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...Will these marketing ploys save the fledgling freshman drama? NBC is betting on it, confident that eventually a larger audience of women will find its way to Lights before May, when the network announces whether the show makes it to season two. Already in its new Wednesday slot, the show delivered its highest ratings since the pilot. Good news for the passionate core of believers at NBC who are trying to keep the series from going the way of dozens of less praiseworthy shows. "It takes enough people shouting that this is a wonderful show," says former NBC Entertainment President...
...least of the show's problems is its title. Friday Night Lights was inspired by the 2004 movie and, before that, the best-selling book by journalist H.G. Bissinger - both of the same name and both highly praised - and producers wanted to keep the title. Nor could the network air the series on Fridays, which would have made things easy for viewers. But NBC marketers joke that they considered a new promotional slogan when they recently switched the show to Wednesdays: "Friday Night Lights - now one day closer to Friday...
...Determined to overcome the gender bias, the network has marshaled its marketing forces and mounted an aggressive campaign to save Friday Night Lights, which revolves around Dillon's new coach (Kyle Chandler) as he deals with the team and football-obsessed townsfolk. The first move was a schedule change to Wednesdays at 8 p.m. It's not Friday, but but it does take the series out of the path of American Idol, ABC's seemingly unbeatable hit that starts airing again Tuesdays starting Jan. 16. "This was definitely a defensive move," says NBC scheduling vice president Mitch Metcalf...
...promotion department has also been working overtime to increase awareness of the show, airing episodes on Bravo, the network's little-sister cable channel, and streaming them free over NBC.com. Lights even has a new tag line - "It's About Life" - that airs at the end of each promo for the show. "That was the challenge going forward from November through February, to let people know it's about family," says NBC's in-house marketing president Vince Manze. "It's not about football...
...similar message is being drummed home in testimonials from fans recruited from Friday Night Lights websites. "We asked people to say what they liked about the series," says Manze. The result are short spots that started airing in November. The network even sprung for clearance to use My Chemical Romance's song "Welcome to the Black Parade" as background music in ads. Three-minute cast profiles have been mounted online, and during peak holiday season 30-second spots played in movie theaters around the country...