This past weekend I watched ...

Question: This past weekend I watched the pilot of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip because I saw it on Netflix and thought it would be cool to get a jump on the fall season. I loved it! Is this a new marketing strategy? Don't you think the ratings for the premiere will suffer if a lot of folks have already seen it on DVD? Thanks, love your column.
Answer: Be on the lookout for more aggressive moves to get new series sampled this fall: on the Internet, through DVDs and elsewhere (such as the Heroes pilot screening at Comic-Con). NBC is using Netflix to get Studio 60 and the serialized thriller Kidnapped in viewers' hands, and as far as the network is concerned, getting the buzz started early is worth any small downside in premiere-week ratings. Cutting through the clutter of the new fall season (Studio 60 goes up against the CSI: Miami premiere) is the biggest challenge many of these series face, and technology is now giving them the tools to try new methods.