Renewal Represents Triumph for Fans and TV Critics Who Waged Successful Online and Twitter “Save Chuck” Campaign Supported by Subway
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – May 19, 2009 – NBC is pleased to announce that due to an innovative advertising partnership with Subway, the fan-favorite and critically-lauded series “Chuck” will return for the 2009-10 season. The announcement was made by Ben Silverman, Co-Chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, and Mike Pilot, President, Sales and Marketing, NBC Universal.
“This innovative partnership is a perfect example of the effectiveness of the NBC Infront,” said Silverman. “By involving Subway early in the process, we were able to bring a quality show like ‘Chuck’ back to NBC for next season. Everybody wins — NBC, Subway, and the loyal fans who so enthusiastically lobbied for ‘Chuck’s’ renewal.”
“The synergy of the deal with Subway validates the Infront process,” added Pilot. “Our goal with the Infront is to initiate early and ongoing dialogue with our advertising clients regarding the network’s programming. We were thrilled when Subway, who had been integrated into the show lately, expressed a desire to expand their relationship with the series in a creative way.”
“Our customers love ‘Chuck’ so we are happy to help bring the show back through our partnership with NBC,” said Tony Pace, Chief Marketing Officer, SFAFT. “We have been working with NBC Universal extensively, well beyond the traditional upfront marketplace discussions, to craft ground-breaking, multi-platform deals, which we believe provide a more engaging way of getting our messages to our consumer audiences. And, since program development is essentially year round, we have found NBC’s Infront process to be helpful in that we can be part of the conversation as programming decisions are made.”
The multi-platform partnership with Subway will offer a variety of opportunities that will include significant integration into the show, as well as traditional advertising tie-ins.
“Chuck” has been heralded by TV Guide as classic TV escapism — a funny, smart, stylish, silly action comedy, a hoot with heart, pure entertainment that mixes danger, humor and romance in a satisfying package.”
In its second season, “Chuck” averaged a 2.8 rating, 7 share in adults 18-49 and 7.3 million viewers overall in a highly competitive time period that includes competition from Fox’s “House,” ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” and CBS’s “Big Bang Theory” and “How I Met Your Mother.” “Chuck” over-delivered in upscale households, scoring a 115 index of adults 18-49 living in homes with $75,000+ incomes (with 100 representing an average concentration of those homes in the general 18-49 population) and generated 28 percent of its adult 18-49 audience through DVR time-shifting. The February 2 “3-D” episode of “Chuck” (3.0 rating, 7 share in 18-49, 8.5 million viewers overall) nabbed NBC’s highest non-Olympic 18-49 rating in the time period since February 25, 2008.
I’m not sure this Subway deal would have happened without the fan campaign. How very telling that a fan-based effort led to advertiser awareness which led to the show being renewed. Also, how sad that the fans had to fight for renewal.
I take it as the clearest proof that the current ratings system is broken beyond repair.