May 12, 2008 6:00 AM, PROMO Xtra, By Richard Tedesco

American Gladiators" cast members will be at NBC's Time Square barbecue to plug the network's summer shows.

NBC aims to spark viewers’ imaginations about its All-American Summer programming lineup with a barbecue in New York City’s Times Square today.

It’s a high-profile stunt to plug a primetime schedule of eight series, encompassing 287 hours in a run-up to what NBC hopes will be the ultimate tonic for its flagging ratings this season: coverage of the Beijing Summer Olympics.

That’s the biggest original production summer schedule any network has ever run, according to John Miller, NBC chief marketing officer. The network figures a Times Square barbecue, complete with volleyball net, a kiddie pool and members of the “American Gladiators” cast, is an appropriately big event to kick things off.

“We’re creating our own little summer tableau in Times Square,” Miller said.

The volleyball net will be branded with the title of “Nashville Star,” a country music counterpart to “American Idol” that originally aired on USA Network. The kiddie pool plays off a spot NBC has been airing to plug “Last Comic Standing,” with host Bill Bellamy standing in a kiddie pool.

Planes carrying an “NBC All-American Summer” banner could be seen around the country, another element of what Miller calls “a full-blown effort for us.”

The All-American Summer theme is partly informed by the Olympics, and U.S. Olympic athletes will figure prominently in on-air spots NBC will air. But the theme—being conveyed with a new network logo—is part of the reality fabric of the summer series. It celebrates a sense of fun and a number of these shows have ‘America’ is in the name,” Miller said. “Every American can compete and perhaps have a dream come true.”

NBC has drawn 3,500 auditions on MySpace for its reprise of “America’s Got Talent.” “American Gladiators,” which has its two-hour season debut Tuesday, and “Last Comic Standing,” debuting Thursday, are also returning series. New shows include “Celebrity Circus,” featuring celebs performing various stunts with circus pros, “Fear Itself,” a suspense potboiler, and “The Baby Boomers,” which gives teen-aged couples aspiring to parenthood a dry run at the job by lending them other people’s babies.

NBC will shortly launch an interactive Web parlor trick to pump up interest in “American Gladiator” on NBC.com and a number of blog sites: fans will be able to attach their faces to “Gladiator” bodies and send those images to their friends.

The network will also be handing out All-American Summer-branded frisbies and beach balls at theme parks during the summer and at the Times Square kick-off event today.

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