It is the end of September, which means it is time for the traditional Fall to Spring broadcast television season to begin. I personally have limited the number of shows, old and new that I choose to watch. In fact, I did not watch any new series last season (I might one day decide to watch Fringe on Netflix, but I do not feel any need to watch it now).
One of my favorite shows the past few seasons is Heroes. In fact, the season premiere is tonight, September 21st at 8:00 PM ET on NBC. It had aired at 9PM for most of its run, so you’d think there would be ads, on TV, Radio, Print and online to signify it.
No.
Last season, to launch season 3 of Heroes, NBC had a massive print campaign with billboards in train stations, on busses, etc. Not this year. I don’t see any ads for Heroes, The Office or any of their returning shows. NBC does have a lot of print ads up for The Jay Leno Show. NBC has scrapped 1/3 of its primetime schedule for Leno (for reasons that many others have written about and I may revisit in the future). It makes sense that they spend a lot of their marketing muscle on it.
However, what about the other shows? I’ve seen a few ads for their new hospital drama Trauma. I have not seen anything for their new sitcom Community, or returning midseason shows Parks and Recreation or Southland.
Is NBC relying on internet buzz to promote the new season (and timeslot) for Heroes? Do they just want to rest on their online laurels? Heroes, despite being one of NBC’s most popular drama series, doesn’t have the strongest TV ratings, but is consistently one of the most watched shows online. A lot of the buzz is negative. This season, only 18 episodes have been ordered, with a season finale slated for December. Will this lack or offline promotion make that episode the series finale?
Is NBC purposely sabotaging Heroes? Will the show make it to season 5? Discuss below.
