Additional observations:

• Dramas are back in full force, and sitcoms are also back in vogue also (thanks to the ongoing success of ABC’s Modern Family).
• Revolving-door stars – Michael Chiklis, William Shatner, Dana Delany, Blair Underwood, Jimmy Smits, Tom Selleck, Becki Newton, Jason Ritter and Daniel Dae Kim all made appearances in new character incarnations.
• Police procedurals proliferate: Hawaii Five-O, Chase, Law & Order: LA, Detroit 1-8-7, Outlaw, Whole Truth, Blue Bloods, Body Of Proof have all been added.
• Expect lots of action adventure in the Fall lineup : Terra Nova, The Event, Undercovers

Kudos to CBS for bold rescheduling

Historically, CBS has been in a position of strength, but always played it safe from a scheduling standpoint. This year, they’ve shaken things up, and are getting accolades from the industry for their strategic scheduling: moving Survivor to lead Wednesdays; moving hit series Big Bang Theory to Thursday to challenge NBC’s long-established sitcom night; shifting CSI: Miami and NY to anchor Sundays and Fridays, respectively – and in doing so, creating a seemingly bullet-proof schedule.

mediahub’s early forecast

• Due to its audacious scheduling moves, we anticipate CBS will claim pole position this Fall, with ABC and FOX nipping at its heels.
• With the loss of the bewildering Lost, and a bevy of aging Housewives, ABC is gambling on unconventional shows like No Ordinary Family and My Generation to add to its Modern Family bulwark– and may succeed.
• FOX, with Idol winding down, a limping House, and X-Factor still a year away, is leaning on shows like Lonestar and Lie To Me to complement current cult hit, Glee.
• NBC may have a chance of recovery, given its new crop of quality shows (Undercovers, The Event, Outsourced, Love Bites) – returning to its roots of solid programs with an upscale, bicoastal appeal – but still has a perilous journey ahead.

Upfront posturing has already begun, with networks anticipating writing double-digit increases, and advertisers balking. The Upfront haul is predicted to be up 15% to 20% year to year, with Cable potentially benefiting from the migration of dollars due to Primetime’s aggressive demands. Digital spend is also anticipated to be on the rise, assisted by Nielsen’s introduction of its Extended Screen Ratings in 4Q10 (for identical commercials airing both on-air and online).

note: John Moore and Steve Kalb contributed to this post.

Here’s the entry describing the Ask.com campaign:

“There was a moment during the Daytona 500 on Fox when Ask.com’s “Crawl” campaign from Mullen took the checkered flag. A trivia question from Ask.com appeared in an animated search box on the screen. An announcer followed with: “We’re not going to tell you, you have to go to Ask.com.” Most of the time during the campaign, however, when the Ask.com search box suddenly popped up during programming — documentaries on National Geographic, movies on FX, etc. — there was no voiceover. No matter, the DVR-proof tactic of weaving in content-related questions and sending viewers to the search engine for an answer was a winner. Knowing some networks would balk at the integration, Mullen approached 30 and persuaded 16 to go along.”

Credits mediahub from Mullen: John Moore, Executive Vice President, Director of Media Services; Steve Kalb, Senior Vice President, Director of Broadcast Media; Elaine Heilemann, Associate Media Director; Kate Monsalvatge, Jackie Heath, Network Buying Supervisor; Marissa Maltese, Senior Media Planner; Brenna Hanly, Assistant Media Planner; Julie Jaenicke, Network Assistant.