​Looks like Fox is going it alone in bypassing pilot season.

ABC Entertainment Group President Paul Lee told the Television Critics Association Winter Tour on Friday that The Alphabet network would not be joining Fox in bypassing pilot season for the time being.

“We’re still in pilot season, and the upfront is still important for us,” Lee told the gathering, adding that he thought the focus and deadlines it brought were good for the TV business.

Lee acknowledged that it took a while for the network to “get our sea legs” on this year’s big primetime tentpole, “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” Despite the initial ratings disappointments, Lee said ABC would continue to look to broad-appeal Marvel shows, while his studio would develop “super-fan” programming as part of its deal with Netflix.

The ABC crew also sought to highlight it’s highly-anticipated new singing competition, the Israeli format “Rising Star,” which could open a new chapter on the whole genre, although the network is still trying to figure out how to handle voting across four time zones in a live show that is entirely dependent on fan votes to determine which contestants advance.

Read More: Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter

Brief Take: Fox is the only major broadcaster that seems to have abandoned the traditional pilot season, although each of its competitors left the door open a bit to change course in the future.

Tags:


  Save as PDF