Is Summer TV's new Fall?

Historically, American TV viewers have had to endure long summers full of reruns and bad "specials" before their favorite programs premiered in the fall. But within recent years, Bravo, "the Film and Arts Network," has turned summertime into an exciting television event. This year, the network has continued that trend with its seasonal branding campaign:  "Summer by Bravo." 

Some of Bravo's most successful shows debuted over the past few weeks, including The Real Housewives of New Jersey, The Rachel Zoe Project, and Inside the Actors Studio, among others. And in order to promote "Summer by Bravo," the network has pulled all the stops.

The "Summer by Bravo" campaign was spearheaded by Stun Creative in Los Angeles. This year's campaign, according to an article by Stuart Elliott in the New York Times, is called "Camp by Bravo." In the new campaign, "more than 20 of the channel's personalities arrive by school bus before they begin to mix, mingle, and get into mischief," reported Elliott. "The Britney Spears song 'I Wanna Go' provides the soundtrack for the campaign, just as many a pop or rock tune has provided the soundtrack to a summer's worth of memories," added Elliott.

Bravo is hoping to keep its ratings high over the summer by teaming up with pop star Spears. According to a press release distributed by Jive Records, last Sunday, during Bravo's highly-viewed Watch What Happens: Live, a 30-second teaser for Spears' new video, "I Wanna Go," was aired. This move ensured high viewership for Bravo, as Spears remains to be an industry leader. 

Will other television networks jump on board with Bravo's summer TV makeover? According to Elliott, other channels already have. "In seeking to draw viewer eyeballs for its shows this summer, Bravo is competing against channels like MTV, ... Oxygen, ... USA, ... and TNT," reported Elliot. For television-addicts all over, this new trend is surely a welcome one.