• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, August 20, 2010

Veteran Madison Avenue researcher Steve Sternberg renewed his call this week for networks to try a marketing tactic involving a degree of cooperation. But the chances of it being deployed are about as likely as the Big Four abandoning the lucrative upfront.

With fragmentation and the opportunity to reach viewers more complicated, Sternberg, formerly of Magna Global, suggested the networks spend the latter part of the summer promoting their coming new shows aggressively ... on each other's airwaves.

His theory holds that a promo for a new show on all major networks has a shot at reaching a large chunk of the viewing audience, generating higher initial tune-in.

If the swapping leaves each network with at least one hit, that's worth more to each, he reasons, than any competitive advantage the current on-air exclusivity is yielding. Plus, it can strengthen broadcast TV as a medium as it deals with cable challengers and general audience erosion.

"Problem is that nets still have an '80s mentality, thinking the other nets are their only competitors," Sternberg wrote in an email. "They should see themselves as allies."

They could either sell time to each other or work out some sort of barter arrangement. Sternberg said he has spoken to network executives about the concept, but they have responded that their affiliates would stridently protest.

Still, the media analyst said in a blog entry he would continue to lobby for the innovation -- as he has for several years -- as long as networks "foolishly" reject the idea.

"I maintain that this would have at least a 10%, maybe even 20%, positive impact on viewer sampling of new series," Sternberg wrote. "To simply ignore more than one-third of all available prospects, who are just sitting there every night waiting to be wooed, is the height of absurdity."

Sternberg added in an email: "I'll bet you that most people have not even heard of three-quarters of the upcoming new fall shows. And that's because the nets ignore three-quarters of their available audience."

To be sure, networks would argue their own airtime works well with promos, as does pre-season campaigns with billboards, bus signage, stunts, etc.

Sternberg notes that networks had a better shot at piquing interest when repeats dominated the summer airwaves. But cable hits from "Mad Men" to the new "Rizzoli & Isles" are drawing audiences away from broadcast -- and those would-be appealing promos.

In his blog entry, Sternberg offered some predictions for new shows, notably that ABC's "Detroit 1-8-7" has "the potential to be the next great network cop show." Also, he wrote, CBS' "Hawaii Five-O" remake "looks very good." Other shows he indicated could catch on are NBC's "Undercovers" and "The Event," which he says could benefit from the type of promo swapping he advocates, and "Nikita" on the CW.