CBS Airing Films Like Titanic in May to Fill Schedule Holes Caused By COVID-19
Key insights:
As Adweek noted yesterday, broadcast scheduling has become more important than ever during the pandemic, as the schedulers try to navigate COVID-19 upheaval while keeping audiences and advertisers happy in both the short and long term.
As it attempts to program May with fewer original episodes than planned due to the coronavirus-related production shutdown, CBS is tapping sibling studio Paramount Pictures to help fill the holes in its schedule, and is bringing theatrical films back to broadcast TV in a major way.
Every Sunday in May, CBS will air an iconic Paramount film: Forrest Gump, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Mission: Impossible and Titanic.
“It’s a five-week programming event with epic films, iconic stars and brilliant stories that viewers love … and love to watch together,” said Noriko Kelley, evp, program planning and scheduling, CBS Entertainment, in a statement.
Raiders of the Lost Ark will air May 3, followed by Forrest Gump on May 10, Mission: Impossible on May 17, Titanic on May 24 and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade on May 31.
The move helps CBS fill the holes in its schedule left by several of its scripted series, which are delivering fewer episodes than planned because of the production shutdown. And going with Paramount allows CBS to stay in-house, now that both entities are part of the same company following December’s Viacom and CBS merger.
The network also hopes that the escapist entertainment will also appeal to advertisers.
Theatrical films used to be a broadcast staple, but in recent years those movies have migrated to cable networks like FX and TNT, as well as streaming services. Now, they will likely make their way back to broadcast as production shutdowns continue and networks find themselves in desperate need of content to air.
During the pandemic, Kelley has stuck to her same scheduling mantras, she recently told Adweek: “For us, the thing that has always worked is a strong, stable schedule. You’ve seen that prior to all this, and you’ll see that going through all of this.”
ABC is also looking to its Disney siblings for other programming options, including movies, as it looks to fill its own scheduling gaps.
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