One For The Road (Cheers) - Promotion

Promotion

Bars across the country are holding parties tonight. At the 50,000-seat Skydome in Toronto, organizers are screening the last episode free and expecting the largest public gathering ever for a TV viewing.

Daniel Cerone from Los Angeles Times, May 20, 1993

This finale was massively promoted, including in the media, before the finale's initial airing. NBC executives expected a rating of 65 percent of total television households of 1993. Sources from Madison Avenue estimated a Nielsen rating of 33–40s and a share of 50–70; one expected a rating of 37–38 and a share of 60. Each 30-second commercial for the original broadcast cost $650,000; the total amount of commercials that aired on the initial broadcast was 25 to 30.

News programs of NBC, such as Dateline NBC and Today, and NBC affiliates, such as of KNBC, discussed an upcoming airing of the finale, including on the day of the finale. KTLA, a Los Angeles station that reran Cheers, played a variation of the show's theme song, "Where Everybody Knows Your Name", during reruns for one week before the finale. Entertainment Tonight covered blooper reels of Cheers during the week. Ratings of episodes of Season 11 (1992–1993) were growing in the last several weeks prior to the finale.

In April 1–4, 1993, the Times Mirror Center for the People and the Press (now Pew Research Center) surveyed 1,011 people on telephones. Sam Malone was voted a favorite of 26% and had 15% chance of a spin-off. For a question of to whom he should marry, 21% voted Diane Chambers, 19% voted Rebecca Howe, 48% voted Sam to stay single, and 12% had "no opinion" on this matter. Woody Boyd was voted a favorite of 18% and had 12% chance of a spin-off, and Norm Peterson was voted by 14% and had 10% chance of a spin-off.

Newspapers, in ways, counted down the finale of Cheers. The Washington Post covered the background of Cheers. Philadelphia Inquirer assured the future after the end of Cheers's first-run broadcast. Star Tribune published stories related to Cheers, including the following: local residents played trivia games that tribute to Cheers, including such characters as Cliff and Norm; the future of Sam Malone, a fictional character, was addressed with presumptions. Deseret News offered its readers to send their own fantasy endings of the finale (in 500 words or less) to the newspaper no later than May 3, 1993.

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Famous quotes containing the word promotion:

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