Cable networks have migrated many of their original series to January this year, choosing to go head on against broadcasters with fresh episodes during a dark, cold part of the year that features particularly high TV usage.
For those in charge of marketing these series, choosing to fish in the winter's bigger, more competitive pond poses challenges not encountered in the summer months, the time when cablers have traditionally launched original shows.
"We're going head to head with the broadcast networks," says Tricia Melton, senior VP of marketing for TNT, which is launching the advertising-agency-themed drama "Trust Me" on Jan. 26 alongside fresh episodes of hit procedural "The Closer." "We have to put our best foot forward."
With about 70 series -- most of them on cable -- hitting the air for the first time or returning with new episodes in January, standing out isn't easy or cheap.
For one thing, it's not as if anyone is suffering from an overabundance of marketing coin right now.
"I think marketing dollars are a challenge for all of us," says Showtime president Bob Greenblatt, whose network just marshaled a fairly sizable campaign to premiere the Steven Spielberg-produced "United States of Tara." "Everybody is trying to launch original shows, and it's really difficult."
Meanwhile, network execs say buying ads in the fourth and first quarters to support shows costs more than it does in the summer months.
"As opposed to the summer, media buys are far more expensive," says NBC Universal cable topper Bonnie Hammer.
The USA Network, which she oversees, had three series returning with original episodes in January -- "Monk," "Psych" and "Burn Notice."
"The familiarity and the fanbase were already there for these shows," Hammer explains. "What we needed to do was not create noise and buzz, just awareness. But if we had to create awareness (for a new show) from scratch, we would have been facing a much tougher proposition."
For its part, Showtime skedded the final-season bow of established series "The L Word" so that it would lead into the premiere of "Tara."
Marketing dollars, in turn, were weighted in favor of the new series.
The strategy worked well for the pay cabler, with "Tara's" initial viewership outperforming what Showtime's "Dexter," "Weeds" and "The Tudors" did their first time out of the gate. "The L Word," meanwhile, saw its aud grow 44% over last year's season-five premiere.
"I think 'The L Word' will come back strong because it always does," Greenblatt said prior to the Feb. 19 launch. "That doesn't mean that it will get no (promotional) attention; it just means that it won't get as much as a new show."
TNT's Melton faces a similar task in launching "Trust Me," which stars Eric McCormack and Thomas Cavanagh as creative partners working for a cut-throat Chicago ad agency.
Having cable's top 18-49 original-series draw, "The Closer," as a lead-in should help Melton's cause.
And despite the tough economy and competition, she says TNT won't shy away from promoting its new series with pricey stunts, such as a recent outdoor buy that lined Madison Avenue with ads for the show.
"I think every network is working with a challenged marketing budget these days," she says. "But this is a big initiative for us, and we're putting all of our resources behind it."
Showtime's Greenblatt concurs: "It's crowded out there, and the cost of marketing is enormous -- that's always a concern -- but it doesn't make sense to hold back assets."
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