Who Will Buy O.J.?

Coca-Cola sponsors American Idol. American Eagle backs Gilmore Girls. But who will aid and abet O.J. Simpson?

Fox was not commenting Thursday on what, if any, advertisers have signed up to buy time on its upcoming two-part special in which the disgraced football legend discusses how he killed his ex-wife and her friend—if he were the real killer, that is.

Conventional wisdom says somebody will sponsor O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened, set to air Nov. 27 and Nov. 29. But that somebody wouldn't be following the advice of John Haskell.

When asked if he would steer potential clients to Fox's Simpson special, the Los Angeles-based marketing and sales expert who bills himself as Dr. Revenue said firmly, "Hell, no."

"And I'm a neighbor of his [Simpson's], and I played golf with him a few weeks before the murders," Haskell added.

Haskell is far from the only one who's off the Juice.

Mediaweek senior editor John Consoli thinks the modern corporation is far too image conscious to peddle its wares in between Simpson's homicidal theorizing.

"Probably most of the advertisers that do run in the show will not be top-flight, high-quality advertisers," Consoli said in an email.

TV historian and author Tim Brooks notes there's always the chance that Fox will end up going commercial-free, à la ABC's controversial 9-11 miniseries.  But that's not quite the same as saying Fox won't have commercials to air.

"Would anybody advertise on it? I'll tell you," Brooks said, "anything you have on the air will attract somebody."

But will the special, scheduled for the final nights of the November sweeps, attract the somebodies known as viewers?

Consoli goes with yes.

"I would bet that people watch this in droves," Consoli said. "And, after all, isn't that what TV is supposed to do? Put on stuff that people want to watch, even if it is tasteless?"

Brooks' hunch is that the Simpson special will draw a smaller audience than the last major TV interview event: Martin Bashir's Living with Michael Jackson, which featured its subject speaking at length about his sleeping partners and drew 27.1 million looky-loos to ABC in 2003.

"I suspect in this case," Brooks said of the Simpson special, "it's going to be, 'I kind of know what it's going to be, and I'm not going to watch.' "

If I Did It is a tie-in to the same-titled Simpson book, to be released on Nov. 30, the day after the final interview hour. The publisher, ReganBooks, an imprint of HarperCollins, and Fox are both members of the News Corp. family.

Simpson, 59, reportedly received $3.5 million for the book. It was not known how much more, if any, he received for the TV interview.

Because of the corporate-synergy factor, Consoli thinks Fox can't lose—even if it can't sell a single ad.

"Fox can bury its cost within the corporation," Consoli said. "Who is really paying O.J. for this interview—Fox, ReganBooks, HarperCollins, News Corp.? Will they split it?"

But what's the point in airing a show that may not appeal to advertisers, if not viewers?

Said Brooks: "The point would be attention."

"Maybe they're thinking they need a jolt—that they've become too much of an establishment," Brooks continued. "Doing stuff like this shows they're like the feisty outsider."

Attention also might behoove Fox's floundering prime-time schedule.

"Fox can use the huge viewership expected to tune in to promote all its midseason shows, like American Idol and 24," Consoli said.

But such a plan could backfire if Fox finds itself caught in a backlash.

"Maybe we shouldn't watch any of your TV, since this is the kind of trash that you want to put in front of the American public," Fred Goldman said on Wednesday's Larry King Live.

Goldman is the father of Ronald Goldman, who was killed along with Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, in 1994. O.J. Simpson was acquitted of both slayings in criminal court, but a civil court later found him responsible for the killings.

Goldman has called Fox's willingness to give Simpson a forum "morally despicable."

Denise Brown, the sister of Nicole Brown Simpson, has sounded more resigned, saying in a statement she can only hope the TV special will shed light on domestic violence.

Brown didn't say whether or not she'll be watching. Goldman did—he said he won't be.