ABSTRACT
Fred Silverman, the legendary programmer for CBS, ABC, and NBC in the 1970s, has been quoted as saying, “Fifty percent of success is the program and fifty percent is how the program is promoted” (Bedell, 1981, p. 141). He meant that capturing high ratings is not just a function of program scheduling and appeal, but is also a function of how the audience is told about the programs. On-air promotion has become a big-budget item for the U.S. television industry, occupying airtime that could otherwise be sold for commercials, and print and online promotion incur costs with no direct return. Moreover, the marketing of images has become one of the central concerns of program suppliers. NBC has spent billions of dollars linking itself to the Olympics, for example. Such leading broadcast and cable networks as Disney (owner of ABC and ESPN), Time Warner (owner of CNN), General Electric (owner of NBC), and Westinghouse (owner of CBS), as well as Japan’s AsiaNet and Murdoch’s Star Network, among others, are devoting enormous financial resources to developing the value of their brand names around the world. The industry’s professional association for those in the business of media marketing, Promax, now holds annual conventions in South America, Europe (England), and Asia, as well as in the United States—conventions that swell annually in the number and prominence of their participants. More savage competition, rising program costs, and the rapid growth of the Internet have been spurs to increased concern about media marketing around the world.
