Former NBC president Warren Littlefield has warned that it is a mistake to attempt to launch new shows following the Super Bowl. "The new-show launch rate is woeful,"

Littlefield told today's (Tuesday) Wall Street Journal. He said that after several failures to boost new network shows by airing them at the end of the big game, he opted in 1996 to present an hourlong episode of Friends, featuring guest appearances by Julia Roberts, Jean-Claude Van Damme and singer Chris Isaak, a show that drew 52.9 million viewers. "You're trying to shove something brand new in front of a massive audience that has spent a long day in front of the television, when you're much better off with something they know," Littlefield said.

Source: Studio Briefing