Tired of all those commercials? Don’t have a DVR? Fox reckons it has something for you. Forget the name (they’re calling it Remote Free TV) and concentrate on the concept: a big tentpole drama with half the normal commercials and promotional time.

Fox will first try out this idea with “Fringe,” an FBI, mystery, science-fiction, thriller, supernatural drama from J.J. Abrams that’s rolling out this fall.  Come midseason, it will do the commercial shrinking thing with ”Dollhouse” from Joss Whedon, who was behind teen supernatural hit “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

Fox Entertainment Chairman Peter Liguori — after calling his network scrappy and populist — told advertisers at the upfront that he refused to let things get boring. “We’re the number one network. We’re the rebel innovators.”

Here’s his plan: “With both of our scheduled dramas of the season, we’re going to try something different, something a little unusual. We are going to redefine the viewing experience. All season long we’ll air these two series with less commercials, less promotional time, and above all, less reason to grab the remote and change the channel.”

What’s that mean? ”These two series will run with half the normal commercial and promotional time all season long,” he said. “Some people might think this is a scary financial prospect. We really see it as an investment. We need to give viewers a new reason to come to broadcast TV.”

Sure, viewers may love it. We’ll see what advertisers have to say. 

(Reuters photo of Peter Liguori)

In one of the busiest weeks for network TV executives, NBCU’s Jeff Zucker nonetheless stopped by an Avenue A/Razorfish event for a question-and-answer session with the ad company’s vice president of media & entertainment, Domenic Venuto.

Not surprisingly, given it is upfront week, one of the first questions put to Zucker centered on his media company’s rather untraditional upfront.

(A quick refresher: NBC unveiled its lineup for 2008-09 last month, and Monday skipped its usual splashy upfront presentation at Radio City in favor of what it called the NBCU Experience over at 30 Rockefeller Center. For more details click here). 

Zucker said that while the Experience wasn’t perfect, it was certainly a success and accomplished what he had hoped, namely showing off the company’s businesses beyond the NBC network.

“I feel very, very good about how we did on Monday,” said Zucker, before joking that it was unlikely someone would roast the event to his face.

“Nobody ever wants to tell me the truth,” he cracked. “On Monday, what most people said, and many were probably drunk, is thanks and congratulations on doing something different.”

“But, really, the feedback was really positive,” he told the crowd.

He said the same thing on another topic: the reaction to video sharing site Hulu. 

“The user experience is fantastic,” he said. “That has been the No. 1 goal.”

But success comes at some cost, Zucker said.

“Frankly, all of our internal sites have a lot to learn from what Hulu has done.”

(Photo: Reuters)

Much has been made about ABC, Fox, NBC and CBS taking a low-key approach to their upfront presentations this year. Still, ABC brought out Jimmy Kimmel for a few jokes in a reminder of what these events were like in past years.

Here are a few of Kimmel’s better lines for advertisers:

- This year, as you’ve noticed, we scaled back a lot. There’s no party, no food. ABC may be the worst date ever. We expect you to put out and we’re not even buying you a drink.

- We’ve decided to concentrate less on the afterparty and more on shows that aren’t ‘Cavemen.’

- By the way, there’s about a 40 percent chance you’ll see me at the Fox upfront on Thursday.

- Here at ABC we are very excited about both our new shows.

- TV sets are bigger than ever, kids are fatter than ever and gas has never been more expensive. We have the whole country on their couches right now. If we can’t sell them stuff, we should all be very ashamed of ourselves.

(Reuters photo of Jimmy Kimmel hosting 2007 ESPY Awards)

Why have prime-time network TV advertising prices been so strong in the scatter market — up in the double digits — after a rather lackluster upfront in 2007?

ABC’s head of sales, Mike Shaw, offered a few answers for the discrepancy between the shorter term scatter market and the longer term upfronts.  But he said a lot of it can be blamed on networks selling advertising too cheaply in last year’s upfront.

Shaw said he’d rather see a far smaller gap in prices between the two markets. “I’d like to see less of a swing in the pendulum between the upfront market and the scatter,” he told reporters after ABC unveiled a very modest 2008-09 schedule.

This year, however, the networks could face a big pushback if they try to raise prices, given the state of the economy. Shaw, while saying it was too early to predict, nonetheless seemed relatively confident when asked about upfront pricing. “We don’t see a huge change in the short term,” he said of advertising budgets.

One reason is that Shaw believes it has been “proven again and again” that companies would do better to advertise their way through an economic downturn, rather than risk losing brand recognition and customers with marketing cutbacks. “It’s much wiser to maintain share,” he said.

As for timing of deals this year (some buyers are predicting a big slowdown), Shaw said ABC had talked with advertisers but that didn’t necessarily indicate actual deals would be reached more quickly or slowly than normal.

“We’ve had conversations, but that’s not new. If you wanted to go out and write early money, you could.”

(Photo: ABC)

For years we have interviewed media analyst/newsletter editor/industry maven Jack Myers about the television upfronts. We have tried to track him down at upfront parties, cocktail napkin in hand, to get his initial reaction on the new shows trotted out by the networks while he talks to the most senior executives. We have written up his forecasts and predictions on how many billions of advertising dollars the nets will say they have booked.

And now, in what may be the most definitive sign that more than 50 years of upfront fanfare has come to an end, Myers says he will no longer prognosticate on their outcome, according to an e-mail newsletter sent round today:

This year, I am not offering predictions nor will I report after-the-fact on network Upfront revenues. The Upfront is no longer a representative indicator of network performance and the information released by the networks is, at best, questionable. If a network ever actually reports poor performance in the Upfront, then we can be assured it was a disaster.

The change of heart makes sense given the total overhaul of the television industry. Networks are selling more and more advertising for shows not only when they appear on air, but on the Internet as well. A television writers’ strike over the winter that brought pilot production to a standstill means they have very few shows to preview to advertisers this year. The introduction of a new ratings system to account for DVR use has wreaked havoc on the numbers used to set advertising rates.

And of course, there’s the economy.

But we are definitely sad to hear this from Jack, whose predictions were so on target:

My own performance has generally been on-the-money, although last year I believed the market would be considerably softer than it, in fact, turned out to be.

Aside from the specific revenue forecasts, Myers does give general conclusions about the state of upfront negotiations. Based on his talks with industry leaders, he sees a reasonably quick haggling season that should end before the July 4 holiday weekend. He expects the networks to boost their CPM pricing and incremental revenue from their new digital distribution models.

(Photo: Reuters / ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” at the more festive 2007 upfronts)

Instead of a big, crazy upfront presentation at Radio City, NBC Universal this year invited advertisers and media to its Experience at 30 Rockefeller Center. Here’s a guided tour:

First off, you’re greeted by a TV screen featuring clips from NBC stars like Tina Fey and Brian Williams, who make some jokes and ham it up and basically tell you to move along, which you were really going to do anyway since you’re just standing there in the hallway.

There really isn’t a lot to see in the first few rooms (promotional videos, etc) except that walking around are a bunch of people dressed in all black with, if you can picture it, video screens on their chests.

The screens had games that you could play; one told you what character you’d be in “The Office,” and another asked you some trivia questions (I approached it like school, took some wild guesses and got two out of three).

Things soon picked up. First a screening room featuring trailers of some of the upcoming releases like “Momma Mia” and “The Incredible Hulk,” then a “Deal or No Deal” exhibit featuring the gameshow’s models walking about in sequined red dresses.

And later there was KITT, the car from Knight Rider; a couple huge American Gladiators doing battle with one of those stuffed medieval looking weapons; a mock voting booth (the computer was on the blink when I walked past, so nobody was actually casting a vote); dozens of TVs showing scenes from the Olympics; a Champagne bar.

Plus, there were a ton of giveaways, which usually please a crowd. Here’s what was pushed at me: USA Network M&Ms; a “Today” earth-friendly bag; a picture between two mummies (they don’t look very frightening, I look sort of confused); a little taster of duck and mushroom from the “Top Chef” booth; a “Friday Night Lights” button; a golf ball; a chocolate bar, and a football signed by Tiki Barber, John Madden, Cris Collingsworth, Jerome “The Bus” Bettis, and Al Michaels.

I also got a picture with Janice Dickinson, who was there promoting her show on Oxygen and inviting all comers to jump up on the stage with her and snap a photo. So I did. Why not?

Unfortunately, the picture didn’t take the first time, so I had to get back up on Ms. Dickinson’s stage for another attempt. She was very kind about it (”Oh, I screwed it up on purpose, so you’d come back,” she joked) though the scene was still a little awkward and I found myself wishing that I’d just skipped that particular stop.

But none of that — the entertainment, the giveaways, the shift away from the traditional upfront — means much in the end. What counts is not whether advertisers enjoyed the NBC Universal Experience, but whether they’ll hand over the big bucks for commercial deals.

(Photo of Rockefeller Center: Reuters)

One thing you can bank on next week is that the TV networks won’t be showing off dazzling pilots of new shows at the upfronts, as we highlighted in a preview.

Executives have made no secret of the fact that pilots are costly, and, it seems, not all that useful. Already, NBC previewed their season with little more than a few very, very short clips. CBS, ABC and Fox aren’t expected to offer a whole lot more.

So what do advertising buyers think of this brave new world without pilots? Are they and their clients comfortable shelling out big bucks without seeing a full episode of a new comedy or drama.

Here’s what several had to say on the subject:

Aaron Cohen, Director of Broadcast at Horizon Media:

It worries me, but it’s similar to when replacements are made for programs that aren’t working.

It hasn’t been for a while that you’ve been able to lay down a schedule and say ‘This is what I’m buying and it’s going to be there for four quarters.’ You know you want to reach this particular demographic and you know they have an affinity to watch these forms of programming more than others. That’s what you’re looking for.

   
Stacey Shepatin, Senior Vice President, Director of National Broadcast at Hill Holliday:

It always makes you feel better when you can see the full pilot. The goal will be to be able to see a full episode to make sure that it is appropriate for our brands, there are no content issues and the storyline fits with what our consumers are looking for. So that will all come into play when we look at what shows to purchase.

You’re not going to just run blindly into something, you’re going to want to see what the production quality is, what the storylines are, all of that.

Donna Wolfe, Chief Negotiations Officer at Universal McCann:

The interesting thing is for years we were able to view new pilots. but the failure rate for new shows was extremely high. On average, 70 percent of the new shows fail. All the testing that the networks do, and all the pilots, it doesn’t necessarily spell success.

But I think we have to be comfortable that the content will be appropriate for our clients. It’s in their best interest and the network’s.

(Photo: Reuters) 

Hold on to your hats, it’s time for the upfronts!

Or maybe it’s “hold your horses” instead. We forgot for a moment that this year the annual advertising bonanza is supposed to be a bit more subdued.

Still, CBS chief executive Les Moonves sounded fairly pumped up about the presentation on May 14, telling analysts that he felt “truly excited about this year’s show because it clearly showcases the way we are refining our media assets and updating our programming to match the needs of today’s market.”

Advertising prices, he said during CBS’s earnings conference call, have been up in the double digits in the scatter market, leading him to forecast a “healthy upfront selling season.”

But before negotiations get into full swing, there is the issue of the upfront presentations themselves. What will they look like after the screenwriters’ strike cut short the development season and prompted the industry to rethink (sort of) how it does business?

Moonves said that many of the network’s new 2008-09 shows were made as presentations rather than pilots. Presentations, he said, could be shot in five or six days rather than 10 or 12 for pilots, cost 50 percent less, and contain only what would be the key scenes of the storyline.

“To say we’ve saved tens of millions of dollars in development costs would be an accurate statement,” he said.

It remains to be seen what impact the shortened development season will have on quality, although Moonves said a “compressed” season could pressure writers into doing better work.

By the sound of it, that’s an educated guess by Moonves, who said he’s seen just two of the new CBS shows, “One which I absolutely adore.”

So NBC rolled out its 2008-09 schedule — it covers all 52 weeks, comes six weeks earlier than normal, and, without any pilots or trailers to showcase the new programs, leaves quite a lot to the imagination.

Take the ”The Office” spin-off. NBC Entertainment Co-Chairman Ben Silverman sidestepped every question about the show, saying only that it would launch after the Super Bowl with Greg Daniels heading up the project. Other than that? Zip.

Mostly, NBC executives focused on broader themes of the programs and the season. This is how they basically want the scheduling to play: 8-9 p.m. is family hour; 9-10 p.m. is big hit, big show hour; 10-11 p.m is high end, adult dramas.

In its hour-long presentation, NBC sketched out the schedule through the summer of 2009. A lot of that likely isn’t set in stone. But here is what next fall will look like on NBC if everything goes ahead as planned. 

(Note that new shows are in all caps) 

Monday

• 8-9 p.m. “Chuck”
• 9-10 p.m. “Heroes”
• 10-11 p.m. “MY OWN WORST ENEMY”

Tuesday

• 8-9:30 p.m. “The Biggest Loser: Families”
• 9:30-10 p.m. “KATH & KIM”
• 10-11 p.m. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”

Wednesday

• 8-9 p.m. “KNIGHT RIDER”
• 9-10 p.m. “Deal or No Deal”
• 10-11 p.m. “Lipstick Jungle”

Thursday

• 8-8:30 “My Name is Earl”
• 8:30-9 p.m. “30 Rock”
• 9-9:30  p.m. “The Office”
• 9:30-10 p.m. “The Office” (second part of hour-long editions) or SNL THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE (election specials)
• 10-11 p.m. “ER”

Friday

• 8-9 p.m. “Crusoe”
• 9-10 p.m. “Deal or No Deal”
• 10-11 p.m. “Life”

Saturday

• 8-9 p.m. “Dateline NBC”
• 9-10 p.m. “KNIGHT RIDER” (encores)
• 10-11 p.m. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (encores)

Sunday

• 7-8:20 p.m. “Football Night in America”
• 8:20-11 p.m. “NBC Sunday Night Football”

(Photo: Reuters / Ben Silverman)