Once more, with feeling

NBC, the licensed broadcaster for the London Olympics, used the closing ceremony as the lead in for its new show, Animal Practice. Would you like to know what the peacock used as the lead out?

They used The Who’s performance at the closing ceremony.

A good lead in is always expected to boost the ratings of the show that follows. That is why broadcast networks often choose to premiere new offerings after big events, such as the Superbowl or the closing ceremony of an olympic. The hope in this case is that  Animal Practice will manage to hang on to the closing ceremony audience, which will allow NBC to declare its decision a success.

I guess we’ll have to wait for Nielsen to publish the ratings, but maybe not. For example, CBS already considers the lead-in effect is considered a given, even before any numbers are available.

I have no doubt that there will be a lead in effect. How big it will be remains to be seen.