Tuned to a reliable clock

THE TV networks are trying something new this year. The fall season will actually begin ... in the fall.

Though that might not seem like news, in fact it’s quite a shift for broadcasters. Last year, NBC leaped out with its new lineup starting in late August, hoping to use the Olympics as a promotional platform. Fox was even gutsier, unfurling many new scripted shows in early summer as part of a strategy for “year-round programming.”

The strategy didn’t arise suddenly; some programmers had become convinced over the previous few seasons that a show’s prospects would be improved by removing it from the cluttered autumn environment. Industry insiders began to speak of the traditional fall launch as a TV relic akin to “I Love Lucy.”

Such talk seems like a distant memory now. With the exception of the thriller “Prison Break” (which bowed Monday), Fox’s premieres are all post-Labor Day. Its rivals, meanwhile, are holding their fire until the official start of the TV season on Sept. 19 or shortly afterward.

That includes heavily promoted entries such as ABC’s White House drama “Commander in Chief” (Sept. 27), NBC’s comedy “My Name Is Earl” (Sept. 20) and UPN’s Chris Rock-produced sitcom, “Everybody Hates Chris” (Sept. 22). And a few new shows won’t appear until October, such as ABC’s sitcom “Freddie” and CBS’ Jerry Bruckheimer-produced crime drama “Close to Home.”

The return to traditional scheduling suggests that the fall season -- as maligned and obsolete as it may be -- isn’t going away any time soon. Much of the reason, experts say, has to do with audience expectations.

“Viewers are trained that this is ‘back-to-school, leaves-are-changing, end-of-summer-vacation time,’ ” said Shari Anne Brill, vice president at New York-based ad buying firm Carat USA. “ ‘Now we’re ready to see the new shows.’ ”

Preston Beckman, executive vice president at Fox Broadcasting Co., was more succinct. “The television viewer thinks of the season as being from September to May,” he said.

Last season’s ratings provided ample evidence to support that conclusion. Fox’s summer 2004 lineup bombed, claiming such victims as the comedies “Quintuplets” and “Method & Red.” Despite the halo from the Olympics, NBC suffered one of its worst seasons in years. Meanwhile, that season’s biggest new scripted hit was ABC’s “Desperate Housewives.” Debut date? Oct. 3.

Some analysts say networks may have put too much emphasis on scheduling and marketing hocus-pocus -- such as the Olympics “platform” or Fox’s postseason baseball -- rather than on the shows themselves.

“ ‘Launching platforms’ are a guarantee of nothing,” said Tim Spengler, executive vice president and director of national broadcast for New York media services firm Initiative. “They will get the show attention and maybe breed some traffic for one night, but they are no guarantee of success.”

The fall launch has a lengthy pedigree, dating to the early days of commercial television in the late 1940s and early ‘50s. Networks rolled out new schedules every September because automakers, a key sponsor, wanted fresh programs to accompany ads for their new car models.

Car manufacturers “are still a dominant force,” Brill said, adding that the auto companies remain among the first advertisers every year to purchase bulk ad time during the “upfront” TV selling season.

Another reason the traditional fall launch has endured: September marks the return of cool weather in much of the country. Every year, as reliably as a Swiss watch, TV viewing falls off considerably in the warmer months, when people spend more time outside.

Still, some programming veterans argue that it’s only a matter of time until the networks adopt a truly year-round pattern for launching series.

Spengler pointed out that in recent years, advertisers have spent more in the spring than in the fall. If that continues, watch for some of the year’s most expensive and heavily promoted series to land around Easter time.

And networks still have that problem with clutter. Broadcasters have been trying for years -- with limited success -- to steal back viewers from cable. If that means the toppling of a five-decade-old tradition of fall premieres, well ... even “I Love Lucy” had to end sometime.

As Spengler said, “Networks will be trying to break through wherever they have an opportunity.”