This is a discussion on Fox unveils fall schedule within the Entertainment forums, part of the Entertainment Forums category; ...
Welcome to Wrestling Clique Wrestling Forums
Hello and Welcome to WrestlingClique - Wrestling Forums!
We are the premier wrestling forum and your source for wrestling news and rumors, wrestling divas, wrestling gifs, sports discussion, e-feds, writing and more. Wrestling fans participate in active discussion on all the major wrestling leagues and events including WWE, ECW & TNA pay per view events, live wrestling streams, wrestling video games, collectibles, and other wrestling related products and services.
You're currently viewing our site as an unregistered guest which means you are limited to most discussions and features.
Take a few minutes to browse around, and if you like what you see, Register a free account to gain access to :
• Richer content, access forums that are not viewable by the public.
• Complete access to post topics, respond to polls, communicate privately (PM), take part contests, arcade, photo sharing, networking, groups.
• Create your personal profile and bio
• Meet and Chat Live with other members who share similar interests
Registration is simple and fast. Won't take you more than a minute and of course it's completely free.
So Join our Community today!
Fox is looking to build a better bridge between its fall and midseason schedules.
Network announced a fall sked on Monday that looks a lot like its winter lineup -- but with a new, in-season edition of “So You Think You Can Dance warming the chair for “American Idol.”
As a result, “we don’t have to completely reconstitute our schedule in January,” Fox Entertainment prexy Kevin Reilly told reporters in a morning conference call.
Fox’s riskiest gambit takes place on Thursday, where sophomore skein “Fringe” will now face off with powerhouse dramas on ABC and CBS, as well as NBC’s signature laffers.
The net will also take another stab at launching a live-action comedy block, this time on Friday. And it’s holding much of its new series back until midseason, when the shows can launch behind the heft of NFL playoffs and “Idol.”
“We’re going to use our tentpole shows to platform new ones,” Reilly said. “We’re in a pretty strong position from a programming standpoint, and were able to be very selective with our pilots that we picked up. We had a good development season, so we got what we needed.”
Fox is made its pitch to advertisers Monday afternoon at New York’s City Center theater. It repped the first upfront presentation for Fox Entertainment chairman Peter Rice, who will be joined on stage by net entertainment prexy Kevin Reilly.
“We’re No. 1, and we’ll try to build on that and not be complacent,” said Rice, citing Fox’s fifth consecutive season win among adults 18-49. “I love the idea of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ in the fall.”
As first reported by Daily Variety last week, Fox opted to bring the hit summer “Dance” competish into the fall in order to mirror its winter success with “American Idol.”
More than one option
After what generally is a sluggish fall performance, the network traditionally kicks into high gear come January -- when “American Idol” and “24” return. Fox has seen its fall fortunes improve in recent years, now that it carries half as many Major League Baseball playoff games as it used to.
But three hours is quite chunk out of Fox’s 15-hour-a-week sked. And the two-hour Tuesday night perf show will face off with ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” result show.
“Obviously there’s another dance show in the fall,” Reilly said. “But (‘So You Think You Can Dance’) is a consistent time period winner for us, and delivers a distinct and younger, harder-to-reach audience. We’re pretty sure it’s going to be a winner on Tuesday and an excellent platform on Wednesday.”
“Dance” also bows its sixth season just weeks after its fifth season concludes -- which might incur some viewer fatigue. But Reilly defended the scheduling, noting that several competition shows on the nets have only short rests between cycles.
“(Exec producer) Nigel Lythgoe has some interesting ideas up his sleeves to bridge the gap between the two seasons,” he said.
Just as it uses “Dance” to help “Glee” on Wednesday nights, Fox will keep key drama players “House” and “Bones” in their respective Monday and Thursday 8 p.m. spots in order to help boost the sophomore prospects of “Lie to Me” (which, as expected, lands behind “House” on Mondays) and “Fringe.”
Reilly said he thinks there’s opportunity on the night, especially given how “Bones” came on and performed.
“Thursday night, the door is more open on that night than it has in a long time,” he said. “8 p.m. is a soft time period and at 9, those are still two terrific, appointment shows but they’re down. They’re not consuming all the oxygen at 9.”
Then there was the news that thrilled rabid fans of scribe Joss Whedon: The return of “Dollhouse” to Friday nights.
It’s believed 20th Century Fox TV dramatically reduced the cost of the show in order to make it an attractive renewal. Reilly also quipped that he wanted to avoid an inbox stuffed with angry emails.
“This is a bet on Joss Whedon,” he said.
On the flip side, Reilly said it was “time to move on” in cancelling “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.”
“We had to make some choices on the night, and (cost) was a factor,” he said.
In building a new Friday comedy block in front of “Dollhouse” -- making for one of the more unusual pairings on the schedule -- Fox will run new sitcom “Brothers,” starring ex-NFL star Michael Strahan, with returnee “Til Death,” which had received an early 22-episode pickup.
As for the midseason shows, “Human Target” is set to get a plum launch on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m., directly following the NFC divisional playoff game. Also that night, the new season of “24” will begin at 9 p.m., as part of a four-hour, two-night launch (similar to past years). “Target” will then segue to its normal slot Wednesdays at 9 p.m. behind the “American Idol” results show (while “Glee” takes a break).
Also, frosh drama “Past Life” will get a strong boost, launching in January on Tuesday nights behind “American Idol.”
“Sons of Tucson” will also debut in January behind “The Simpsons,” as “Cleveland” moves to 9:30 and “American Dad” jumps down to 7:30.
In latenight, Fox announced that Saturday night gabber “The Wanda Sykes Show” bows at 11 p.m. (replacing “MadTV”) on Nov. 7. Fox will fill the midnight slot vacated by “Talkshow with Spike Feresten” with animation series repeats for now.
Meanwhile, the network announced a new advertising initiative, “Alive Air,” in which the original interstitials will be added to commercial pods in order to keep viewers watching during the break.
According to Reilly, the spots are created by the actual show producers and will come in several different forms. Fox is already experimenting with “Alive Air” this spring.
Fox also opted to retool its big advertiser initiative from last year, “Remote Free TV.”
Sales chief Jon Nesvig said the campaign, in which the net sold fewer ads at a higher rate in shows such as “Fringe” (which then added several minutes of content), wasn’t completely going away.
But instead of focusing on one or two shows, Nesvig said the net will “use it strategically and potentially on a number of different shows over the course of the season.”
Nesvig admitted the upfront environment is challenging for everybody.
“The main issue has really not been revenue for us, it has been the competitive viewing environment,” he said.
The Fox fall 2009 schedule:
Monday - 8 p.m., "House"; 9 p.m., "Lie to Me"
Tuesday - 8 p.m., "So You Think You Can Dance" (two hours)
Wednesday - 8 p.m., "So You Think You Can Dance" results show; 9 p.m., "Glee"
Linear Mode
