• by Wayne Friedman , July 26, 2007

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF. -- ABC wanted like to kick-start the next season of "Lost" with some nice Internet marketing buzz--but not with TV critics.

Stephen McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment, wanted to withhold some "Lost" news from the Television Critics Association summer meeting here. The aim was to release the news on Thursday during Comic-Con, the big comic book show that is taking place in San Diego.

"Some announcements are made here; sometimes announcements are made [other places]," explained McPherson.

The critics were not amused. "I don't think my editor is going to be very happy when she reads in my blog later today that Steve McPherson promised that news on one of the biggest shows on the network would be going to a fan convention the next day," said Aaron Barnhart, TV critic of The Kansas City Star.

After more critical comments from TV critics, and a quick mid-press conference call to "Lost" producers, McPherson relented. He gave critics the news--that Harold Perrineau, who played Michael Dawson, was coming back to the cast of "Lost."

Why did ABC want to manage the news this way?

"There is a lot of buzz that comes out of Comic-Con--especially with its core audience," Mike Benson, executive vice president of marketing at ABC Entertainment, told MediaDailyNews. "It's a fan base that immediately hears something and gets on the Internet, and it spreads like wildfire. We saw [Comic-Con] with a different purpose than with TCA."

This seems to play into what ABC and other networks believe about TV and the Internet--especially in how CBS responded when bringing back drama "Jericho." Simply: the Internet buzz creates certain levels of marketing awareness that networks can't get anywhere else.

For the ABC show "Friday Night Bingo," McPherson said the network witnessed some of these Internet effects. Despite lower ratings for the reality show, millions of viewers could be found downloading bingo cards from the network site. So the show was renewed for another cycle.

Regarding ABC's slate of low-rated summer-reality shows, McPherson isn't sure why its shows, such as "Shaq's Big Challenge," aren't working. "We have been disappointed in the summer," he said. "Maybe the subject matter was a bit too serious."

For next summer, McPherson says he might take a lesson from the cable networks--and launch some scripted dramas and comedies. "There is real opportunity there. We just have to see about the cost model."

McPherson also said the network is working on a "Dancing with the Stars" spinoff called "Dance Acts," in which group judges with specific teams of dancers compete. The new show would run when the original "Dancing" is not on air.