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TV starts autumn in August
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August 28, 1996: 8:53 p.m. ET
Network shows try to get a jump on the competition by premiering early
From Correspondent Greg Clarkin
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The fall TV season is not what it used to be.
While tuning in to view the new shows in the autumn used to be as reliable as the turning of the leaves, shows are now premiering earlier and earlier as new networks try to get a jump on the competition, win viewers, and make a name for themselves.
When the Fox network wanted to make a splash with its show Beverly Hills 90210, it rolled its premier episode out in the middle of August.
That's a far cry from the traditional September premieres of the three older networks, ABC, CBS, and NBC.
But Fox isn't alone in jumping the gun. Upstart networks like UPN and the WB have also pushed the fall season into summer.
"The tougher the competition, the harder it is to get people to watch your new program," said John Dimling, president of Nielsen Media Research.
Newer networks, Dimling said, "look for every opportunity to bring people into (their networks)."
There are close to 40 new shows being launched this fall, 30 from the four established networks and another 10 from the two newcomers. That's double the number a decade ago when there were just the big three networks.
But if premiering in late summer can make a new show, Paul Schulman, president of Paul Schulman Co., said it can break it as well.
A major promotional effort can bring a large audience to a show and if it's bad, "the entire country has the opportunity to hate it at once and they won't come back for a week or two," he said.
Cable programmers, however, have been airing original shows in the summer -- grabbing viewers bored with network reruns -- as the three established networks dominate viewing in September with their new shows.
All of this makes summer premieres a high-stakes gamble. But it's a gamble network newcomers are finding they have to take.
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