• by Wayne Friedman , August 5, 2011

The Fox network hopes its usual fall problem will end this year -- with the help of the much-anticipated "X Factor," a big sci-fi series and a new comedy. 

Apart from Fox winning the fall two years ago with high baseball ratings and a strong "Glee," the network has depended on the second half of the season -- notably "American Idol" -- to continue its long streak as the best-rated broadcast network among the key 18-49 viewers.

Last year, for example, Fox was down by double-digit percentages in the fall versus the same period in 2009.

The good news/bad news comes with the Major League Baseball playoffs in October, which has represented a disruption to Fox's weekday prime-time schedule where the network's ongoing entertainment shows can be shifted around or preempted. That causes viewer confusion in determining when shows are airing.

In recent years, Kevin Reilly, president of entertainment for the Fox network, says things have gotten better. Speaking at the Television Critics Association meeting in Beverly Hills, he says: "A lot of the games fall on the weekends. It is now trickier with 'The X Factor,' but manageable." "X Factor," like "American Idol," will air multiple nights of the week in the fall.

Reilly says competition for viewers is intense, which propels the need to create breakthrough programs. That's one reason the network has given the green light to the expensive limited-series "Terra Nova," a sci-fi drama from executive producer Steven Spielberg.

"We have to command their attention. Drama is an expensive business. But the show has been sold well in the upfront [with advertisers] and sold well internationally," he explains.

Fox's other big push comes with new comedy -- and it believes new show "New Girl" with Zooey Deschanel, tag-teamed with "Raising Hope," will have decent numbers on Tuesday in the 9 p.m. hour.

In regard to the high expectations for Simon Cowell's singing competition show "The X Factor," Reilly says: "If that can do half of what we hope for the show, Fox is going to be difficult to deal with."

With fewer networks still offering full 22-episode orders, Reilly says Fox will look for fresh programming ideas -- perhaps limited series. All this means counting less on reruns. "I want to be a year-round network," he says. "We want to be an all-original network."