• January 15, 2004

In a sign of desperation, NBC Wednesday said it would take a play out of Fox's play-book and start its 2004-05 prime-time season in August, giving its new shows a jump-start on their network rivals. NBC said it was taking the unusual step to capitalize on the momentum it is expected to get from its coverage of the 2004 Summer Olympics, which normally generate high ratings and are considered a powerful promotional vehicle for launching new shows. The Olympic Games end in August. But NBC won't be the only network with fielding early series launches. Fox has said it may introduce some of its shows as early as June to avoid the traditional Fall season launch clutter. The Fox rollout strategy would be unusually early and could mean that some new shows debut before they've been sold to national advertisers as part of their 2004-05 upfront advertising packages. Meanwhile, all eyes will be on NBC's prime-time development strategy, as the once dominant peacock network will lose two lynchpin series - "Friends" and "Frasier"- in May at the end of the 2003-04 season.