• by Wayne Friedman , June 26, 2009

Looking to take full advantage of the radically changing 10 p.m. time period, CBS is starting up a local station affiliate marketing campaign to counter NBC's move in putting late-night host Jay Leno at 10 p.m.

CBS is launching the cheeky-named "Project L.E.N.O.," which stands for Project Late Prime Enhanced News Opportunity.

Much of it intends to push stations' efforts to grab higher ratings for their 11 p.m. newscasts, which historically have been reliant on ratings strength of 10 p.m. network shows like "CSI: New York" and "The Good Wife."

With the advent of NBC shifting Jay Leno to the 10 p.m. time period, executives at ABC and CBS have both been touting that ratings for their 10 p.m. shows will rise, with traditional 10 p.m. viewers seeking out a smaller supply of scripted TV dramas.

CBS will provide toolkits of marketing materials for stations to promote the 10 p.m. hour -- this includes broadcast spots and Web banners, which can be sold to local sponsors, as well as behind-the-scenes vignettes and tag-able radio spots.

"As the face of network television changes this fall, Project L.E.N.O. will help our stations capitalize on this opportunity in the 10:00 p.m. hour," said George Schweitzer, president, CBS Marketing Group, in a release. "Our Marketing Group loves acronyms ... and Project L.E.N.O. says it all."