Closing Credits - Marginalization For Television Promotion

Marginalization For Television Promotion

On American television, the time the viewers spent watching the closing credit roll was often considered an opportunity to promote other shows on the network. Typically, this was accomplished by dipping or muting the closing music while an announcer on voice-over pitched another program – each announcer would often remind the viewer to "stay tuned" for the following show. Examples included Ernie Anderson on ABC, Alan Kalter on USA Network until 1996, and Phil Tonken on WOR-TV (now WWOR-TV). To help avoid cacophony with the theme song, most American TV shows produced since 1970 had few, if any, vocals in the closing music. As technology advanced, however, networks decided to replace the voice-overs with full-blown visual promos.

In the U.S., networks now run a split-screened version of the show's credits to allow for running a promo (known in some circles as "generic credits", "split-screen credits", "squeezed credits" or "credit crunch"). NBC started this practice in fall 1994 with a strategy called "NBC 2000," designed to keep viewers from channel-surfing. At that time, the credits were displayed on the right side of the screen, using a typeface on all shows that differs from the one used in the actual closing credits of each individual program (hence the common nickname "generic credits"), with "promo-tainment" (vintage scenes, trivia questions, etc.) on the left side or, for shows like Friends or Frasier, a tag sequence. Shortly after its adoption, the network shifted from "promo-tainment" to just airing promos for other NBC programming. All five major commercial broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and The CW) use this format; in mid-2004, Fox was the first major network to shift its credits to the lower one-quarter of the screen, and by the end of that year, ABC and NBC followed suit. In 2005, CBS, the WB, UPN (and, when it signed on, the CW) began shifting credits to the lower quarter of the screen, and most channels owned by the MTV Networks unit of Viacom (including MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central), Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network (though in June 2011, it was abandoned on their movies and scripted drama series, in favor of showing the original studio credits on the lower half of the screen), BBC America and (on certain syndicated programs and films) ABC Family. Since 2009, pay TV service Showtime also uses generic closing credits on its original series, and is the only premium channel to use this format. Some of the aforementioned cable channels, particularly the Nickelodeon channels (except Nick Jr.) and until recently ABC Family have removed tag scenes or blooper reels originally featured during the show's end credits, replacing them with marginalized credits to air promos for other network programming.

On some shows, the credits are reduced to either a rapid-fire crawl, or quick-flashing cards; in some cases, each credit would appear on-screen for less than one second (a prime example is at the end of each episode of Survivor, in which there is a rapid credit-crawl to fit in all of the contestant's closing speech). Sometimes a promo would run shorter of the normal time it would take to run the credits at normal speed. Thus, the credits even "sped-up" near the end in order to show all the credits before the promo ended (a prime example of this is NBC's showing of Titanic, in which there were so many credits to be shown in so little time that credits switched almost every frame, making it impossible for anyone to read, even with a slow motion capability—this also occurs on some telecasts of the network's new series Titanic: Forever and Ever, in which when the executive producer credits and director credits went in their original speed, the producer, production designer, and et cetera went on rapidly. And The Biggest Loser, particularly during the season finale episodes). Starting with the 2004 season, ABC's sitcoms air their closing credits at the bottom of the screen, during the closing scene in a format that keeps in-line with the network's generic credits look. These credits, however, air without the dark-colored bar that airs during their other prime-time programs, except for promotional consideration tags that appear near the end of the credits. In other words, the credits are superimposed over the closing scene's action.

Most daytime soap operas used closing credits for many years. Most of the shows aired during the week (e.g. Monday through Thursday) would list just the main people involved with the production and a few of the principal actors and actresses. However, given the large number of people involved with the production of each serial, a full cast and crew credit crawl could last three minutes or longer. Because of this, an expanded credit roll would often air at least once a week, such as on the Friday show, with the closing theme often an expanded version of the show's opening music. Starting in 1999, soap operas began eliminating the full-screen crawl in favor of the one-third screen credits/promo combination. While NBC, ABC and CBS soaps all use the upper portion of the screen to show advertisements for primetime programming, ABC soaps showed previews for the next episode until 2008. Daytime soaps that are rerun on SOAPnet continue to use full-screen credits. Around Christmas time, ABC soaps air holiday-themed credits, which do not feature network promotions; One Life to Live, in particular, scrolls the credits over a shot of a lighted Christmas tree. CBS soaps also air holiday-themed credits that also do not feature network promotions; most of their airings are "classic" airings from previous seasons, and the credits usually include a fully decorated Christmas tree, a fire burning in the fireplace in the background, etc., complete with random Christmas music and ending with the cast breaking the fourth wall with a holiday greeting.

Daytime game shows worked in much the same vein as soap operas. A shorter version might list one or two people involved with the production, along with such plugs as for prizes and wardrobe providers. At least once a week, a full-length credit roll would air over the extended main theme (along with camera shots of such things as the contestant talking with the host and/or celebrities). By the mid-1990s, The Price Is Right was the lone daytime game show remaining, and it would eventually switch to marginalized credits, starting in the fall of 1999. Game shows that have the full closing credits that do not scroll up include Go, The New $25,000 Pyramid, both the Dick Clark and John Davidson versions of The $100,000 Pyramid, the original versions of Beat the Clock, To Tell the Truth, Password, What's My Line?, and The Price is Right with Bill Cullen, and the original Mike Adamle version of American Gladiators from the second half of the first season to the end of the series run. The original Match Game had the credits scrolling up at the bottom of the screen. The 70s version of Match Game had the credits scrolling up bottom-to-top during Match Game 73 and right-to-left starting with Match Game 74 and including Match Game PM and the syndicated version from 1979–1982. Goodson-Todman's Double Dare had the credits on the main game board. Sometimes on that show, the camera zoomed into the game board before the credits began. On the original daytime Wheel of Fortune in the 1970s and 1980s as well as the first few seasons of the nighttime Wheel, the credits always began with a list of sponsors over a shot of the Wheel.

Some cable channels have used credits to blur the lines between the end of one show and the beginning of the following program. TNT and TBS had formerly ran the program's end credits in small (sometimes illegible) type at the bottom of the screen while another episode of the same program began at about three-quarters height. Similarly on networks like E! and Style Network, the program-to-program transition is seamless; to do this, the networks have moved the closing credits for their programs to air within the first minute of a show, usually on the bottom 1/3 of the screen in small, translucent type. For E!, the closing credits for the program being seen at that moment is seen at the start of that program; for other networks that use this practice, whether they use a double-box or generic credit format, the closing credits for the preceding program is seen during the opening of the next program. A few networks such as Nick at Nite, Comedy Central, Logo and TV Land have even moved the production company cards (displayed in a small box) in their network-generated credits (for Nick at Nite, this is done only when the generic closing credits are shown at the beginning of an episode of a show during back-to-back airings of most series, while a promo/generic credit combo followed by the production company credits are shown at the end of the last episode of a show's back-to-back block).

Often, the network-to-local transition between the end of the network primetime schedule and late local news on broadcast networks will feature the network show credits on the bottom of the screen, while the local news teaser sequence, station identification, news opening, and then the top story will take place. Once the credits end, the local news broadcast zooms in to fill the screen and the hand-off is seamless. Despite some objections by television production unions, some programs, such as those that air on Discovery Networks and the U.S. version of the National Geographic Channel only air the credits during a program's premiere broadcast, referring viewers to a website to view the credits in subsequent broadcasts.

Some networks, such as GSN, have even begun cutting off the credits before they finish, most likely to allow more time for commercials, though GSN has begun to squeeze the production company closing credits to the bottom third of the screen and show the entire credits during that time; Spike (only on its original programming and certain syndicated shows), Oxygen and Hallmark Channel also squeeze the production company credits to the lower third of the screen. Some cable channels mix use of generic and the actual production company credits depending on the show, ABC Family currently airs generic credits on most acquired programs where most episodes have no tag scene, while acquired programs where most episodes do feature one, the tag scene and/or production company credits are aired full-screen, and since June 2010, the channel's original series have the closing credits overlayed on the final scene of the episode (though they are still separated in airings of their original programs via its website and VOD service).

Until CBS cancelled the Hallmark Hall of Fame series in 2011, original credits were aired; the ending promo would be shown first, then the original closing credits. When the Hallmark Hall of Fame series moved to ABC in 2011 starting with Have a Little Faith, with the advent of ABC using generic credits on some TV specials, ABC began using marginalized closing credits being played concurrently with the ending promo; as a result, original closing credits are no longer seen on original airings, and must be first seen on the DVD release or the Hallmark Channel re-airing.