• by Wayne Friedman , September 18, 2007

NBC will ramp up awareness for its fall shows with a special marketing deal that makes the network the exclusive advertiser on five Clear Channel Radio stations for an entire day. The companies are calling it the first "takeover" sponsorship.

The stations include WHTZ-FM (Z100) in New York, KIIS-FM in Los Angeles, KYLD-FM in San Francisco, WKSC-FM in Chicago and WIOQ-FM in Philadelphia.

Instead of typical commercials, listeners will hear entertainment vignettes hosted by the new show talent. Unique content will be featured every hour.

Starting today, stars of the new NBC show, "Chuck"--Zach Levi and Josh Gomez, appearing as their respective characters Chuck and Morgan--will announce their planned takeover via 15- and 30-second spots.

Then, next Monday--the official start of the new season--from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., all five stations will call themselves "Chuck-FM." Levi and Gomez will introduce all news, traffic, weather and sports reports. There will be no commercial breaks or non-NBC advertising.

For NBC's new drama "Journeyman," the campaign includes 15-second spots that will be worked in and around music programming. An added effort runs on the radio station's Web sites, where listeners can pick their favorite now-and-then playlists, which works with the show's time-travel theme.