• by Wayne Friedman , July 12, 2005

Fox is looking like its old self again -- and like that of every other broadcast network -- by launching many of its new series in September.

Seven new series -- "Prison Break," "Bones," "Head Cases," "Kitchen Confidential," "Reunion," "The War At Home," and "Killer Instinct," will launch before Fox's Major League Baseball playoffs and World Series. This is a partial return to how Fox used to launch shows -- before it had the Major League Baseball package.

Last year, Fox announced it would be doing year-round development, broken up into three starting periods -- the summer (in June/July), post-baseball (in November), and in January. In the summer of 2004, Fox attempted to launch five new series. But that experiment failed as it could not garner enough marketing support - and ultimately, viewer support -- for each of those shows.

This summer, it scaled back that program push while still committing to year-round development. Fox continues to have its best period in debuting shows in January, when "American Idol," the highest-rated all of network primetime shows, debuts.

"They are probably tired of getting burned," said Geoff Robison, senior vice president and director of national broadcast for Palisades Media Group, Santa Monica, Calif. "The fear is that viewers will get used to watching your competition. "

While few shows are immediate hits on network television these days, last year both ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" were instant success stories. This may have caught Fox's eye, say analysts, in not wanting to miss opportunities to grab viewers who traditionally still seek new television shows starting in the fall.

Fox's strategy of starting new programming in November or January still has some positives, but probably less so in the summer.

"No one is watching in the summer," said Robison. "HUTs [households using television] are down. It's hard to attract younger viewers. Older viewers are easy to get."

And Fox makes its living on young viewers, especially its key demographic of adults 18-34. Now that Fox has won -- for the first time, this past season -- the more important adults 18-49 demographic race, the biggest pool of advertising dollars for network television, Fox wants to continue to play in the bigger arena.

In a press release, Fox Entertainment president Peter Ligouri said: "We have an incredible slate this season, and we're getting out of the gate early with our new series and returning favorites in order to create maximum buzz among viewers."