Money Matters, Simplified.
Ratings drop as NBC messes up
by Samia Sehgal - January 17, 2010 - comments
NBC had earlier moved Jay Leno to the 10 p.m. slot to make place for O’Brien, but again they decided to shift O’Brien to 12:05 a.m. and made place for Leno’s half-hour show at 11:35
Los Angeles, January 17 -- NBC has made a mess of its once-popular late night line-up. Trying to experiment with its shows and their timings, the network ended up at a loss. The profits and ratings both took a downward spiral as NBC carried on with its miscalculated decisions.
After taking over the ‘The Tonight Show’ from Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien had struggled to get past David Letterman, but the recent high-profile drama, with NBC’s disoriented shuffling, helped him fetch good ratings. However, NBC still looks befuddled.
The network had earlier moved Jay Leno to the 10 p.m. slot to make place for O’Brien, but again they decided to shift O’Brien to 12:05 a.m. and made place for Leno’s half-hour show at 11:35.
However, O’Brien was unhappy about being shifted past mid-night and he complained that moving the ‘The Tonight Show’ beyond its decades-old time slot might prove detrimental. All this shuffling has now become a full-scale media sensation, added with spice from the partakers themselves.
“I just want to say to the kids out there watching: You can do anything you want in life . . . unless Jay Leno wants to do it, too,” O’Brien said, in a recent monologue.
Reportedly, the network is prepared to let O’Brien leave with a fat payday.
The root of NBC’s troubles
According to Jeff Sagansky, who is the former head of entertainment programming at both CBS and NBC and now chairman of a production company, NBC’s troubles started a few years ago when they decided to experiment with the programming and just play the gamble.
“First they said no more miniseries like ‘Roots,’” said Sagansky. “Then they decided no more made-for-TV movies. Then they decided no more comedies. Then they went prime-time drama and to reality programming and cable started taking the audience away with comedies and films.”
The network suffered from "a lack of cost control, very little innovation and a lack of brand management,” he said.
Wrong CEO?
From being the most profitable network a few years ago, NBC has dropped down to be among the strugglers. 44-year-old Jeff Zucker, CEO of NBC Universal, has invited many raised-eyebrow looks and questions on his capability.
He had grabbed the limelight with a successful run at NBC's ‘Today’ show, but things went downhill under his reign at NBC, and some top level television executive reportedly claimed that he was probably not the right man for the job.
"It's a different skill set, dealing with comedy and drama and developing programs from the ground up, and you need that education," said Fred Silverman, who is the former head of programming at all three networks.
Friend favors CEO Zucker
However, a close friend stands by Zucker in his hour of need.
"It's an absolute shame what's happening to Jeff because he's just so smart and he has done so many good things for NBC with cable and made incredible profits there," said Manhattan attorney Gerald Lefcourt.
"He's just an honest, straight-forward guy and he didn't cozy up to the Hollywood types, all that phoniness. And they don't like him out there because he tried something different."