Utah NBC affiliate won't air "The New Normal" - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Mr. Television · 08-25-2012, 12:05 PM

http://www.deadline.com/2012/08/utah...he-new-normal/

Utah NBC Affiliate Won’t Air New Gay Couple Comedy ‘The New Normal’
By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday August 24, 2012 @ 11:54pm PDTTags: KSL-TV,

NBC’s Utah affiliate KSL-TV strikes again. The station, which is owned by the Mormon church, announced today that it won’t air the network’s new comedy series New Normal. Co-created by Ryan Murphy and Ali Adler, The New Normal stars Andrew Rannells and Justin Bartha as gay partners who are having a baby through a surrogate. “For our brand, this program simply feels inappropriate on several dimensions, especially during family viewing time,” Jeff Simpson, CEO of KSL’s parent company, Bonneville International, told local papers, including KSL sibling Deseret News. The New Normal is scheduled to air Tuesdays at 8:30 PM. Simpson cited “rude and crude” dialogue, scenes that “may be too explicit” or characterizations that “might seem offensive.” The show features provocative language mostly courtesy of the outspoken, politically incorrect character of the surrogate’s mother played by Ellen Barkin.

KSL, which does not carry NBC’s Saturday Night Live, has a long history of preemting NBC primetime series it deems controversial. Last fall, it dropped period drama The Playboy Club for “objectionable material. (The series was picked up by MyNetworkTV’s station in the Salt Lake City market.) KSL’s previous NBC casualties include NBC’s racy comedy Coupling and the religious-themed animated comedy God, the Devil and Bob. Both, as well as The Playboy Club were quickly cancelled. Barkin tonight called KSL’s decision “blatantly homophic” on Twitter. “Shame on u ‪@KSLcom‬ not airing ‪@NBCTheNewNormal.‬ So L&O SVU (rape & child murder) is ok? But loving gay couple having a baby is inappropriate?” she wrote. “What will play in @NBCTheNewNormal‬ spot? A dude reading from the bible?”

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, local station KUCW will air The New Normal on the weekends. The station carries SNL and often picks up sports programming when KSL pre-empts it for General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the paper says. The New Normal already got in the cross hairs of One Million Moms, the organization that also called for boycott of JC Penney when the department store chain hired openly gay talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres as a spokesperson.

JamesG · 08-26-2012, 03:55 PM

GLAAD Slams Utah Station for Not Broadcasting NBC's "New Normal"
8/25/2012
by Aaron Couch

GLAAD is criticizing a Utah NBC affiliate’s decision not to broadcast "The New Normal" this fall.

Ryan Murphy and Ali Adler's new comedy, which tells the story of a single mother who becomes a surrogate for a same-sex couple, was deemed “inappropriate” by Utah station KSL-TV.

"Same-sex families are a beloved part of American television thanks to shows like 'Modern Family', 'Glee' and 'Grey’s Anatomy'," GLAAD President Herndon Graddick said in a statement. "While audiences, critics and advertisers have all supported LGBT stories, KSL is demonstrating how deeply out of touch it is with the rest of the country."

Graddick suggested that a meeting between Jeff Simpson, CEO of KSL parent company Bonneville International, and local LGBT families might change the CEO’s opinion.

"We know that if he would, he would see that not only are our families normal, but by citing 'crude and rude' content and refusing to affirm LGBT families, KSL and Mr. Simpson are sending a dangerous message to Utah," Graddick said. "They should make that right."

"New Normal" previously came under fire from the conservative group One Million Moms, which called for a boycott last month. Cast-member Ellen Barkin took to Twitter Friday to shore up support for the show being broadcast on KLS.

"Anyone in Utah interested in @NBCTheNewNormal please clog up @ksl5tv feed 4 their blatantly homophic decision 2 not air the show #KSLBigots," she wrote.

She also tweeted: "Shame on u ‪@kslcom‬ not airing ‪@NBCTheNewNormal‬ So L&O SVU (rape & child murder) is ok? But loving gay couple having a baby is inappropriate?"

But Simpson has argued that in the age of digital distribution, anyone who wants to view "New Normal" will be able to do so online or through means other than KLS.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...-murphy-365467

AKA · 08-26-2012, 10:51 PM

Pre-empting shows they find objectionable has been KSL's M.O. since their days as a CBS affiliate (they switched to NBC in 1995). Shows they refused to air during the CBS era include Picket Fences, CBS' television adaptation of Dirty Dancing, Garbage Pail Kids and 2000 Malibu Road. Since switching to NBC, they have passed on Coupling, The Playboy Club, Poker After Dark and Saturday Night Live (which airs on the area's CW affiliate).

My question is, how many of these pre-emptions will NBC take before they tell KSL to go pound sand? Surely, the network can't be happy with KSL. Are they merely affiliated with the station out of necessity at this point? Looking at Salt Lake's channel log, there really isn't anywhere else for NBC to go. The only independent station in the market is also run by the Mormon Church. Unless NBC can build their own O&O from the ground up in Salt Lake, they may be stuck with KSL for a long time.

James28 · 08-27-2012, 01:23 AM

Hate to say it, but by the looks of the boycott and an affiliate dumping it, The New Normal is probably being groomed and doomed for potential failure.

loaferman · 08-27-2012, 09:10 AM

I fully support the station's rights as a business to choose what they broadcast into the community. It is their advertisers and viewers they have to take into account to do business in their community. If NBC wants to dump them over this it is also their right to do so.

Regulus · 08-27-2012, 09:53 AM

It's programming such as this which is driving viewers away from the networks. It isn't bad enough that we are forced to cope with the proliferatuion of "unscripted" programming, what's left of the scripted series HAVE to include a little political "sermon" dealing with left-wing subjects such as homosexuality. Even though this is being aired on an over-the-air channel, some people are showing their appreciation for shows such as these by "Cutting the Cord".

loaferman · 08-27-2012, 11:00 AM

The simple fact is airing this in a Mormon town is going to draw horrible ratings if they air this and probably just get no local advertisers for the station. The same is going to be true in Bible Belt areas. People just are not going to watch it by their own choice. The local stations are there to serve their community viewers and their advertisers. I think the Supreme Court once called it "community standards". When you boil it down to a simple business decision there is no "controversy".

Mr. Television · 08-27-2012, 11:05 AM

Did this channel ever air Will & Grace?

Mr. Television · 08-27-2012, 11:08 AM

I do remember that one of my affiliates originally refused to air NYPD Blue when it first came on. After it became a hit,they changed their minds. lol

AKA · 08-27-2012, 01:36 PM

When NBC lost longtime Salt Lake City affiliate KUTV over the Westinghouse/CBS deal, they did everything they could to avoid winding up on KSL, which was already notorious for rejecting network programming.

Unfortunately, the other commercial VHF stations in the area were happy with their respective networks, so NBC reluctantly signed with KSL, which refused Saturday Night Live from day one.

Given all the shows the station has pre-empted over the years, NBC would be wise to dump KSL the next time their affiliation contract is up for renewal. They threatened to strip WHDH in Boston of their affiliation over their reluctance to air The Jay Leno Show; I don't see how what KSL is doing is any less severe.

In the days of digital television, the difference between VHF and UHF isn't what it was 17 years ago. NBC would do fine if they moved to the area's current CW affiliate (channel 30, which is co-owned with the ABC station). I doubt KSTU (channel 13) would part with Fox.

Could you imagine all the shows KSL would pre-empt if they were still a CBS affiliate?

70s show watcher · 09-14-2012, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuck In The '70's

Did this channel ever air Will & Grace?

yes they did

Yong Fang · 09-16-2012, 09:31 AM

My question is how does the affiliate have the right to not air a network TV series? I understand that most of them are not owned by the network, but its a franchiser of a franchise and has to see what the franchiser offers or break the agreement.

I remember as a child in the 1970's where our local ABC affiliate refused to show SOAP, and put Gomer Pyle USMC in its place (why Gomer since it was a CBS show). This only lasted a week or two because SOAP was a hit and we demanded to see it, and it was on for about four years with almost no complaint.

Once in the 1990's when I was poor and broke, I really enjoyed the CBS Monday lineup (stuff like Raymond, Becker, whatever was on.) This Monday, the affiliate dropped the sitcom lineup for some freaking local charity that they were sponsoring. I was mad and beyond livid. The guy at the station said that they were going to replay the sitcoms at some late hour like after Letterman.

I voiced my opinion that these were top rated shows and we are not interested in your stupid charity!

I love the internet and now being able to watch whatever show I want when I want too. If people want to see The New Normal, get a computer and watch it!

08-25-2012, 12:05 PM	#1
Mr. Television 22 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,125	Utah NBC affiliate won't air "The New Normal" http://www.deadline.com/2012/08/utah...he-new-normal/ Utah NBC Affiliate Won’t Air New Gay Couple Comedy ‘The New Normal’ By NELLIE ANDREEVA \| Friday August 24, 2012 @ 11:54pm PDTTags: KSL-TV, NBC’s Utah affiliate KSL-TV strikes again. The station, which is owned by the Mormon church, announced today that it won’t air the network’s new comedy series New Normal. Co-created by Ryan Murphy and Ali Adler, The New Normal stars Andrew Rannells and Justin Bartha as gay partners who are having a baby through a surrogate. “For our brand, this program simply feels inappropriate on several dimensions, especially during family viewing time,” Jeff Simpson, CEO of KSL’s parent company, Bonneville International, told local papers, including KSL sibling Deseret News. The New Normal is scheduled to air Tuesdays at 8:30 PM. Simpson cited “rude and crude” dialogue, scenes that “may be too explicit” or characterizations that “might seem offensive.” The show features provocative language mostly courtesy of the outspoken, politically incorrect character of the surrogate’s mother played by Ellen Barkin. KSL, which does not carry NBC’s Saturday Night Live, has a long history of preemting NBC primetime series it deems controversial. Last fall, it dropped period drama The Playboy Club for “objectionable material. (The series was picked up by MyNetworkTV’s station in the Salt Lake City market.) KSL’s previous NBC casualties include NBC’s racy comedy Coupling and the religious-themed animated comedy God, the Devil and Bob. Both, as well as The Playboy Club were quickly cancelled. Barkin tonight called KSL’s decision “blatantly homophic” on Twitter. “Shame on u ‪@KSLcom‬ not airing ‪@NBCTheNewNormal.‬ So L&O SVU (rape & child murder) is ok? But loving gay couple having a baby is inappropriate?” she wrote. “What will play in @NBCTheNewNormal‬ spot? A dude reading from the bible?” According to the Salt Lake Tribune, local station KUCW will air The New Normal on the weekends. The station carries SNL and often picks up sports programming when KSL pre-empts it for General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the paper says. The New Normal already got in the cross hairs of One Million Moms, the organization that also called for boycott of JC Penney when the department store chain hired openly gay talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres as a spokesperson.
	__________________ Sonny

08-27-2012, 01:23 AM	#4
James28 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 14, 2007 Posts: 3,967	Hate to say it, but by the looks of the boycott and an affiliate dumping it, The New Normal is probably being groomed and doomed for potential failure.
	__________________ "When the run of a network TV show has ended, some go out with a bang, some with a whimper, but all are...Future Endeavored." "Stay Safe"? More like "Stay Sad". #2020Hurts

08-27-2012, 09:10 AM	#5
loaferman Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 23, 2011 Location: Virginia Posts: 642	I fully support the station's rights as a business to choose what they broadcast into the community. It is their advertisers and viewers they have to take into account to do business in their community. If NBC wants to dump them over this it is also their right to do so.
	__________________ “It was ‘Will and Grace,’ it was the social media. Literally. That’s what changed peoples’ attitudes. That’s why I was so certain that the vast majority of people would embrace and rapidly embrace” gay marriage, Biden said. “Think behind of all that, I bet you 85 percent of those changes, whether it’s in Hollywood or social media are a consequence of Jewish leaders in the industry. The influence is immense, the influence is immense." -Vice President Joe Biden May 2013

08-27-2012, 09:53 AM	#6
Regulus Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 07, 2011 Location: Port Orange, Florida Avatar - Poiuyt Posts: 3,371	It's programming such as this which is driving viewers away from the networks. It isn't bad enough that we are forced to cope with the proliferatuion of "unscripted" programming, what's left of the scripted series HAVE to include a little political "sermon" dealing with left-wing subjects such as homosexuality. Even though this is being aired on an over-the-air channel, some people are showing their appreciation for shows such as these by "Cutting the Cord".
	__________________ Grail Shows: *Doc Elliot, Owen Marshall-Counselor of Law, Here's Boomer, Three for the Road, Holmes and YoYo* Bucket List Shows: *Hot Wheels, Skyhawks, Run Joe Run, Westwood*

08-26-2012, 03:55 PM	#2
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 56,951	*GLAAD Slams Utah Station for Not Broadcasting NBC's "New Normal"* 8/25/2012 by Aaron Couch GLAAD is criticizing a Utah NBC affiliate’s decision not to broadcast "The New Normal" this fall. Ryan Murphy and Ali Adler's new comedy, which tells the story of a single mother who becomes a surrogate for a same-sex couple, was deemed “inappropriate” by Utah station KSL-TV. "Same-sex families are a beloved part of American television thanks to shows like 'Modern Family', 'Glee' and 'Grey’s Anatomy'," GLAAD President Herndon Graddick said in a statement. "While audiences, critics and advertisers have all supported LGBT stories, KSL is demonstrating how deeply out of touch it is with the rest of the country." Graddick suggested that a meeting between Jeff Simpson, CEO of KSL parent company Bonneville International, and local LGBT families might change the CEO’s opinion. "We know that if he would, he would see that not only are our families normal, but by citing 'crude and rude' content and refusing to affirm LGBT families, KSL and Mr. Simpson are sending a dangerous message to Utah," Graddick said. "They should make that right." "New Normal" previously came under fire from the conservative group One Million Moms, which called for a boycott last month. Cast-member Ellen Barkin took to Twitter Friday to shore up support for the show being broadcast on KLS. "Anyone in Utah interested in @NBCTheNewNormal please clog up @ksl5tv feed 4 their blatantly homophic decision 2 not air the show #KSLBigots," she wrote. She also tweeted: "Shame on u ‪@kslcom‬ not airing ‪@NBCTheNewNormal‬ So L&O SVU (rape & child murder) is ok? But loving gay couple having a baby is inappropriate?" But Simpson has argued that in the age of digital distribution, anyone who wants to view "New Normal" will be able to do so online or through means other than KLS. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...-murphy-365467

08-26-2012, 10:51 PM	#3
AKA Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 17, 2001 Posts: 15,746	Pre-empting shows they find objectionable has been KSL's M.O. since their days as a CBS affiliate (they switched to NBC in 1995). Shows they refused to air during the CBS era include Picket Fences, CBS' television adaptation of Dirty Dancing, Garbage Pail Kids and 2000 Malibu Road. Since switching to NBC, they have passed on Coupling, The Playboy Club, Poker After Dark and Saturday Night Live (which airs on the area's CW affiliate). My question is, how many of these pre-emptions will NBC take before they tell KSL to go pound sand? Surely, the network can't be happy with KSL. Are they merely affiliated with the station out of necessity at this point? Looking at Salt Lake's channel log, there really isn't anywhere else for NBC to go. The only independent station in the market is also run by the Mormon Church. Unless NBC can build their own O&O from the ground up in Salt Lake, they may be stuck with KSL for a long time.

08-27-2012, 11:00 AM	#7
loaferman Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 23, 2011 Location: Virginia Posts: 642	The simple fact is airing this in a Mormon town is going to draw horrible ratings if they air this and probably just get no local advertisers for the station. The same is going to be true in Bible Belt areas. People just are not going to watch it by their own choice. The local stations are there to serve their community viewers and their advertisers. I think the Supreme Court once called it "community standards". When you boil it down to a simple business decision there is no "controversy".

08-27-2012, 11:05 AM	#8
Mr. Television 22 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,125	Did this channel ever air Will & Grace?

08-27-2012, 11:08 AM	#9
Mr. Television 22 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,125	I do remember that one of my affiliates originally refused to air NYPD Blue when it first came on. After it became a hit,they changed their minds. lol

08-27-2012, 01:36 PM	#10
AKA Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 17, 2001 Posts: 15,746	When NBC lost longtime Salt Lake City affiliate KUTV over the Westinghouse/CBS deal, they did everything they could to avoid winding up on KSL, which was already notorious for rejecting network programming. Unfortunately, the other commercial VHF stations in the area were happy with their respective networks, so NBC reluctantly signed with KSL, which refused Saturday Night Live from day one. Given all the shows the station has pre-empted over the years, NBC would be wise to dump KSL the next time their affiliation contract is up for renewal. They threatened to strip WHDH in Boston of their affiliation over their reluctance to air The Jay Leno Show; I don't see how what KSL is doing is any less severe. In the days of digital television, the difference between VHF and UHF isn't what it was 17 years ago. NBC would do fine if they moved to the area's current CW affiliate (channel 30, which is co-owned with the ABC station). I doubt KSTU (channel 13) would part with Fox. Could you imagine all the shows KSL would pre-empt if they were still a CBS affiliate?

09-16-2012, 09:31 AM	#12
Yong Fang Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 04, 2009 Location: Memphis Tennessee Posts: 3,072	My question is how does the affiliate have the right to not air a network TV series? I understand that most of them are not owned by the network, but its a franchiser of a franchise and has to see what the franchiser offers or break the agreement. I remember as a child in the 1970's where our local ABC affiliate refused to show SOAP, and put Gomer Pyle USMC in its place (why Gomer since it was a CBS show). This only lasted a week or two because SOAP was a hit and we demanded to see it, and it was on for about four years with almost no complaint. Once in the 1990's when I was poor and broke, I really enjoyed the CBS Monday lineup (stuff like Raymond, Becker, whatever was on.) This Monday, the affiliate dropped the sitcom lineup for some freaking local charity that they were sponsoring. I was mad and beyond livid. The guy at the station said that they were going to replay the sitcoms at some late hour like after Letterman. I voiced my opinion that these were top rated shows and we are not interested in your stupid charity! I love the internet and now being able to watch whatever show I want when I want too. If people want to see The New Normal, get a computer and watch it!