History of the Fall Preview Special

Originally Published March 21st, 2004

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In the television business nothing is more important than promotion. Massive campaigns pushing the premieres of new fall programs has become a ritual every September. Lavish fall preview specials featuring celebrities and short previews were common place back in the day; more low-key previews are occasionally aired by the networks today. Please note, however, that not every network affiliate would air the fall preview specials in primetime; occasionally they were relegated to weekend afternoons or not aired at all.

The fall preview special is, as the name suggests, a special program that previews new television programs to debut in the fall. During the 1960s, the networks began airing these lavish promotional programs, plugging their new and returning programming. Of course, advertising the new season took many forms, ranging from newspapers to radio spots to special booklets printed in the millions.

These massive and expensive promotional pushes began months before the start of the official season in September and continued until each and every new and returning program had premiered. They were an annual affair that all three networks hoped would entice viewers to sample their new programs. In the early years of broadcast television, however, it appears that the networks did not engage in as much promotion.

In September of 1957, NBC did use The Steve Allen show as a platform to promote the stars of many of its programs [1]. The Sunday, September 22nd broadcast brought Steve Allen to Hollywood, joined by Ernie Ford, Rosemary Clooney, Dinah Shore, George Gobel, Bob Cummings and Eddie Fisher, among others [2].

This is pure speculation, but perhaps the networks felt that viewers would be attracted to the new medium of television regardless of what was being shown. But by the 1960s, with the "big three" networks fully established, competition for viewers had increased, and millions of dollars were pumped into promoting year after year.

In any event, by the start of the 1960s, fall preview specials were all the rage. In 1960, for example, NBC produced promotional trailers for its entire line-up, both new and returning shows. Among the programs featured in these trailers were National Velvet, Dan Raven, Bonanza and Wagon Train. Although likely produced for use by NBC affiliates, the hour-long collection of trailers is one of the earliest examples of a fall preview special.

On Friday, September 15th, 1961, CBS broadcast a half-hour fall preview special titled "Seven Wonderful Nights" [3]. The phrase "seven wonderful nights" would be re-used by CBS and other networks in the decades to come. Two years later, in 1963, the network broadcast "The Stars Address," which began with Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance sorting mail in the CBS post room.

View a Scene from "The Stars Address"

Also appearing in "The Stars' Address" were Jack Benny, Alfred Hitchcock, Phil Silvers and Ed Sullivan, introducing shows like East Side/West Side, Petticoat Junction, The Great Adventure and The Judy Garland Show. The cast of The Beverly Hillbillies were also featured (in character) to introduce Chronicle and Glynis. Walter Cronkite also appeared to discuss CBS News, which he anchored.

ABC, meanwhile, aired "What's New On ABC?" to promote its 1963-1964 programs. With a musical introduction by Edie Adams, the special introduced programs like Arrest and Trial, The Outer Limits, McHale's Navy and The Farmer's Daughter.

For the 1964-1965 season, CBS revisited "Seven Wonderful Nights" with a special hosted by Buddy Ebson. Broadcast on Wednesday, September 16th, 1964, opposite Shindig on ABC and the last half-hour of The Virginian on NBC, "Seven Wonderful Nights" drew a lowly 7.4/15 26-city Trendex rating and an equally tiny 12.3 New York City Nielsen rating [4]. Among the shows featured were My Living Doll, Slattery's People, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and The Cara Williams Show.

View CBS's 1964 Fall Preview for Gilligan's Island

ABC's 1964-1965 fall preview special was entitled "The Year of the Week," with new shows including Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Peyton Place, Bewitched and Broadside.

For the 1964-1965 season, NBC offered "A Secret Agent's Dilemma, or a Clear Case of Mind Over Mata Hari," hosted by Don Adams. It was broadcast nationally on Monday, September 6th, 1965 from 3-3:30PM; in New York City, the local CBS affiliate aired the special again on September 10th from 5:30-6PM [5, 6].

On ABC, Bing Crosby hosted "The Wide World of Entertainment" on Sunday, September 13th, 1965, with appearances stars from new and returning programs [7].

View ABC's 1964 Fall Preview for Broadside

NBC aired "Two In A Taxi" on September 4th, 1966, promoting its 1966-1967 line-up. The color program starred Jack Burns and Avery Schreiber in a strange tour of the world, in a taxi, as the new NBC programs were presented and discussed. Included in the thirty minute program were promos for Star Trek, The Monkees, The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. and The Road West. It was written and produced by the head of NBC's advertising department, Phil Mintoff [8].

For the 1966-1967 season, CBS offered its affiliates the opportunity to construct a half-hour preview special, "Seven Wonderful Nights," by having Garry Moore film introductory segments that could be combined with clips from individual shows to craft a single program [9].

During the 1967-1968 season, Danny Thomas hosted NBC's "Remember Next Year" on Sunday, September 10th [10]. That same year, ABC broadcast its own "A Very Special Season." That same year ABC broadcast "A Very Special Season." For the 1968-1969 season, CBS called its fall preview special "The Winner's Circle" [11].

Some fall preview specials in the 1970s took on a more glamorous feel than they had in the previous decade. Production values soared, and the networks brought together groups of their stars to pitch new shows. Still, the decade started off with specials that were similiar to those shown in the 1960s. For example, CBS broadcast "We've Put It All Together" to promote its 1970-1971 schedule; NBC showed "Don Knotts Tells All," previewing five new programs and a segment of The Bold Ones that same season [12].

ABC's special for the 1971-1972 season was called "This Is The Place To Be;" the following season, CBS broadcast a half-hour show called "Have We Got a Fall For You," previewing M*A*S*H, The Waltons and Maude, among other programs. In 1974, CBS aired a thirty-minute fall review special called "See The Best On CBS." Hosted by Ted Baxter, the special previewed only five new programs, including Sons and Daughters, Rhoda and Planet of the Apes.

One of the most extravagent of all fall preview specials of the 1970s was ABC's "The Magic of ABC," aired in September of 1977. Hosted by David Copperfield, over a dozen ABC stars appeared to introduce shows like Soap and Operation Petticoat. Also in 1977 was "CBS Galaxy," hosted by Dick Van Dyke, with special guests Carol Burnett, Betty White, Bob Newhart and many more.

View a Commercial for 1977's "CBS Galaxy"

Starting in 1983, NBC began broadcasting an annual "All-Star Hour" that brought together the network's biggest names for a star-studded event that was more like the Emmy Awards than a typical fall preview special. For three consecutive years, from 1983 to 1985, NBC aired one of these "All-Star Hours." The first, shown on Monday, September 11th, 1983, ranked 18th for the week [13]. The second, aired Monday, September 16th, 1984, tied for 17th [14]. The third and final "All-Star Hour," broadcast Monday, September 15th, 1985, ranked 22nd [15].

View NBC's 1985 Fall Preview for V

ABC aired a half-hour fall preview special following the premiere of several of its new shows on Saturday, September 20th, 1986. It ranked 58th out of 59 shows for the week [16]. Both CBS and ABC aired fall preview specials on Sunday, September 17th, 1989, but only the CBS special, hosted by Angela Lansbury, did well, with a 15.5/25 rating that placed it 13th for the week (it followed the season premiere of 60 Minutes [17]. ABC's special, hosted by Alan Thicke, aired from 10:43-11PM following a movie and only drew a 6.6/13 rating, tying for 62nd for the week [18].

During the late 1980s, the importance of fall preview special had begun to decline. Syndicated news magazine programs like PM Magazine and Entertainment Tonight were covering television and even TV Guide was no longer a must-have for television viewers. During the 1990s, with 24-hour cable channels devoted to media news and gossip, magazines like Entertainment Weekly and the explosive popularity of the Internet, there were numerous sources viewers could turn to for help in navigating each new fall season.

Nevertheless, the networks -- joined by FOX in the late 1980s and The WB and UPN in the mid-1990s -- still produced fall preview specials. ABC's preview special for the 1990 fall season, aired Friday, September 14th, ranked 75th for the week [19]. A half-hour "TGIF Comedy Special" broadcast Friday, September 13th, 1991 did better, ranking 50th for the week, but for the most part, viewers were simply not tuning in [20].

In some cases, the networks began offering preview specials to local affiliates or broadcast them late at night rather than airing them in primetime. For example, in 1994, CBS ran a preview show called "Sneak Peak" following The Late Show with David Letterman four times during one week in September; it also mailed out 10,000 CD-ROM copies of something called "CBS Fall Preview" to advertisers and affilities [21]. That same year, NBC aired an hour-long preview show at 2AM on Saturday, August 28th (at least in New York City) [22].

FOX aired what may have been its first fall preview special, titled "Fall Preview Party," on Saturday, September 2nd, 1995, from 11PM-12AM. UPN, which launched in January of 1995, broadcast its first fall preview special on Tuesday, August 20th, 1996, titled "It's Hot In Here."

Somewhat surprisingly, the networks continue producing and airing fall preview specials, despite the fact that they draw only a few million viewers each year. The WB broadcast a half-hour preview called "The WB Sneak Peek Special" on Friday, September 21st, 2001, prior to the two-hour special "America: A Tribute to Heroes." The special drew a 1.4 rating, tied with an episode of The WB's Nikki for 104th, and was beaten by several repeats of Diagnosis Murder on PAX [23].

NBC aired its 2001-2002 fall preview special the following day, on Saturday, September 22nd. Hosted by Rob Lowe, it did slightly better than The WB's, drawing a 2.0 rating and ranking 90th for the week [24]. A repeat of "The WB Sneak Peek Special, shown on Friday, September 28th drew a 1.0 rating and tied for 111th [25].

In 2003, NBC aired its half-hour "NBC Must-See TV Primetime Preview" on Saturday, August 23rd, at 8PM. Sharing hosting duty were Robe Lowe and Alicia Silverstone. Some 3.15 million viewers tuned in, slightly fewer than the number who watched the first half-hour of a Fear Factor repeat, which followed at 8:30PM [26]. UPN also aired a half-hour fall preview special for its 2003 fall season, hosted by Bianca Kajlich and Dan Cortese of Rock Me Baby.

The WB offered affiliates two half-hour editions of The WB Insider, titled "Favorites" and "Fresh," to promote its 2004 fall season. They were shown at various times on various days depending on the market. The following year, another two specials were made available to affiliates: "The WB Inside & Out: The Women of the WB" and "The WB Inside & Out: The Guys That Make It Happen." NBC's "Premiere Week Special" was shown on several cable channels, including CNBC.

For the 2007 fall season, ABC produced three separate half-hour preview specials, all under the "ABC Fall First Look" banner: "The New Funny!," "The New Wednesday!" and "Bigger, Bolder Thursday!" CBS, NBC, Fox and The CW (in its second season) also offered fall preview specials. Only 2.33 million viewers watched NBC's version [27]. Slightly more, 3.94, watched the CBS preview [28].

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Last Updated June 26th, 2008