Janet Montgomery in "Made in Jersey."

Credit: CBS

NEW YORK — All the other broadcast networks that presented their fall schedules at Upfront Week are in the process of figuring out how to reinvent the business in an age of fragmented viewing. They're talking about shows having shorter runs, doubling up timeslots to avoid repeats, aiming for niches, and other strategies that would have been anathema 10 years ago.

CBS, on the other hand, keeps playing by the old rules — and keeps being incredibly successful at it. It remains the most-watched network on television, and a healthy second place to FOX among the viewers under 50 that advertisers care about, and all while programming an incredibly traditional mix of sitcoms, dramas and the odd reality show.

"I was trying to think of a clever acronym for our strategy," CBS scheduling czar Kelly Kahl joked at the network's annual upfront press breakfast on Wednesday morning.

"It's called 'HITS,'" retorted the network's entertainment president Nina Tassler.

Jules and the "Cougar Town" crew celebrate Thanksgiving in May.

Credit: ABC

A review of tonight's "Cougar Town" episodes coming up just as soon as my booze cruise turns into a cruise cruise...

It's Upfront Week, which means it's (hopefully) going to be a two-episode week for the Firewall & Iceberg Podcast. Today, we'll be dealing with the NBC, FOX and ABC upfront announcements (plus another "Mad Men" review), while the plan is to return on Friday to discuss CBS, the CW and a bunch of recent season finales. 

The line-up: 

Scott Speedman and Andre Braugher in ABC's "Last Resort."

Credit: ABC

ABC had a very strange 2011-12 TV season. On the one hand, "Modern Family" had its biggest ratings yet, the network launched the top-rated new drama of the season in "Once Upon a Time," had a much-buzzed-about (if more modestly-rated) new success in "Revenge," and had four other rookies ("Suburgatory," "Scandal," "Last Man Standing" and "Don't Trust the (Beaver) in Apt. 23") do well enough to merit renewal for another season.

On the other hand, those successes — plus the continuation of other hits like "Grey's Anatomy" (still the most-watched drama on TV in the 18-49 demographic) and "Dancing with the Stars" — likely won't be enough to keep the network out of fourth place in the season's demo ratings. Even if NBC will only squeak ahead of ABC because it aired the Super Bowl, that's still not a good overall result considering all the successes.

But on an upfront press conference call, ABC entertainment president Paul Lee acknowledged that the network needed a lot of work when he took over a couple of years ago.

Megan Hilty and Katharine McPhee in "Smash."

Credit: NBC

A review of the "Smash" season finale — and some thoughts on where the show should/could go in its second season — coming up just as soon as I hate it when you get literal...

Cobie Smulders, Alyson Hannigan and Josh Radnor in "How I Met Your Mother."

Credit: CBS

A review of tonight's "How I Met Your Mother" season finale coming up just as soon as I recount a romantic tale by a Diaper Genie...

Jennifer Morrison and Lana Parilla in "Once Upon a Time." 

Credit: ABC

A brief review of — and mainly just lots of spoilers for — the "Once Upon a Time" season finale coming up just as soon as I just go for my gun...

Mindy Kaling's "The Mindy Project" will be part of FOX's new four-sitcom Tuesday lineup.

Credit: FOX

Once upon a time, FOX was the hyper kid with a short attention span of Upfront Week. The network — with its commitments at different times of year to baseball, football, "American Idol," etc. — would swoop in to announce a two-, three- or even four-pronged schedule involving dozens of shows that would constantly jump around to different nights and/or times. Frequently, those plans would be scrapped by the time we got into the season (if not sooner), and some shows would never even air at all.

Now, though, the 25-year-old FOX is embracing a stable, conservative, bordering on dull mindset as it seeks stability in its adult life. With "X Factor" as a plausible fall stand-in for "Idol" — even if it wasn't the indestructible hit that FOX and Simon Cowell had suggested it would be — the network announced a new schedule on Monday morning that was among the more stable we're going to see this week, with only three new shows on in the fall, and minimal changes planned for mid-season.

January Jones in "Mad Men."

Credit: AMC

A review of tonight's "Mad Men" coming up just as soon as I have my lawyer tell your lawyer what time dinner is...

Jemima Kirke and Lena Dunham in "Girls."

Credit: HBO

A review of tonight's "Girls" coming up just as soon as I have a suing app on my iPhone...