Jeff Zucker's (http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/Fire_Jeff_Zucker/) reign of terror on the Peacock Network isn't the first time that NBC was the laughing stock of the television industry. Who (depending on how old you are), remember Fred Silverman's regime (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Silverman#Move_to_NBC) during the late 1970s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC#1970s_doldrums)-early 1980s:

Although Silverman's tenure at ABC was very successful, he left to become President and CEO of NBC in 1978. His three-year tenure at the network proved to be a difficult period, one marked by low ratings in prime time and failures of many of the shows he conceived (ie: Supertrain, Hello, Larry, Pink Lady and Jeff).

Nevertheless, there were high points, including the launch of the critically-lauded Hill Street Blues (1981) and The David Letterman Show (daytime, 1980), which would lead to Letterman's successful late night program in 1982. Wisely, Silverman had Letterman in a holding deal after the morning show which kept the unemployed Letterman from going to another network. Silverman also developed successful comedies such as Diff'rent Strokes, The Facts of Life, and Gimme a Break!, and made the series commitments that led to Cheers and St. Elsewhere. Silverman also pioneered entertainment reality programming with the 1979 launch of Real People.

In other areas of NBC, Silverman revitalized the news division, which resulted in Today and NBC Nightly News achieving parity with their competition for the first time in years. He created a new FM Radio Division, with competitive full-service stations in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington. During his NBC tenure, Silverman also brought in an entirely new divisional and corporate management, a team that stayed in place long after Silverman's departure. (Among this group was a new Entertainment President, Brandon Tartikoff, who would help get NBC back on top by 1985.) Silverman also reintroduced the peacock as NBC's corporate logo.

I also posted this discussion on Toonzone.net (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=262750).

Zucker - without a doubt!!

These were NBC's hit shows when Silverman was President. : Little House on the Praire, Quincy, Rockford Files, Chips, Real People, Diff'rent Strokes, B.J. and the Bear, Facts of Life...

NBC is clearly in worse shape now. At least Silverman kept trying to find hit shows. Zucker has given up.

These were NBC's hit shows when Silverman was President. : Little House on the Praire, Quincy, Rockford Files, Chips, Real People, Diff'rent Strokes, B.J. and the Bear, Facts of Life...

NBC is clearly in worse shape now. At least Silverman kept trying to find hit shows. Zucker has given up.
Exactly!!! :nod:

zucker is 100 times worse than silverman ever was

While Silverman did drop his share of bombs during his tenure he also put some hits on the air. On the other hand Zuckers record is almost entirely negative.

It seems that, although Silverman maybe underachieved based on his previous success at ABC, he still had a positive impact on the network in many ways, even if there were a few ratings duds.

Under Zucker, you can't say everything is being wrong or all the programs are terrible but it's definitely been a worse situation than Silverman.

Zucker -

He has no business running a network. I honestly don't know why he's still in charge at NBC. The guy, very plainly, is BAD AT HIS JOB!

No contest... Jeff Sucker. You can take even the worst shows from the Silverman era (Lobo, Hello Larry, Grandpa Goes to Washington, Who's Watching the Kids) and put them up against most of the shows on NBC now and I'd much rather watch the Silverman era shows. :lol:

No contest... Jeff Sucker. You can take even the worst shows from the Silverman era (Lobo, Hello Larry, Grandpa Goes to Washington, Who's Watching the Kids) and put them up against most of the shows on NBC now and I'd much rather watch the Silverman era shows. :lol:
and I loved Lobo and Hello Larry. Maybe if NBC was in better shape, they would have caught on. :lol:

No contest... Jeff Sucker. You can take even the worst shows from the Silverman era (Lobo, Hello Larry, Grandpa Goes to Washington, Who's Watching the Kids) and put them up against most of the shows on NBC now and I'd much rather watch the Silverman era shows. :lol:
Hey, I'd take Pink Lady & Jeff, Supertrain, Manimal AND David Cassidy: Man Undercover over all the crap that's on NBC now. :eek: :lol:

Hey, I'd take Pink Lady & Jeff, Supertrain, Manimal AND David Cassidy: Man Undercover over all the crap that's on NBC now. :eek: :lol:
At least it wasn't a bunch of reality junk. :lol:

At least it wasn't a bunch of reality junk. :lol:
Exactly. At least then they were trying to create original scripted shows.

At least it wasn't a bunch of reality junk. :lol:
Exactly my point!! :lol: In the case of Supertrain and Manimal, I think it was a case of good idea, poor execution.

Zucker, without a doubt.

If one looks at Mr. Silverman's track recored over his three years at NBC, he hardly presided over a great decline in numbers. Instead, NBC had hired him to effect a massive turnaround like he'd done earlier at ABC, and that turnaround didn't materialize quickly enough, though Mr. Silverman did produce one year-over-year gain during the 1979-80 season:

1977-1978 ABC 20.7 CBS 18.8 NBC 18.1 - Mr. Silverman hired by NBC, summer 1978
1978-1979 ABC 21.0 CBS 18.6 NBC 17.1 - Mr. Silverman's first season
1979-1980 CBS 19.6 ABC 19.5 NBC 17.4 - Mr. Silverman's second season
1980-1981 CBS 19.8 ABC 18.2 NBC 16.6 - Mr. Silverman's third season, resigns summer 1981
1981-1982 CBS 19.0 ABC 18.1 NBC 15.2

While some choose to dwell upon Mr. Silverman's more notorious failures at NBC, I prefer to remember his successes, innovations and brilliant scheduling strategies.

In addition to shepherding and protecting the ratings challenged 'Hill Street Blues', Mr. Silverman also brought to air the innovative medical reality series 'Lifeline', the groundbreaking serial drama 'Cliffhangers' which was the umbrella for 'Stop Susan Williams', 'The Secret Empire' and 'The Curse of Dracula', Mr. Larry Gelbart's experimental 'United States' and the vastly-underrated police drama 'Eischied'.

I also remember fondly how Mr. Silverman championed and/or restored some of the great news and variety traditions that Mr. Silverman restored to NBC under his 'Proud as a Peacock' campaign: 'Live from Studio 8H', 'NBC White Paper', 'The Big Show' and the innovative 'NBC Magazine with David Brinkley'.

One must also not forget that Mr. Silverman greenlit to series programs that led to great ratings and critical success for NBC after his tenure such as 'Cheers' and 'St. Elsewhere'.

Mr. Silverman's many and storied contributions to broadcast network television are legendary and forever. He is also the only person to head up three of the major broadcast networks during his career, an achievement that Mr. Zucker is most unlikely to repeat.

While Silverman did drop his share of bombs during his tenure he also put some hits on the air. On the other hand Zuckers record is almost entirely negative.

Or use a line from Dean Wormer in Animal House based on Jeff Zucker's performance: "Your performance is...Zero, point, ZERO!"

If you can take a #1 or a #2 network and badly drag it all the way down to being behind FOX and in the dungeons with the CW, then you know you suck as a network president.

Hell, even Dawn Ostroff can run marathons all over Mother Zucker :lol: (I'm laughing at a previous poster who called him that!).

If all you can program from your own network in the daytime for 4 straight ear-bleeding hours of Today and only have one daytime soap (Days of Our Lives) remaining, you know you suck as a network president.

I mean at least with Fred Silverman he was smart enough to pass the torch to the man (Brandon Tartikoff) that ultimately dragged NBC from the ratings dungeons to ratings heavens. Plus, although Fred Silverman wasn't president anymore during Brandon's reign at NBC, he still was able to be a great successful producer and produce decent dramas for NBC such as the Perry Mason movies, Matlock, In the Heat of the Night among works.

Plus Jeff Zucker's been with NBC longer than Fred Silverman and yet Zucker dragged a proud network all the way to the ratings dungeons in his 10 years as president? I hope new ownership from Comcast coms along and boot this incompetent jack#$% out of NBC once and for all and get someone who really cares about the network.

^ I love your post!!! What NBC really needs is a visionary like Brandon Tartikoff. I mean, Zucker's been president from the XFL to the current late night mess - WHY is he still around?? :mad: :mad: :mad:

jeff zucker, silverman never made as many mistakes as zucker.

Zucker for the, um, "win". At least Silverman had some hits. Zucker, on the other hand.....well, zucked LOL (bad pun, I know).

Zucker is worse. There have been some good shows on NBC that have been canceled like Journeyman. That show wasn't promoted well. NBC also mismarkets certain shows. NBC lets The Biggest Loser have too much air time.

Zucker for the, um, "win". At least Silverman had some hits. Zucker, on the other hand.....well, zucked LOL (bad pun, I know).
He STILL "zucks" because he's still the president of NBC for some reason!! :rolleyes: :crazy: :mad:

I think the darker period for NBC belonged to the Zucker era than the Fred Silverman era. Zucker did irreversible damage to the network, while Silverman's "damage" was repaired by the late Brandon Tartikoff in the mid-80s. I have abandoned the Big 3 television networks upon my family's move from New York City to Austin.

I think the darker period for NBC belonged to the Zucker era than the Fred Silverman era. Zucker did irreversible damage to the network, while Silverman's "damage" was repaired by the late Brandon Tartikoff in the mid-80s. I have abandoned the Big 3 television networks upon my family's move from New York City to Austin.
Well, you're not missing much!!

Zucker is definitely the worst. Personally, I think all the networks have been going down the toilet. There are just too many reality shows, crime shows, weird sci-fi shows, and trashy sitcoms that really aren't that funny.

Zucker is definitely the worst. Personally, I think all the networks have been going down the toilet. There are just too many reality shows, crime shows, weird sci-fi shows, and trashy sitcoms that really aren't that funny.
I agree. Thank goodness for the DVDs of the classic shows!!!

^ And books :D

^ And books :D
Those, too. :D

...was supposed to be an hour-long series. But NBC has virtually nothing
in its "inventory" to pair it with, so they actually air two hours, back-to-back, every week; they've done this since the collapse of "THE SINGING BEE" in the fall of 2007 [30 minutes for them; 90 for "LOSER" that followed].

Let's face it, NBC had more "inventory" under Fred Silverman- it's just that he ultimately didn't know how to handle it. He had definite ideas on how to schedule the network every night, only it became "let's throw this on the wall and see if it sticks".

At least Silverman had a "bond" between producers and studios; Jeff Zucker had an "attitude problem" that cost him and NBC in the long run. He simply wasn't a "programmer", and didn't have the instinct that one should have (Silverman certainly did). My God, Zucker was wrong about those series he was SURE would succeed: "EMERIL", "HIDDEN HILLS", "WATCHING ELLIE", "PRIDE OF THE FAMILY", "JOEY" [the "FRIENDS" spin-off, who remembers that??]. Instead of being fired for his incompetence, he was PROMOTED-- because he brought in a lot of advertising revenue for NBC, which made corporate parent General Electric very happy {"As long as he's making money for our company, give him what he wants!"}- now he's chairman of NBC/Universal (and has another reputation for allowing underlings to get the blame for HIS screw-ups). Only now, the profits aren't there...and how long will it be before new owner Comcast says, "Your services are no longer required, Mr. Zucker. In other words....GET THE **** OUT OF HERE!!!".

Even see Jimmy Fallon's impression of Zucker on "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" a few years ago? On the money!

:read:

^ They should get The Donald to go up to him and say, "Jeff Zucker - YOU'RE FIRED!!"

^ They should get The Donald to go up to him and say, "Jeff Zucker - YOU'RE FIRED!!"

Or even this guy in this video:

JEFF ZUCKER: "YOUUUUUU'RE FIRRRRRRED!" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIg9Ome1lGU)

NOTE: ignore the 1st part on Isiah and it's high sailings from here.

No contest... Jeff Sucker. You can take even the worst shows from the Silverman era (Lobo, Hello Larry, Grandpa Goes to Washington, Who's Watching the Kids) and put them up against most of the shows on NBC now and I'd much rather watch the Silverman era shows. :lol:

:nod:

Agreed, although I'd add past shows like Friends, Just Shoot Me, and every show the Parents Television Council has had a beef about! :lol: XFL, anyone?

Other name that I should've mentioned is Herb Schlosser, Fred Silverman's predecessor at NBC.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC#1970s_doldrums

In 1974 under new president Herb Schlosser, the network tried to go after younger viewers with a series of costly movies, miniseries and specials. This failed to attract the desirable 18-34 demographic, and alienated older viewers.[9] None of the new prime-time shows NBC introduced in the fall of 1975 earned a second season, all failing in the face of established competition. The network's lone breakout success that season was the groundbreaking late-night comedy/variety show, NBC's Saturday Night -- which would soon become Saturday Night Live, in a time slot previously held by reruns of The Tonight Show.

If all you can program from your own network in the daytime for 4 straight ear-bleeding hours of Today and only have one daytime soap (Days of Our Lives) remaining, you know you suck as a network president.

Agreed about the "Today" issue. "Today" was much, much, much better then than now, in several areas: production style, personalities (I prefer seeing Bryant, Jane and Willard over Matt, Meredith, Ann and Al), and studio design (the 1981 studio and its 1982 variant, pictures of both of which are attached here, stand head and shoulders above the current design). There are other areas where the "Today" show of the past excelled: no concerts (at least, none that I can recall), a reasonable 2-hr. length, and a newscast every half-hour (nowadays, it's one for every hour).

Agreed about the "Today" issue. "Today" was much, much, much better then than now, in several areas: production style, personalities (I prefer seeing Bryant, Jane and Willard over Matt, Meredith, Ann and Al), and studio design (the 1981 studio and its 1982 variant, pictures of both of which are attached here, stand head and shoulders above the current design). There are other areas where the "Today" show of the past excelled: no concerts (at least, none that I can recall), a reasonable 2-hr. length, and a newscast every half-hour (nowadays, it's one for every hour).
I agree 100% about the Today Show. I predict that WHEN (not IF) NBC cancels Days of Our Lives, they will add on a 5th hour to the Today Show. :rolleyes:

When did Jeff Zucker take over NBC? I know it was Warren Littlefield up until 1998 or '99.

Figured this is the right place to put this...

Zucker did a recent interview with Charlie Rose and it is on his website here - http://www.charlierose.com/

The video interview is 30 mins. long but if you want to hear his viewpoint on what's going on then it's worth it.

Just go to the website and you can find it on the main menu. If you have trouble just use the search option for "Jeff Zucker 1/18/10".

When did Jeff Zucker take over NBC? I know it was Warren Littlefield up until 1998 or '99.
From several websites, he became the president of NBC in December 2000.

Hey, I'd take Pink Lady & Jeff, Supertrain, Manimal AND David Cassidy: Man Undercover over all the crap that's on NBC now. :eek: :lol:
I would love for any of the shows to be released on dvd, wheather they sucked or not, just for the sake of nostalgia!! (Except well, I don't know about Pink Lady & Jeff, what the heck was that all about???

^ Pink Lady & Jeff IS on DVD, for some reason. I did watch all 6 episodes (my then-boss hosted a pop culture radio show on the side and loaned the set to me). It really IS as bad as everyone says. :eek: :lol: Here's more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Lady_and_Jeff

Wow, I didn't know that was on dvd (and I thought I knew everything!) Another Sid & Marty Krofft production!!!! If I recall, this is one of the TV Guide top worst shows in history. I'm going to have to get it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/25/AR2010012503791.html

Where there's mire, there's muck, and NBC is just the place to find both. It's long been a kooky little tradition that when TV columnists and critics write about which of the four major broadcast networks is doing worst in the ratings, they say it is "mired in fourth place" or "mired" in third. The practice seems to be phasing out, but then, networks seem to be phasing out, too.

None is phasing faster than NBC, the once-proud-as-a-peacock establishment that is now mired in fourth, behind Fox, behind everybody. Compounding their humiliation, network executives have had to undo, at tremendous expense, their remake of that cultural institution "The Tonight Show," returning it to Jay Leno, killing Leno's ballyhooed prime-time hour and ousting the conspicuously talented Conan O'Brien from his "Tonight" berth after only seven months.

Things are ever-so-much worse even than back in the late '70s and early '80s, when longtime programming wizard Fred Silverman picked NBC as the one network he failed to rejuvenate. His signature flop was a show called "Supertrain," which lasted five short months in 1979 and lost a heap of dough. Battles and tantrums in the executive suites contributed to an abiding sense of collapse.

NBC is no longer owned by RCA; it's owned, for now, by General Electric, a company that has been an ill-suited, penny-pinching guardian -- sort of like Nicholas Nickleby's. If current plans are approved, meanwhile, NBC will soon pass into the mighty clutches of Comcast, the giant cable conglomerate. Sadly enough, Comcast is much less interested in the NBC Television Network than in all of the little niche cable networks that NBC owns: USA Network, Syfy, Telemundo and more.

Might the trademark "NBC" be retired and the TV network become just another cog in a large, empty capitalist apparatus -- one that plops out leisure-time product with the slick, chilly efficiency of an assembly line? It's possible that Comcast could be even more tightfisted an owner than GE and that NBC might be the first network to prove that the whole idea of broadcast networks really is over. It could prove it by dying.

The only good shows that NBC has came out with over the past five years were Andy Barker P.I and My Name Is Earl.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/25/AR2010012503791.html
Thanks for sharing that article - the writer hit the nail right on the head!

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/446200-Roberts_Fears_Of_Comcast_Migrating_NBC_To_Cable_Net_Should_Be_Off_the_Table_.php

Comcast CEO calls local affiliates "a great model" at Congressional Internet Caucus conference

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/27/2010 12:22:41 PM
Comcast Chairman Brian Roberts says any thought of migrating the NBC network to cable is "right off the table."

In town to address the Congressional Internet Caucus' State of the Net Conference in Washington, Roberts said that Comcast was committed to a free, over-the-air NBC with local station affiliates. He said Comcast was at heart a "local company."

Roberts made his comments at an opening session Q&A with Alan Murray of the Wall Street Journal.

Asked if there was "any good reason" not to turn NBC into a cable channel, he said yes. He pointed out that when Monday Night Football on ABC became Monday Night Football on ESPN, the audience went down. "To those of us who are connected, we can't understand that," he said, but "we want take that fear right off the table. We think there is a vibrant role for local broadcast and national broadcast television and intend to keep NBC a free, over-the-air channel." He called local affiliates "a great model."

Roberts was also in town to make the rounds on Capitol Hill as the company prepares to file its proposed NBCU merger at the FCC.

Roberts had no comment on the late-night wars that has cost NBC tens of millions, citing the fact that the Comcast/NBCU deal won't be a deal until the government signs off on it (Comcast filed for competitive review by the Justice Department this week, so at least the clock on what is expected to be a 9-12-month review period has started.

"It is a frustrating period of time because we are unable, legally, to comment."

He did say he thought there were "many good things happening at NBC Universal."

But he also put in a pitch for as speedy a review as possible, implying it was so Comcast could start helping with some of those creative decisions. "It reminds me that in a creative endeavor...that you don't want 30,000 people on hold too long. However expeditiously that review can occur is very important to the company."

Asked to comment on the future of NBCU chief Jeff Zucker, Roberts said he is "going to be the CEO of the company" and that he (Roberts) was "optimistic" that on day one "we will have a plan that will be exciting and answer all the questions..."

Roberts had no comment on the Apple tablet being unveiled Wednesday, saying he would learn along with everyone else, given that company's tendency to keep its unveilings close to the vest.

Roberts said his company was committed to an open Internet, and praised the openness and transparency of the FCC's proposed network neutrality rulemaking, but said where he parted company was the need for such rules, depending on how they emerged and whether they wound up being new regulations on an Internet that was growing and flourishing.

He also said Comcast's slowing--he said it was not blocking--of BitTorrent P2P traffic had been a mistake, but one now corrected.

No matter which way you look at it, the feathers are almost totally off the peacock. They need to make changes, and FAST. :eek: :eek: :eek:

We Can all Probably agree taht The Brandon Tartikoff Era(1981-1991) was the best Period for NBC, Those were the years NBC was in it prime and alot of successful Shows came from his era.

Warren Lttlefield would be second then Frd Silverman, Jeff Zucker would be worst.