Sony readies 'roadblock' for '2012'

Studio airs footage on 450 TV outlets on Oct. 1

By MARC GRASER

'2012'

Sony has planned an epic effort to alert audiences that its disaster pic "2012" is coming, readying the largest marketing "roadblock" ever for a movie in the form of a two-minute sequence from the actioner that will air simultaneously on 450 TV outlets in North America on Oct. 1.

The stunt will put the footage in front of 90% of all households watching ad-supported TV, or nearly 110 million viewers. When combined with online and mobile streams, that could increase to more than 140 million.

Studios are increasingly favoring roadblocks as a way to generate as much exposure as possible for their pricey tentpoles. But they're often done by distribs with close ties to a conglom like NBC Universal that owns networks or TV stations.

Comcast will launch a multimillion-dollar promotional campaign on its cable networks and online to hype the roadblock, which will air on ABC, NBC and CBS, 89 cable networks, local stations in the top 70 markets, and Spanish-language networks throughout the U.S. between 10:50 p.m. and 11 p.m. on the coasts, with the hours varying across the rest of the country.

Auds can then view an extended five-minute scene that continues the initial two-minute sequence, after the roadblock on Comcast on Demand and Fancast.com.

Overseas, the 2012 roadblock will be replicated in countries at the end of October.

The Roland Emmerich-helmed pic bows Nov. 13.