I read Mark's comments in the ...
Question: I read Mark's comments in
the last Ask Matt about the USA Network cross-promotion of
In Plain Sight on
Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and while it was a pretty cheesy cross-promotion, I felt it was harmless. Plus, every Dick Wolf show has done this sort of cross-promotion when getting started, so it was not unexpected that he would be a good corporate citizen and do it for another USA Network show. More of a problem is what TBS has done to take those on-screen promos we all find so annoying to the next level. I have stopped watching
Family Guy on TBS because of it. While the show is running, it suddenly freezes, and Bill Engvall walks on screen holding a remote, with
Family Guy "paused" in the background. He makes some sort of supposedly funny comment tying what just happened to his show ("Stewie would never do anything like that on
The Bill Engvall Show"), makes a pitch for his show, and then hits the remote to restart the
Family Guy episode, which goes right into a commercial break. I'm sure they will argue that it happened right at a commercial break so it's not really intrusive, but I find it incredibly tasteless, annoying and a whole other bunch of adjectives. Do you see any limit to how far the networks will take these things?
Answer: Just when I thought I'd heard everything. I haven't seen this one for myself, but I'd say that little trick goes beyond obnoxious to some new level of promo hell. And to answer your question, I guess I don't see a limit in the way networks will hawk their shows at the expense of their other shows. There's a price to pay for the way we tend to DVR through commercials these days, but it shouldn't be this steep.
