Midseason bows on slippery slope: rival nets shuffle new shows in wake of Olympics.(TV)

The annual flurries of new TV programs that rain down every January have been a little more sporadic this year, as networks wait out the Torino tornado.

NBC and its sister nets are promising to televise a record 416 hours of Winter Olympics coverage Feb. 10-26. That provides the Peacock web with a major promotional launching pad exiting the Torino Games while establishing a formidable obstacle for the competition.

As such, CBS and ABC are holding perhaps a larger-than-usual portion of midseason entries--or at least those programs given the best shot at sticking--until after the Olympics, when viewers can expect a mini-deluge of new fare.

Similarly, …