Can The Internet Save NBC's '30 Rock'?

by Wayne Friedman, Oct 28, 2008, 10:15 AM

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The Internet finally has a chance to show its rock-solid strength by lifting "30 Rock," a mediocre-performing NBC show, to new heights.

With 40 million streams of her almost-too perfect impersonation of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, "30 Rock" creator and star Tiny Fey is about to find out whether her NBC show will now rock the TV world.

Those 40 million collective streams of her Palin bits are about eight times the number of viewers "30 Rock" gets on a typical night. Last year, the show averaged a very humble 6.5 million viewers.

NBC calls the collective marketing blitz -- the "Saturday Night Live" Palin impersonations, all those Emmys awards, multiple covers of Fey on entertainment magazines -- part good luck and part strategy. Considering NBC's woes this year so far, the "30 Rock" Thursday debut will be looked at closely.

Viewers may think otherwise. For one, Tiny Fey's TV producer Liz Lemon character isn't a real-life wannabe national political figure like Sarah Palin. Additionally, Emmys typically aren't enough to catapult any show to new heights. Talk to Fox about "Arrested Development" a couple a year ago. The show barely made it through the next two season following its big Emmy win in 2004.

If that isn't enough, Thursday night viewers are still noshing on other comfort TV food in these hard economic times -- the likes of "Survivor," "CSI" and "Grey's Anatomy."

My suggestion? Run plenty of "SNL" Palin-Fey vignettes before and after "30 Rock" on its premiere night this coming Thursday, juicing the crowd -- even if it's a tad misleading.

If all the Tiny Fey attention doesn't lift "30 Rock," what then are we to make of this viral marketing? That Tiny Fey, the "SNL" star, is more of a draw than her show?  That Alec Baldwin should start impersonating John McCain, just days before the election?

The question changes again -- after Nov. 4.  Will Palin's notoriety drift back into the Alaska's snows? What will "SNL" do for an encore?

Marketing -- whether viral, paid, or otherwise -- can only do so much. "30 Rock" may get a bump, but the odds are it won't last, as it is rare for a TV show in this current market to make big leaps.

But you never know. Christmas is around the corner -- and that always means some unexpected gifting.

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