NBC Dumps Summer Break

[StlSluggers]

It's about time. The idea of the summer break in television was a self-fulfilling prophecy.

NBC Universal took a big step toward undoing one of the television industry’s oldest traditions by announcing Tuesday that it would move to a year-round schedule of staggered program introductions. The move is intended to appeal to advertisers, who crave fresh content to keep viewers tuned in.

And if it succeeds — and leads other broadcast networks to shift from their focus on a mass introduction of new shows — it could alter an American cultural cycle that extends all the way back to the days of radio, when families gathered around the Philco every September, as the school year began, to sample the new entertainment choices.

NBC plans to announce a 52-week schedule in April, a month before ABC and CBS will unveil their fall lineups at splashy presentations known as upfronts. The decision means that NBC will be committing to a new lineup of shows earlier than any of its competitors, while also inviting advertisers to build marketing plans around specific shows and perhaps to integrate brands and products into the plots of the shows themselves.

[knapplc]

Good move, and long overdue. Like most people I spend a lot more time outside in the warmer months, but that doesn't mean I completely stop watching TV, nor does it mean that when I do I'm cool with watching reruns.

[thedude]

A few years ago FOX had a "summer season," with new shows. It never really caught on.

[Dan Lambskin]

A few years ago FOX had a "summer season," with new shows. It never really caught on.

true...but now with DVR's becoming more popular it might have a shot

[The Artful Dodger]

Yeah, it's been done before but it'll be more interesting now that the writer's strike being resolved, if we'll see some NBC prime time shows run new episodes this summer instead of just fill-in new shows for the sake of running new shows.