With the new fall television season all but upon us, NBC would seem to have the least to look forward to of the broadcast networks, having finished at No. 4 last season and with media buyers pretty ho-hum about its new shows.
   But what matters ultimately is how viewers feel, and as it turns out America is surprisingly upbeat about the network's new lineup. Or so goes the buzz. 
   And it's not just over Martha Stewart and her upcoming "Apprentice" spinoff.
   Initiative, the huge media buying concern, learned this by scanning some 15 million online blogs and discussion boards in an effort to find out which new shows and which stars of new shows people were talking about. 
   The buying firm found that 41 percent of the most-discussed stars on the 10 most-talked-about new programs are on NBC. Stewart alone accounts for nearly 14 percent of these conversations, making her the most talked-about star of any new show. Another 5.5 percent of online chats focusing on new programs center on Jason Lee of NBC sitcom “My Name is Earl.” Also generating a lot of buzz were Chris Rock of UPN’s “Everybody Hates Chris” and Jennifer Love Hewitt of CBS’s “Ghost Whisperer.” 
   “The most buzz or conversations about TV shows are about the actors associated with these projects,” explains Stacey Lynn Koerner, executive vice president and director of global research integration at Initiative.
   “NBC shows have the lion’s share of the conversation. This is a good time for them. They’ve created shows and stars that people are interested in, which is a good sign that they will get some sampling when they premiere these shows.”
   Focusing on the stars of the 10 most-discussed upcoming programs, Initiative found that CBS ranks No. 2 behind NBC, with 17.1 percent of online discussions. UPN is No. 3 with 16.1 percent, followed by ABC at 12.3 percent, the WB at 8.3 percent and Fox at only 4.9 percent.
   Although the WB does not rank high overall, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki of the WB drama “Supernatural” rank among the 10 most-talked-about stars.
   The actors most often discussed are Stewart, Rock, Hewitt, Geena Davis of ABC’s “Commander in Chief,” Lee, Stuart Townsend of ABC’s “Night Stalker,” Freddie Prinze Jr. of ABC’s “Freddie,” Amy Grant of NBC reality show “Three Wishes,” Ackles and Padalecki, and Alyson Hannigan from CBS’s “How I Met Your Mother.”
   Initiative uses its findings to determine the programs and stars that would be a good fit for its clients’ advertising and marketing strategies.
   In addition to measuring online chat with proprietary tool PropheSEE, Initiative also compiles findings on the quality of that chat, meaning whether it’s positive or negative. The media buying agency then uses this information to help its clients find the best vehicles for traditional ad messages but also for product placement and off-television marketing tie-ins.
   Although Initiative’s PropheSEE isn’t used to predict the fall season’s new hits, Koerner says positive online chat suggests which shows will get millions of people checking out early episodes.
   Moreover, Initiative combines three measures – buzz, positive conversations and buzz about specific actors – to determine the programs that will most captivate viewers, which in turn suggests to advertisers programs that will keep viewers tuned in during commercial breaks.
   Focusing on what Initiative says are likely to be two of the toughest time slots this fall:  Tuesdays and Wednesdays, both at 9 p.m., The WB’s “Supernatural” ranks No. 1 in this fan engagement index in the Tuesday slot, while the network’s “Related” slightly trails NBC’s “E-Ring” in the Wednesday time period.
   “This is not necessarily about which shows will generate the biggest audiences,” says Koerner. “It’s about which [shows] will engage fans and create a fan culture.”