• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, January 8, 2025

The value of mid-season broadcast series moves into high gear now -- all to keep the linear TV motor running on the highway, perhaps to where this vehicle needs to look for an off ramp, and a slower service road.

Analysts believe linear TV will still be around in some capacity -- never really going away as streaming takes over, because of the need to supplement promotional time for new TV series that start on broadcast and cable networks.

“Mid-season” or fall-season TV show starts have meant little to many modern TV consumers these days.

Recently, one ABC show -- “Shifting Gears,” a new regular-looking three camera in-studio comedy about a stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop and his estranged daughter and her kids who move into his house -- had a promo airing on ESPN, on a Friday night, January 3 for the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. No doubt there was plenty of other placement for this effort on other Disney-ABC networks as well.

So it's still a thing to use all the legacy TV-network-based media companies to use all their linear TV networks' advertising and promotional time to kick up awareness for their own products -- new and returning TV shows.. No doubt, social media platforms of all types are looking to get the word out as well.

Does this mean lowering the media-buying threshold for such traditional media messaging -- especially given lower legacy TV viewing?

Does that mean more exposure on streaming -- even among "limited advertising" space and promotional signage on home streaming navigation screens?

Running more promos on Disney+ or Hulu for “Shifting Gears” isn’t enough. So continue with legacy live TV media -- which still has better reach, although it is decreasingly down from decades ago.

And for, say, a 9-, 10- or 13-week episode launch of a new show -- should it last that long -- Disney-ABC will also benefit promotionally from just having its episode ABC airings of the episode -- which presumably will have a next-day run on Disney+ and/or Hulu.

But don’t look for Hulu to yet offer a full 10-week episode season all at once for all ABC shows (although Disney+ does do this).

Right now, that is a lot of promotional weight to carry when all your advertising efforts might be focused on one massive binge weekend for some consumers.

The better news for most advertisers and brands is in getting premium ad availability on live TV -- all to bring mass viewers.

Consumer products -- or new TV show episodes -- continue to seek similar things.