CBS’s Madam Secretary is one of my wife and my favorite shows. The last episode we watched had a promo for a new TNT show, Proof, premiering in June. It looks interesting, and we are probably going to at least check out the first episode to see if it’s worthy of being placed in one of our DVR queues.
Some of my favorite original scripted series are on TNT. But other than for those and sports I don’t watch the network much. So I wouldn’t have known the June start date of one of my favorites, The Last Ship, if I hadn’t seen it promoted on ABC’s Marvel Agents of Shield, CBS's NCIS: New Orleans, and NBC's The Blacklist.
Over the past few years, I've watched several cable series that I never would have known about had I not seen them promoted on other networks.
Cable networks long ago came to understand that the best way to grow their audience was to appeal to those who were watching similar shows on other networks. They also understood that it didn't really hurt them much if other cable networks did the same. If everyone gained viewers, more advertising dollars would shift from broadcast to cable, and everyone would eventually benefit. Yet the broadcast networks still stubbornly refuse to see that the reverse is also true.
The broadcast networks still don't seem to understand that they are no longer enemies. They are, in fact, or should be, allies. The press has headlines screaming about the broadcast networks losing viewers (not ABC or CBS losing viewers). Everyone except the broadcast networks themselves see them as a single entity. My wife and I DVR most of what we watch, and she doesn't even know what network (or time) the show is on. The broadcast networks will, strangely enough, take advertising from their real competitors – ad-supported cable networks, HBO, Showtime, and even Netflix, but not from one another.
It is not the 1980s or 1990s anymore. The broadcast network rating races are so close, that potentially good shows are often canceled after just a few episodes because viewers haven't heard about them yet. Shows like Cheers, which was the lowest rated show of the week when it debuted, ended its 11 season run in the top 5. Seinfeld took three seasons to become a success. These and many other TV classics might not have lasted more than a month if they premiered today.
A broadcast hit on one network actually benefits all networks. When an Empire takes off, people start believing in the power of network TV again. Except for the very occasional cable phenomenon like The Walking Dead, no other platform is currently capable of generating the audience size of a successful broadcast network show. Even AMC's just ended Mad Men, while generating tons of press and buzz, was very low rated by broadcast network standards.
Looking over the primetime schedules just announced at the broadcast upfronts, there are numerous candidates for cross-promotion. Some obvious examples – new medical dramas, Heartbreaker (NBC), and Code Black (CBS) should be promoted on Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), the new FBI drama, Quantico (ABC) should be promoted on Criminal Minds (CBS) and The Blacklist (NBC).
Why in the world wouldn’t all five broadcast networks cross-promote new series, Supergirl, Heroes Reborn, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and returning shows, Marvel's Agents of Shield, Gotham, Flash, and Arrow? They are all trying to reach basically the same audience. Supergirl, Flash, and Arrow take place in the same DC universe and will probably (eventually) have an epic crossover (so why not some cross promotion?). The networks can and will have heavy online presences leading up to these new series premieres, but that is dwarfed in both size and impact to promoting them on air in shows that appeal to the same audience.
The last time I raised the issue of the broadcast networks' refusal to promote one another's series, an anonymous network source was actually quoted as saying it's not going to happen because "it's an ego thing." He couldn't come up with a single valid reason not to do it.
Putting ego aside for a moment, the broadcast networks should realize that every time they do cross-promote their products, ratings soar. Just look at NFL Football ratings over the past few years, or the NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament.
In what other instance does a company refuse to advertise its product to the largest and most easily accessible and measurable audience?
Let's be clear. These aren't just random consumers the broadcast networks are choosing not to pursue. These are the best possible prospects, who the networks know are already watching similar programming, and are at that moment at their most receptive toward receiving a message about programming.
They are viewers who are already watching and engaged with the exact type of program the networks are trying to promote to them. I don't know how to say it more clearly.
There is absolutely no question in my mind that if the networks started cross-promoting one another's shows, new series success rates would rise dramatically, and overall broadcast ratings would stabilize (or at least decline less).
It is interesting to note that at the upfront schedule presentations, the networks still relish talking about how they are #1 at this or that, but seldom show any actual ratings anymore. If they continue to not advertise to their largest chunk of available and engaged viewers, two or three years from now a broadcast network will be bragging about being number one with 1.0 adults 18-49 primetime rating (if they are still talking about demos – which is another topic for another time).
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