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MUST-SEETHE TV: 'NEW' NBC PITCH ANNOYING THE LATEST SPIN ON RERUNS IS GETTING OLD FAST
BY DAVID BIANCULLI
Monday, June 30th 1997, 2:02AM
YOU may recall that I griped a week or two ago about NBC's latest on-air promotional campaign but if you don't, it's new to you.
Either way, this NBC "It's New to You!" campaign meant to put a positive spin on the always annoying summer rerun barrage is driving me nuts.
What it's supposed to do, I realize, is give viewers an opportunity to think of the dull summer rerun months a little differently.
The "If you haven't seen it, it's new to you" line has a certain undeniable logic especially if you're talking about a generally ignored regular-season show such as "NewsRadio," a series which deserves more viewers than it has been able to attract thus far.
But just as when NBC expanded its Thursday "Must-See TV" campaign to less deserving days of the week, the network's expansion of the "It's New to You" campaign to all nights of the week including Thursday is ludicrous.
Last Thursday, NBC promoted its "Suddenly Susan" rerun with one of those "It's new to you" promos. It also managed to identify the only element that set it apart from most other "Suddenly Susan" episodes, by pointing out it was the one with the too-tight dress.
What that promo did to me, then, was the exact opposite of its intended reaction. Instead of letting me know that particular episode of "Susan" was one I hadn't seen, and thus might want to watch, it emphasized the fact that it was, indeed, a rerun of an episode I'd seen before. And, not incidentally, one of the shows I had not liked.
The flip side of NBC's ad campaign, after all, is: If I have seen it, then it's old to me. And with NBC's top-rated shows, especially, I'm far from alone.
Tonight at 9:30, NBC's prime-time schedule includes yet another "Suddenly Susan" the Thanksgiving episode, where Rodney Dangerfield plays an oven repairman who dies on, and in, the job. Don't ask, NBC: I saw this show the first time, so it's not new to me.
Also tonight, at 8:30, is a repeat of the pilot of "Fired Up,' the Sharon Lawrence sitcom that premiered originally between "Seinfeld" and "ER" on the network's Must-See TV Thursday schedule. That makes the program a good bet to be in the Must-Have-Seen TV category, and another irritating promo.
Tomorrow's schedule includes an 8:30 repeat of the NBC premiere of "The Naked Truth," another former Must-See TV inhabitant.
And while Wednesday's schedule includes one episode that's new to everyone a first-run installment of "Chicago Sons" that's about as far from Must-See TV as you can get.
NBC's current promotional campaign, like broadcast TV's anemic lineup, is doing little to lure people back to broadcast TV. The networks are losing viewers every summer. That's old news but if NBC doesn't see that, it's news to them.