In an uncertain time for network television, NBC is shaking things up.

The network is all but dispensing with the traditional "up-front" advertising spectacle—a series of splashy events in New York each May to show off stars and fall prime-time schedules in hopes of luring advertisers and publicity.

Instead, it's trying a pared-down approach, meeting one-on-one with advertisers after a news conference on Wednesday afternoon in which the network announced its year-round—not fall-prime-time—schedule.

Facing an increasingly splintered audience, increased competition from cable networks and the internet, and a recession, NBC executives said in February that their revamped up-front process would let them "create new advertising models, define more effective metrics, and provide a better return on our clients' investments."

Sure, that sounds great—and the network needs a boost, given that it ranked third in household viewers in the 2006-07 broadcast season. Other networks scrambled to react. Fox executives even claimed that they had been introducing year-round schedules for years and should get credit for the idea.

But will all this hoopla about the new formula really help NBC gain a competitive edge?

"Not necessarily," says Charles Rutman, C.E.O. of MPG North America, a media planning and buying company based in New York. "First of all, we don't know if the programs are any good. This is all a great strategy, but you have to deliver the goods."

Rutman said he does see a benefit in terms of advance planning, however. Many clients are already thinking about the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year, so moving up the up-fronts by a month or more "could be beneficial," he says.

"But is this going to be a major shift in share gain in and of itself?" he asks. "I don't think so."

Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment, introduced the shows returning to NBC, including Lipstick Jungle, whose fate had been uncertain, and reality shows Celebrity Apprentice and The Biggest Loser.

He seized the opportunity to take a jab at Fox, praising NBC's uplifting reality content and eschewing Fox's excruciating, lie-detector-based, marriage-destroying reality show. "We will not be doing Moment of Truth," he said.

In discussing NBC's fall 2008 prime-time lineup, Silverman outlined a programming strategy that emphasized family shows in the 8 p.m. slot, "blockbuster" shows with broad appeal at 9 p.m., and adult themes with "high-end drama" at 10 p.m.

Fall season highlights include the return of Heroes, the science-fiction drama which averaged a relatively strong 11.5 million viewers for the network, and which will debut in a three-hour broadcast on September 15.

Following on the success of Heroes, the network plans to introduce several other escapist or sci-fi-themed shows over the next year. One is My Own Worst Enemy, starring Christian Slater as a man with a Jekyll-and-Hyde complex. (Silverman added that, as part of his campaign to woo Slater to the TV series—part of a broader attempt to lure movie stars to the network—he personally took the actor's mother out to lunch.) Another is Merlin, a family-friendly drama set in a mythical city. A third is The Listener, a Medium-like drama about a tortured young man who can read peoples' minds.

The coming year will also see the return of Friday Night Lights. Silverman said that show attracted the most positive feedback from his casual acquaintances. The show is coming back for a third season through a partnership with DirecTV. Subscribers of the satellite broadcaster will be able to see the new episodes in October; NBC will begin airing the drama shortly after the Super Bowl next winter. (Silverman claimed the deal would be worth it even if the ratings took a hit due to the lag time, just to bring the show back.)

Also in the works is a spin-off of The Office that will premiere after the Super Bowl. Silverman wouldn't comment about the new series except to say that it would come from the same creative team as The Office; but with big episode orders in for both Office shows, speculation of an impending burnout was running rampant in the audience.

To capitalize on the election season, NBC has scheduled four Thursday Night Live prime-time election specials made by Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels. Episodes of The Office will precede each election special, which will be timed to follow campaign debates—presumably to showcase Amy Poehler's Hillary Clinton moue to best effect.

If nothing else, with its new up-front schedule, NBC had the advantage of getting to advertisers first. Wednesday's news conference took place six weeks before competing networks—Fox, CW, CBS, and ABC—hold their traditional up-fronts.

But the early start on selling doesn't mean that NBC will ditch the glitz altogether: The network still plans to hold what it's calling a spotlight event on May 12.

Some things, however, never change. The NBC executives who spoke all read from a prompter.