Line #74 Main/NewContentCountdownClock


1	Now that the age of internet is upon us, and cable and satellite have made TV a 24 hour active paradigm, viewers, readers and surfers don't necessarily sit around stuck to one location once they've finished consuming their medium of choice.
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3	Television shows have a finite number of episodes, and when they're out, many channels either fill up the slot with new content, filler, or just play the same episodes over and over again until the new season is ready. When a book is done, there's usually a year or more until the next installment. Web content updates depending on the style of the page.
4
5	To drum up excitement and anticipation for the release of new material, popular media will have a '''New Content Countdown Clock''' which sits (not at all unobtrusively) in the corner of the screen counting down the hours and minutes until the most anticipated new material.
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7	Particularly JustForFun/{{egregious}} cases (at least in the case of TV) will have the clock fixed in place so that it's even present in the corner of the screen ''during the commercial breaks''.
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9	May often appear -- on [=TV=] at least -- at the end of a Theme Week or Marathon.
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11	SisterTrope to CommercialPopUp.
12	----
13	!!Examples:
14	[[foldercontrol]]
15
16	[[folder:Websites]]
17	* Mugglenet has done one for each of the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' books after the fourth, and all of the movies.
18	* [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page Bulbapedia]] has had one of these for the Japanese and English-language releases of every major ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' game.
19	* [=TFWiki.net=] has done this for ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'' and ''[[Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon Dark of the Moon]]''.
20	* [=ZeldaWiki=] did this for ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'', with separate countdowns for Europe, America, and Australia.
21	* Blog/EquestriaDaily has them for season and episode premieres.
22	* Scified's ''Film/Godzilla2014'' website had a countdown which ended in the phrase "The King Has Returned".
23	* There was [[http://www.themysteryofgravityfalls.com/countdown/ a website]] counting down to the ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' episode "Not What He Seems". [[spoiler:It now has a slow-loading image of an in-universe version of Series/{{Punkd}}, since the world didn't actually end during "Not What He Seems," as had been implied within the show and online.]]
24	* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' had a now-defunct site called "Slap Countdown", counting down to the premiere of the Slapsgiving episode.
25	* Muppet fansite [=ToughPigs=] had countdowns for the releases of both ''Film/TheMuppets2011'' and ''Film/MuppetsMostWanted''. When Franchise/TheMuppets' [[Series/TheMuppets2015 return to television]] was confirmed for September 22, 2015, they put up a Kermit clock counting down to that date.
26	[[/folder]]
27
28	[[folder:Film]]
29	* ''Film/Armageddon1998'' advertised itself with a series of large billboards with a countdown clock to the release date.
30	* During the 2006 running of [=BotCon=] (the former official ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' FanConvention), a [[https://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/a/a8/Bigfist.jpg giant robot fist]] was unveiled that counted down to the release date of the then-upcoming [[Film/Transformers2007 live-action movie]].
31	[[/folder]]
32
33	[[folder:Literature]]
34	* Barnes and Noble did this with ''Literature/MidnightSun2020'', the companion ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga'', in August 2020.
35	[[/folder]]
36
37	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
38	* Creator/{{ABC}} did it for ''[[Series/{{V2009}} V]]'' when it returned from its hiatus, and also pissed off ''Series/{{Lost}}'' fans by showing the clock during their show.
39	* Creator/{{TNT}} did this with ''Series/{{Leverage}}''.
40	* Creator/USANetwork had one for ''Series/BurnNotice''. And every new show that's premiered since.
41	* Creator/DisneyChannel did it for, among other things, the ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'' movies. New movies, big premieres or events or even just theme blocks can also get one. What makes it particularly annoying is that the countdown timer will be ''HUGE'' blocking out significant portions of whatever program is actually on, especially and frequently actors' faces.
42	* A station in Milwaukee counted down the minutes to the UsefulNotes/SuperBowl during their newscasts when the Packers were in Super Bowl XLV... from the moment they won the NFC Championship. [[LogicalExtreme That's 336 hours of countdown time]].
43	* ''Series/TheColbertReport'' website used to do this, with the implication that viewers [[ItsAllAboutMe should be literally counting down the seconds until their next chance to see wonderful, wonderful Stephen Colbert]].
44	* During the 2007 writer's strike, Creator/{{NBC}} became absolutely ''obsessed'' with putting text ads above its bug for upcoming programs, and keeping the peacock itself opaque and full-color at all times (going as far as even decorating it with a Santa hat and a party hat for Christmas and New Year's respectively). This type of ad still happens occasionally (for high-profile premieres or the UsefulNotes/OlympicGames), but at least it's all been translucent now. Many of NBC's cable channels followed its lead with similar forms of advertising.
45	* Creator/{{AMC}} Runs one every Sunday to the latest episode of ''Series/TheWalkingDead2010'', during the closing credits of the re-airing of the previous week's episode.
46	* Creator/{{Sprout}} has done it for ''[[Music/TheWiggles Wiggly Waffle]]'' in 2009 in the form of a screenbug.
47	* Creator/{{BBC}} America has done countdown clocks for:
48	** ''Series/TopGearUK'''s new season.
49	** ''Series/DoctorWho'''s new seasons.
50	* CNN and MSNBC always do a countdown for a big presidential speech; every news channel will also count down to a "polls close" time (or in other terms, for CurbstompBattle votes, the time they declare a winner) for an election. And during the ''campaign'', the news channels run countdown clocks to hype up practically ''every single thing'' related to it, including debates and town halls they host, countdowns to primary/caucus ''coverage'', and so on.
51	** When MSNBC put up a clock counting down to the deadline for Saddam Hussein's surrender during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, ''Series/TheDailyShow'' replied by turning it into a parody of ''Series/TwentyFour'' (complete with the ticking sound effect, and Jon Stewart's dismayed reaction to the timer).
52	* Creator/{{ABC}} had one counting down to the Royal Wedding of William and Kate.
53	* At the end of the preceding episode of ''Series/StargateSG1'', [[Creator/{{Sky}} Sky One]] did this for the premiere of ''Series/StargateAtlantis''. Since they forewent an ad break between the two, and the countdown only occurred over the end credits, nobody minded too much.
54	* TV Asashi put one of these for the M1 Grandprix, a manzai comedy competition, during the EyeCatch of the ChristmasEpisode of ''Anime/StarTwinklePrettyCure''.
55	[[/folder]]
56
57	[[folder:Music]]
58	* Music/TaylorSwift ''tweeted'' one in the runup to her album ''Red''. First it was daily tweets at the 10-day mark (with an Instagram of the relevant number of something or other -- six flowers, perhaps, or seven band members' feet), and then she started making or retweeting hourly updates with one day to go.
59	[[/folder]]
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61	[[folder:Sports]]
62	* Creator/{{ESPN}} has done this occasionally with a small strip above their ticker, for things such as the College Football Playoff National Championship, and NBA Finals games on ABC. The latest iteration of their ticker now has a large area off to the side, filled with a cycling slideshow of ads for upcoming events and their app (used in parallel with the aforementioned strip).
63	* MLB Network put up a somewhat intrusive box above their ticker to advertise the next game they're airing (often with team logos or pictures of the starters). They eventually made a streamlined version that fits into their ticker instead -- an example NFL Network also follows for certain content (particularly ''Thursday Night Football'') as well.
64	* For some reason, NBC [[https://www.reddit.com/r/assholedesign/comments/168vpqv/advertising_a_college_football_game_for_over_10/ decided to put a giant, distracting countdown clock]] to their first ''Big Ten Saturday Night'' college football game ... on Syfy.
65	[[/folder]]
66
67	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
68	* Made by the creators of ''VisualNovel/{{Melody}}'' on the scheduled release date of each new update.
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Webcomics]]
72	* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' had a quasi-example with its End of Act 5 AnimationBump - Creator/AndrewHussie added a progress bar measured in percentage which he continually updated over the months spent working on it, and partway through issued a target release date of [[ArcNumber October 25 2011]]. Plenty of countdown clocks ensued on fansites.
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder:Web Original]]
76	* ''Life In A Day'' did this on their Platform/YouTube channel.
77	[[/folder]]
78
79	[[folder:Western Animation]]
80	* Creator/ComedyCentral had one when ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' was {{Uncancelled}}.
81	* The Mantis-Eye Experiment, a noted fansite of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', featured a countdown clock to the first episode of Season 3 once the schedule was announced.
82	* Creator/CartoonNetwork does this religiously. Among the shows given this treatment:
83	** ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce''
84	** ''WesternAnimation/TheCloneWars''
85	** ''WesternAnimation/TheCloneWars: Secrets Revealed''
86	** The premiere of ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow''
87	** The season premiere of ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryInc''.
88	** The premiere of ''Firebreather''.
89	** Both [[WesternAnimation/AdventureTime Fionna and Cake]] specials.
90	** The ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama World Tour'' premiere and finale. The final five seconds of the countdown even continued after the show.
91	** ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternTheAnimatedSeries'' has one for the season proper starting in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien''
92	** The premiere of WesternAnimation/UncleGrandpa.
93	** The 2014 ''[[Franchise/ThePowerpuffGirls Powerpuff Girls]]'' special.
94	** The midseason finale for season 1 of ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': "Mirror Gem" and "Ocean Gem".
95	** Several special episodes of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'', with the one for the 200th episode starting two weeks before.
96	** The first two seasons of ''WesternAnimation/InfinityTrain''.
97	** In America, they hyped up the weekend premieres of ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes'' episodes from Season 2 this way.
98	** Generally with a massive counter taking up a quarter of the screen. Who wanted to see that other show, anyway...
99	* {{Creator/Nickelodeon}} has done this about as much as CN, such as for the long-awaited final season of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' (at least in [=US=] markets ...the episodes had aired and the [=DVDs=] gone onsale elsewhere). They've also counted down to special events such as the Kids Choice Awards.
100	* Nicktoons has done it for the anticipated first episode of ''Manga/DragonBall Z Kai''.
101	** Nicktoons flashed an occasional one to remind viewers of the new MerchandiseDriven ''Zevo-3'' series in the days leading up to its October 2010 premiere.
102	* The now-defunct [=WBKids=] did the website variation for the premiere of ''[[WesternAnimation/LoonaticsUnleashed Loonatics]]''.
103	* [[Creator/DiscoveryFamily The Hub]] had a countdown for, among other things, every new episode of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''.
104	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' had [[https://web.archive.org/web/20110418232507/http://www.ponycountdown.com/ a website called Pony Countdown]].
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Real Life]]
108	* Shops will often do this for when a big product is coming out, such as a video game - often they'll keep a constant clock in the window and just change the images whenever it needs to.
109	* ESPN's main buildings will have these for major sports events, such as the Olympics or the World Cup.
110	* When [[MillenniumBug Y2K]] mania was happening, manufacturers sold clocks three years in advance counting down to the new millennium which [[DullSurprise blinked on and off]] once the moment came. Thankfully most of them functioned as regular clocks after that date.
111	* Israeli TV channels have countdowns... at commercial breaks, counting down to when the program returns. It's not really surprising if you factor in that Israeli TV regulations also require the channel bug to be replaced with [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/he/a/ad/LogoCommercials.svg a stylized swirl]] during the commercial break itself.
112	[[/folder]]
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115	-->New AliceAndBob\

Context Main / NewContentCountdownClock