Get with NEW GIRL Zooey Deschanel early on Itunes

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Fox is making an interesting move to create buzz around its new sitcom New Girl, starring Zooey Deschanel, by making it available for download on platforms like iTunes weeks before the series is set to officially premiere on TV. Since late last month, New Girl has been available for viewing on select hotel TV systems as well as screenings in cities Fox is affiliated with.

Aside from iTunes, New Girl will be appearing on Hulu, VOD, and Fox.com for potential audiences to test out. The whole idea behind this marketing strategy is to gain viewership through word of mouth. Ultimately it won’t have much if any effect on New Girl’s premiere night, Sept. 28. Why watch something later when there’s a way to see it early? But it’s the subsequent episodes where we’ll start seeing if the word of mouth and early viewings helped the show to gain an audience.

New Girl premiered on iTunes on Sept. 6th, with the Hulu, VOD and Fox.com premiere on Sept. 13. The show will be removed from all digital platforms before Sept. 28, but will be put back online after the broadcast premiere. Fox attempted a similar marketing approach with Lone Star last season, but it ended up not helping the now canceled show. Digital sampling could end up hurting New Girl the way it hurt Lone Star, but if it doesn’t, it could help push TV viewing into a more digital realm. We’ll have to just wait and see and the show does.