ABC Promotional Stunt Causes Its Own Storm
Producers of the popular ABC comedies “The Drew Carey Show” and “Dharma & Greg” were surprised and angered Wednesday when the network ran a “Storm Watch” crawl along the bottom of the screen during their programs to promote the upcoming miniseries “Storm of the Century.”
The stunt reflects heightened pressure on the networks to boost their performance during the current rating sweeps and increased desperation to reach people in the midst of programming, since viewers can so readily flip away at commercial breaks thanks to the remote control.
“We’re trying to come up with new places to put advertising so you notice it, so it’s not something you’re immune to,” an ABC spokeswoman said.
That explanation didn’t sit well with producers of the network’s four Wednesday comedies, who weren’t notified that text would run during each of their programs that read, “Storm Watch . . . Stephen King’s Storm of the Century is coming this Sunday. Please notify all friends, family and neighbors to glue themselves to a TV Sunday at 9.”
“I’m very upset,” said Chuck Lorre, executive producer and co-creator of ABC’s “Dharma & Greg.” “I thought it was our job to put stuff on between the commercials, not during them.”
Sources say the producers of “Drew Carey” were particularly irate because the text appeared during a crucial scene in the episode, potentially distracting viewers. Executive producer Bruce Helford couldn’t be reached for comment.
The promotion also ran during “Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place” and “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”
Networks have become increasingly aggressive in running promotional spots in the midst of programming. Last weekend, for example, NBC included a pitch to watch its miniseries “The ‘60s” at the end of sports updates that regularly appear on screen during NBA basketball games.
ABC has also experimented with different ways to retain viewers, this week having Michael J. Fox’s character on the sitcom “Spin City” flip on a TV at the end of his program to watch “Sports Night,” leading directly into the show that immediately follows.
Still, ABC’s latest gambit for “Storm of the Century,” a three-part miniseries that begins Sunday, raises several issues, among them at what point such promotion detracts from scheduled programming. In addition, the format suggested the sort of update that news organizations normally employ to alert viewers to a possible emergency.
ABC News declined comment about the entertainment division airing such an on-air gimmick, but a source maintained that it wasn’t a cause for concern. The network received only a handful of calls from viewers regarding the “Storm Watch” crawl, a spokeswoman said.