• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, September 20, 2012

Who hasn't used the phrase, “Hey this is like a Lifetime movie”?

This implies some sort of cheesy, weepy tale, with perhaps a few awkward dramatic relationship moments, a life-threatening disease and heartache, and perhaps melancholy dialogue and music.

So is it any wonder that Lifetime has decided to go with the flow after all these years and start an unscripted series called  "My Life is a Lifetime Movie"? 

It must be a new way to brand a network: Put your network name inside a show or movie, overtly or otherwise. We can only wonder if NBC will change the name of one of its sitcoms to "30 Rock of NBC." Will ABC re-name its big sitcom "The ABC's of Modern Family."

It’s always a tough job to find the right name-branding for TV shows these days. Risky words don't always work. A couple of years ago, CBS tried "$#*! My Dad Says." ABC tried to tease us a number of times with shows containg a word that rhymes with"'itch"-- "GCB" (originally from the book called "Good Christian Bitches") and "Don't Trust the B__ in Apartment 23."

The key print art for a new Lifetime movie about Elizabeth Taylor displays a big picture of glamourous-looking actor Lindsey Lohan, with her name in bigger type than Elizabeth Taylor. In even bigger letters are the words "controversial," "scandal," "child star," and "provocative" -- words many believe Lohan's real life has shared with Taylor.

All this isn't much of a surprise. You need strong words and  identification for TV shows and movies, even if that includes a network's name in the title of a show.

Specifics? They aren’t always necessary. But teasing isn't optional.

Still, branding of some sports franchises -- which are also TV names -- can get stretched too thin. Two NCAA conferences tell much about this type of branding.

There are 10 colleges in the "Big 12 Conference" and 12 colleges in the "Big 10 Conference". That's right. And yes San Diego State and University of Houston are now in the "Big East Conference."

But the game is still the same. Nothing is off limits if you get the big scores.