• by Wayne Friedman , September 23, 2009

In perhaps one of the biggest TV commercial roadblocks in recent memory, Sony Pictures Entertainment will run a two-minute trailer covering 90% of TV homes for its big disaster movie "2012" next week.

Sony will air a two-minute commercial for the movie Oct. 1, between 10:50 p.m. and 11 p.m. EST/PST, covering a massive 90% of all homes watching ad-supported television: broadcast, cable and/or local TV. Nielsen Media Research says the number of TV homes for the 2009-2010 is 114.9 million.

Overall, Sony hopes to pull in 110 million viewers as a result of the stunt. By comparison, the 2009 Super Bowl pulled in 98.7 million viewers -- a record.

The massive media deal breaks down this way: The three broadcast ABC, CBS and NBC (Fox doesn't air during this the time), 89 ad-supported cable networks, local TV stations in the top 70 markets, and Spanish-language networks. This equates to some 450 TV outlets in North America.

The movie, starring John Cusack and Amanda Peet, is about a global event that brings an end to the world and only leaves a few survivors behind. It will be released on Nov. 13.

In addition, Comcast Corp. will partner with Sony, launching a multimillion-dollar promotional campaign on its cable networks and online to hype the roadblock.

An extended five-minute version of the trailer can be seen on Comcast's video-on-demand service, Comcast on Demand, and online via its Fancast.com site.

In a release, Marc Weinstock, president of worldwide marketing for Sony Pictures, said: "Since it appeals to such a broad audience, we wanted to launch our campaign in a way that would make an impact."