Media Promotion & Marketing for Broadcasting, Cable & the Internet, 5th Edition

CHAPTER 6

Network Television Promotion

Douglas A. Ferguson

The number-one program on television in 1987 was The Cosby Show, watched by 44 percent of the viewers. By 2005, the number-one show was CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which captured only 23 percent of the audience. The decline occurred because the combined cable networks have sufficiently nibbled away viewers to attract more prime-time audience than the big four broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC) combined. Just as the major Detroit automakers lost market share to foreign cars, the major broadcast networks now struggle against cable’s dominance. The other commercial broadcast networks (UPN, the WB, Pax, Telemundo, Univision) vie for the same audiences. This chapter examines broadcast ...