and more surprises along the way. Get ready and stay tuned for a full day of Fox fun!

As promised, the "fun" (or, at least, the fresh information) kept coming. It included these announcements, some with links to videos:

LEGO Masters Season Four Premieres Thursday, September 28th at 9/8c.

Guest Star Gods Smile Down on "Krapopolis"

Rob Lowe Crushes "The Floor" as Host and Producer of Fox's All-New Ultimate Trivia Quiz Show Premiering Mid-Season.

Break Everything! Including the Kitchen Sink! Fox Opens "Kitchen Nightmares" Rage Rooms in Five Cities on Saturday, September 30 and Sunday, October 1

For 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 e-mails came in, and as I entered Times Square, I focused immediately on a block-long digital billboard promoting Fox's fall fare, including Krapopolis and Snake Oil.

Fox didn't 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 e-mails that say (and I am paraphrasing): "Hello. We have a new show. Here's a link to a couple episodes. Thank you." That's all well and good, but with hundreds of e-mails coming in every week, it's difficult to get excited about most of them. (Obviously, on September 13 Fox found a way around that.)

I'm not suggesting that members of the press require mailers and other extra efforts to become aware of a new show, but they surely don't 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 platforms).

So 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 … 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 Simpsons.

End note: As I was filing this column, an e-mail came in about a CBS promotion for the upcoming 45^th season of Survivor. It's only fair that I mention it here, although the campaign is so elaborate it deserves a story all its own. Maybe there's hope after all. But for now, here are the top takeaways:

CBS' "Survivor Buff Takeover" will bedeck famous statues, icons and landmarks from coast-to-coast with enormous adaptations of the reality show's signature buffs®, from Sept. 21 through this season's Wednesday, Sept. 27 premiere.

The landmarks include: Green Giant in Blue Earth, Minn.; Make Way for Ducklings in Boston, Mass.; Forever Marilyn in Palm Springs, Calif.; Ripley's Believe It or Not! in Hollywood, Calif.(pictured above); Monster Monument at Dover Motor Speedway in Dover, Del.; Gulfstream Park's Pegasus and The Dragon in Hallandale Beach, Fla.; the Tuska statue at University of Alabama, and the Ralphie statue at University of Colorado, Boulder.

Additionally, the takeover will blitz football fields nationwide with game day mascots (including the Seattle Seahawks' "Blitz," the University of Alabama's "Big Al" and University of Colorado's "Chip") sporting Survivor buffs.

Fans are encouraged to post #SurvivorBuffTakeover from their closest "buffed" landmark and to engage with the first-of-their-kind Survivor buff AR (Augmented Reality) lenses on Snapchat and TikTok.

That's more like it!

Photo of Times Square billboard courtesy of James Gauthier.

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