• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, July 9, 2012

Weeks before its premiere earlier this year, NBC couldn’t find enough distribution outlets to make the first episode of “Smash” available for free. Amazon, Vudu, Hulu and of course NBC.com were only a few options for promotion. There were also screenings in 10 large markets on the same January night.

As a serial drama, the philosophy was to make the "Smash" pilot widely available and hope people fell under the spell of the cliffhanger. (The premiere ratings weren’t bad.)

NBC hasn’t stopped. The whole first season is available for binge viewing on NBC.com and presumably will be until the show returns for season two.

But its comeback will be in the winter, so it might be too late to consider drive-in theaters as a vehicle. But networks looking to ignite their new fall shows might consider using them now for promotion as the theaters experience at least a partial renaissance, according to USA Today.

“People love the communal experience,” drive-ins.com’s Kipp Sherer told the paper.

That’s assuming people can look up from their mobile devices long enough to take in the show, but it sounds plausible.

There will be a frisson around the advance premieres blanketing Comic-Con in San Diego later this week, but that’s been the case for several years now. Is there that much more for network marketers to wring out of the convention? That much more influence (if there ever was much) to come from bloggers enjoying a world premiere and Q&A with the producers?

Actually, the chances of capitalizing on a passionate, sci-fi-loving audience – which may have become less passionate as Comic-Con has gone more mainstream -- have probably gone down as more and more networks descend on the event with freebies, parties and pleadings for tweets and "Likes." Networks can’t take a pass now, though, and need to keep investing.

Paradoxically, the importance of being at Comic-Con may be starting to wane, but the cost of not taking it seriously might spark huge negative publicity.

Next year, it’s possible some of the Comic-Con screenings will move to the Full Moon Drive-in in San Diego, which is opening July 20, after the convention blows out of town.

This is not 1958, USA Today points out, but it cites the number of drive-ins in the country now at 364. A new one has opened in Tulsa, while another is expected to open in Linton, Ind. after it’s been closed for 13 years.

Networks could rent theaters for peanuts and have cash left over to offer free peanuts as they run the first two episodes of a new show -- a double feature. The Blue Starlite in Austin rental price is listed at $650 for 60 people. Unlimited popcorn is another $75. Rentals for more than 60 people? The theater says: “We will make you an offer you can’t refuse.”

If networks want to plug current shows, how about, say, NBC running its Thursday line-up in order on an August night? A great sizzle reel highlighting the network’s fare could run in between episodes.

At a time when marketers are endeavoring to gain “earned” publicity, ABC bringing “Nashville’s” debut to the Stardust Drive-In near Music City would have the local paper on the beat. By the same token, the CBS Buzz Tour bus could, well, drive right in as the network holds premiere nights near its stops.

This drive-in to drive ratings concept isn’t particularly novel, but it’s hard to beat a warm summer night on top of the hood watching a new show with car hop service (an extra $75 for a network in Austin).