Yes indeed !! More programs like THIS, please.
Posted on 07/25/2005 8:00:11 AM PDT by CHARLITE
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (Reuters) - Coming off their most bruising year in a decade, newly humbled NBC executives said on Sunday they see the upcoming TV season as a rebuilding phase and that ratings at the fourth-place network might continue to languish.
NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly said the losses suffered by the network last season -- its first in many years without long-running hits "Friends" and "Frasier" -- left executives at the once-mighty broadcaster "a little beat-up and stunned."
But in unusually colorful, candid remarks to TV critics at NBC's annual summer presentation of new shows for the coming fall schedule, Reilly said the General Electric Co.-owned network was determined to reverse its fortunes.
"Last season for us was kind of like a colonic," he said. "It wasn't a lot of fun to go through at the time but it's going to be healthy in the long run. It literally took any residual sense of entitlement or complacency at our company and blew it out."
Reilly's comments were echoed by his boss, NBC Universal Television Group President Jeff Zucker, who oversees the broadcast network as a whole and its sister cable channels.
"When you get the comeuppance that NBC got last year, it's probably a good thing," he said. "And it's inevitable. It was a terrific decade and it probably lasted a little longer than it should have.
"It's not going to turn around right away."
The question is how soon NBC can find one or two hits to fill soft spots in its lineup. Last season, "Friends" spinoff "Joey" failed to gain momentum, Donald Trump's "The Apprentice" lost steam and several new shows misfired altogether.
NBC finished last season in fourth place behind CBS, Fox and ABC both in overall viewers and its target audience of adults aged 18 to 49 -- the group most prized by advertisers and the demographic NBC has long dominated.
As a result, NBC saw a sharp decline in the advertising dollars it gained during this spring's annual "upfront" marketplace, when media buyers book the bulk of their commercial time in advance. NBC's share of upfront ad time was widely reported to have dropped by $700 million to $800 million this year compared with last.
Reilly said the 2005-06 season "may not see a turnaround for us. ... I don't know if you're going to see a ratings difference this year." For now, he said, NBC would eschew scheduling gimmicks that irked its rivals and some critics, such as "supersizing" by extending the length of episodes of its biggest hits, broadcasting some shows at off-hours and moving others through various time periods.
Reilly expects some belt-tightening but foresees no layoffs. He and Zucker both said budgets for marketing and development had actually been expanded.
"Given the environment that I'm in right now, I can't imagine more support than I'm getting from NBC and from GE," Reilly said.
He said the network would focus its promotional resources on a handful of upcoming shows that he sees as particularly promising, most notably a quirky comedy called "My Name is Earl," starring Jason Lee as a reformed crook determined to repay his debts to society.
NBC also is crossing its fingers for two new dramas -- "The E-Ring," starring Benjamin Bratt and Dennis Hopper as Pentagon-based guardians of homeland security, and "Surface," an action-adventure show about the appearance of mysterious sea creatures.
In addition, domestic-designing diva Martha Stewart will show up in her own spinoff of the popular reality show "The Apprentice," while real estate tycoon Donald Trump returns for yet another edition of the original franchise.
I would also suggest adding a prime time one hour show featuring either Rush Limbaugh, Michael Reagan, Mike Gallagher or Roger Hedgecock, or all four on a revolving basis. Ratings would skyrocket.
If they just buy tv programs that people want to watch, they would be fine.
Yes indeed !! More programs like THIS, please.
Interesting they did not break down the age erosion into genders. I believe the only TV show on networks which are watch by a majority of men in that age bracket is monday night football.
For some reason I keep forgetting that I can even watch ABC, CBS or NBC on my TV set.
The only tv show I feel a need to watch is "Lost". If NBC figured out how to make a show as good, I'd watch that. I think people are tired of the same three sitcoms, re-wrapped and given a fresh coat of paint.
And they can dump that Law and Order CI, that made the Tom DeLay crack.
I guess they thought they were real cute at the time but I refuse to watch it anymore and I did rather like it.
I doubt they'll ever catch on.
Frankly, I consider the droppings from all the alphabets as the product of high colonics.
I absolutely agree. I watch Lost and House...and sports...and news...and that's all.
Medium was fairly interesting.
Vegas got old; same-o; little to hold interest.
West Wing, the election cycle was about as exciting as watching paint dry. It was foregone conclusion who the final 2 would be.
Law and Order. So many versions. That is as saturating as all of CBS's CSIs. Clue, guys, try something new. A dozen carbon copies of a successful program will just lead to series-fatigue.
And the leftist agenda that keeps slipping irrelevant quips into the dialog doesn't help a program.
I have quit watching any of the Law and Order shows because of the political slant, and I bet I'm not the only one.
That's gotta hurt. *snicker*
I don't even get tv - I acquire my Lost elsewhere - but I don't miss it. My couple hours a week of mindless viewing are satisfied by movies and foreign shows I can download.
I think so. Katie Colic Colonic Couric. She is one reason why their ratings are so low. I will not watch NBC because of her, nor do I watch ABC because of Jennings, nor do I watch CBS because they employed Dan RATher, nor do I watch CNN . . .
These idiots just don't get it. Stop the bias and their ratings may improve.
This makes sense - have two flaming liberals play patriots.
"And they can dump that Law and Order CI, that made the Tom DeLay crack."
I just happened to walk into the room when I heard the female actor say that line. As a strong supporter of the Second Amendment (see my tagline), I was offended. I didn't watch the show much before that, and have not watched the show since.
But help may be on the way. I understand that Chris Noth, an alum of the original Law and Order, will be alternating weeks this fall with the somewhat unstable current male actor on L&O:CI. I predict that whatever-his-name-is will be eased out before long.
Hey, what do they expect. It was an election year, and they backed the wrong horse.
Want some real drama, how about flash backs of some of the Iraqis who were tortured and had their families killed before their eyes. Talk about gripping drama!
What is "CBS"?
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