NBC Is Going To The Dogs

[Mr. Television]

NBC cuts: the end of US network TV?

By Jason Deans / Television 06:31pm

In today's announcement of 700 job cuts at NBC Universal comes a shattering admission from TV division chief exec Jeff Zucker: NBC will stop scheduling scripted comedy and drama 8pm-9pm, in favour of cheaper reality and gameshows.

So NBC thinks it is no longer commercially viable to run comedy and drama in its early primetime schedule - and this from the broadcaster that gave the world a string of 80s and 90s hits including The Cosby Show, Cheers, LA Law, Hill Street Blues, ER, The West Wing, Friends, Frasier and Seinfeld.

NBC is also cutting its news operations as part of plans to save $750m a year - and re-invest some of the money into digital media.

Is this the beginning of the end for the advertiser funded, US network TV business model?

Zucker told the Wall Street Journal advertising interest isn't high enough to justify spending on scripted shows in the first hour of primetime from 8pm so the network may play gameshow Deal or No Deal instead of a struggling drama such as Friday Night Lights.

Deal or No Deal costs about $1.1 million an episode, compared with the $2.6 million it takes to make Friday Night Lights, the Journal reported.

Now, NBC will still run drama and comedy in the remaining two hours of primetime each night, 9pm-11pm.

And these drastic measures have been forced on NBC after a disastrous couple of years, in which it has slipped from being the top rating US network to third place in the current season, behind CBS and ABC. NBC's ratings decline has cost the company $800 million in advertising income, according to Bloomberg.

To a certain extent NBC is a victim of its failure to find hit shows to replace the Seinfeld-Friends-Frasier generation that allowed it to dominate the US TV market in the 90s.

But even though CBS, with the CSIs, and ABC - with Lost, Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy - are currently more commercially successful, US analysts believe the new ecomics of digital media mean they are likely to follow NBC's lead in cutting spending on news and scripted entertainment programming.

So is this a watershed moment - the final unravelling of the US network TV business model after 50 years or more?

The networks invested huge sums in comedy and drama each year, with the flops axed after a few episodes more than compensated for by the hits, which brought money pouring in from advertising, domestic syndication, international sales, and more recently video and DVD revenue.

At the apex of all this, NBC's Must See TV Thursday night comedy and drama line-up was a cultural fixture of 90s US broadcasting, kicking off for much of decade with Friends at 8pm and featuring shows such as Seinfeld, Frasier, Mad About You and ER.

Network audiences have been shrinking for 20 years or so, as the growth of cable TV channels such as HBO, Showtime and Discovery ate into their ratings. But even with annual audience shares for each of the main channels falling to around 10% in the last few years, network TV remained a profitable business.

Now, with the growth of broadband and digital rivals such as Google, Yahoo! and YouTube, it seems a tipping point has been reached.

This will have repercussions in the UK - for one thing, if the supply of US drama and comedy begins to dry up.

And for ITV. If NBC, for years the most successful player globally in the ad-funded network TV business, cannot make the sums add up anymore, how long before ITV's owners follow its lead and cut back on news and entertainment programming investment

[Jack1000]

Overall,

I think broadcast TV is dying because there are too many other options avaliable through digital cable and satalite dish You get so much more varity with those choices The only plus for the broadcast networks might be for people who can't afford cable or dish who are forced to rely on broadcast TV. But I think for such people, they may watch such a limited amount of TV as it is that they either don't know when a big one-time hit comes out or don't care.

For people with cable and dish options, the question is become more relivant as to why should they care about the broadcast networks anymore? Premium channels allow the viewer to see their movies uncut and commercial free, something that broadcast networks couldn't do because of advertising revenue loss. Video on Demand and DVD buying choices, along with optional cable and dish services like DVR's show that people who have the added channels are going to other avenues for their entertainment.

The MUST SEE TV for the networks are vested on the interests of big deal prime time events: such as sports playoffs and championships, or prime time specials with provocative adventurus interests with big money payouts or people doing "risky" or "stupid" things. But the straight laced series that so many grew up with in the 70's-90's doesn't seem to fit in with today's youthful impatient generation whom TV marketing executives like to target.

This is one of several reasons why commercial TV executives continue to lose their audiences to digital cable and dish TV.

Jack

[TJL]

It saddens me to think that NBC has no faith in thier programming that they would decide not to make sitcoms and dramas. Sure, they can be expensive, but IMO reality shows are a horrible alternative and game shows are a fad that has had a resurgence lately thanks to "Deal Or No Deal," but how long will that popularity last?

It looks like NBC doesn't want to spend money to make money. So I guess I can say good bye to "Studio 60," which costs about 3 million an episode.

[shaeluv12]

Thank god that they put deal or no deal on cause if they didn't then they would still be like in 5th place in the raitings.

[TJL]

If NBC wants two save a few bucks, they should close down MSNBC.

They tried, it's not working.

[Mr. Television]

I read another article though and they were talking about how 2 of the bigger hits this season were 8 O'Clock shows....Ugly Betty on ABC and Jericho on CBS. NBC just doesn't know how to launch script shows anymore and they'd rather just take the easy way out.

[snl 70s show fan]

i say as much as i hate this idea of no comedy or drama at 8 lets let mr i hate good programing zucker try out this mornic idea because i really think if it fails and im positave that it will the big boss eill finally get it though his pea brain that zucker is a moron and we will finally get someboddy in there who knows what they are doing. i will feel bad for kevin reilly but he is a good programmer and will land at some other network where he will not be second guessed about every decison he tried very hard but its hard to get any work done when you have morons for bosses.

[TJL]

Originally Posted by Walking Tall

NBC just doesn't know how to launch script shows anymore and they'd rather just take the easy way out.

Exactly.

[dawsongirl]

Originally Posted by Walking Tall

I read another article though and they were talking about how 2 of the bigger hits this season were 8 O'Clock shows....Ugly Betty on ABC and Jericho on CBS. NBC just doesn't know how to launch script shows anymore and they'd rather just take the easy way out.

Yeah...whoever greenlights their scripted programming doesn't know quality and what the public likes to see. Fire them first, then see what happens.

[Janice]

Jay Leno jokes about NBC in his monolog all the time. He said the other night that NBC is laying off 700 employees, which is more than the amount of their viewers, lol.

[Jonathan]

Originally Posted by Janice

Jay Leno jokes about NBC in his monolog all the time. He said the other night that NBC is laying off 700 employees, which is more than the amount of their viewers, lol.

I think I remember that.

[tvfan0101]

From the IMDb:

Displaying a striking disagreement among NBC Universal's top executives, Kevin Reilly, the company's entertainment president, took issue Thursday with Jeff Zucker, the company's TV chief, over Zucker's remarks on Wednesday that the network plans to eliminate scripted shows during the 8:00 p.m. hour, replacing them with game and reality series. As reported by today's (Friday) Daily Variety, Reilly told a Beverly Hills luncheon Thursday, "You can't be exclusive with reality at 8:00. You have to be in the scripted business. It's not an absolute." Appearing to publicly overrule Zucker, Reilly said that the network plans to continue airing My Name is Earl and The Office during the 8:00 p.m. hour on Thursdays. Other analysts questioned the strategy further, suggesting that dumping low-cost shows into the 8:00 hour would affect ratings for the 9:00 hour. Only last May Zucker had said that he planned to concentrate on strengthening the 8:00 hour, calling it "the key driver" of the rest of the schedule. Meanwhile, today's New York Post, citing sources close to NBC, reported that "the relationship between [Zucker and NBC Universal Chairman Bob Wright] recently has been steeped in tension." The Post noted that Zucker recently passed on Ugly Betty, which has become a big hit on ABC -- at 8:00 p.m.

I think we will have to wait and see what NBC actually does because, obviously, the company has no idea.

[Mr. Television]

Originally Posted by tvobscurities

From the IMDb:



I think we will have to wait and see what NBC actually does because, obviously, the company has no idea.

Zucker is an idiot. He has completely destroyed NBC.

[snl 70s show fan]

Originally Posted by Walking Tall

Zucker is an idiot. He has completely destroyed NBC.

i agree .heres an idea why dont all the so members who agree with walking tall and myself pool our money hire a small airplane and put walking tall's statement in skywriting over 30 rock maybe then bob wright will get the message?.

[Mr. Television]

Originally Posted by snl 70s show fan

i agree .heres an idea why dont all the so members who agree with walking tall and myself pool our money hire a small airplane and put walking tall's statement in skywriting over 30 rock maybe then bob wright will get the message?.