WTF? NBC to Stop Airing Comedy & Drama in Primetime (UPDATE)
October 19, 2006 by Kath Skerry
OK someone is going to have to jump online and explain this one to me. And I mean QUICK!!! According to this article, NBC President Jeff Zucker has announced that in order to cut operating costs, NBC is considering NOT scheduling scripted dramas or comedies during the 8-9pm time slot. So what will they show? Reality programming and game shows. Again I say, WTF?
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.
I really must have misinterpreted this one because I can’t IMAGINE why NBC would do this. What about their historic “Must See TV” platform. Is that completely out the window? And where are favorites like My Name is Earl, Heroes, Friday Night Lights and my beloved The Office going to go? Are they going to go up against the likes of CSI and Grey’s Anatomy? Might as well just cancel them all together.
I’m kind of flipping out right now, so I’m going to head out and try to do a little more research. If I find anything I’ll be sure to come back here and update you all. This is ridiculous!!
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Change not likely to affect My Name is Earl or The Office
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You know, I was watching CNN this morning and I heard the same thing as well…because apparently a show like Friday Night Lights costs around 2.5 million per episode to air (with all costs), while a reality show like Deal or No Deal costs around 1.5 million…but I heard they were only considering, not that they were actually gonna go through with it. I guess they are trying to be like Fox, cut costs that way. But that just seems to be caving into the fact that their network isn’t number one anymore. I have no idea what they would do–they have so much Primetime, not a whole lot of reality shows. Are we now gonna have to watch ER or something on Saturday nights?
wait….what? i need to watch the office and grey’s anatomy. they cannot possibly be on at the same time! this is injustice!! 🙁
Leave it to NBC to make a dumbass programming decision like this one – and to think that with their decent new shows, I was starting to have respect for them.
Hey, NBC, here’s an idea for you: Make people want to watch your shows, so you don’t have to rely on lowest common denominator crap.
Here is another article talking about the cuts and such at NBC from MSNBC:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15305055/
It also happens that NBC programs series in that slot that directly compete with the other networks. Friday Night Lights is a family show airing on Tues. @ 8 , the same time as GG, also family-ish and v. pop. Office and Earl are opposite Ugly Betty, which is also comedic. Really, who wants to watch Deal or no Deal? It may be relatively cheap, but what is the entertainment val?
I can’t even compute this…it’s just so wrong. This is most certainly not the way to become the #1 network again, that’s for sure.
REDICULOUS!!! I redact that!!!!!!!
I can’t see them ACTUALLY doing this!!! What, did they not learn how successful they became after airing such shows as Friends, Fraiser, Will and Grace, and now The Office, My Name is Earl, Studio 60 etc..many more, but WHAT!!! They made the whole Must See TV thing, they CAN’T be serious!!!!!!!
What would they put on, everynight?? Deal or No Deal??? NOOOOOO, they’d totally loose their standings and everything, since all the other networks air comedies in that time bracket…
but! If things don’t work out with the way things are, they will just have to move The Office back to 9:30, cause I wouldn’t be able to live without it! 😉
Ditto on the WTF??!! That’s insane. They’ve gotta be in REAL trouble to make a move like that. If I understand, it sounds mainly like a rescheduling move to place the cheaper programs at 8 pm so I’m sure Office and Earl would just move to another time slot but still… insane. Boy how times are a changin’ on the tube.
From Brian Baumgartner’s blog: “And watch the GD show tonight, will you? NBC is laying off people today, and I don’t want to be next.”
Can we recall him as NBC President? Not to rag on reality shows, but shouldn’t smart shows like The Office be the focus of primetime TV? It’s better for our culture. PETITION!
AHHHH NBC you’re killing me!!!!!!! lol
Oil can…oil…can….
Ugh, wtf is NBC doing?? Where are all those shows going to go? And I do NOT want NBC shows to start airing at the same time as shows that I watch on other networks!
AGH!!!
Yeah, wouldn’t you think that, even though some shows are cheaper to produce, if they’re nothing more than crap wouldn’t the network actually still lose money? This can’t happen.
As their first step toward no longer programming comedies, 20 Good Years has been renewed for the next three seasons.
Zucker, according to Forbes, went to Harvard, is a five-time Emmy Award winner, joined NBC in 1986 as a researcher for the 1988 Summer Olympics and in 1992 was promoted to executive producer of the Today show at age 26.
Well, just like they don’t teach you how to operate a toaster oven in business school, network programming obviously ain’t part of the Harvard curriculum.
I honestly can’t believe that NBC is that stupid!
This is in effect a going out of business strategy.
I don’t care how bright Zuucker is supposed to be this makes no sense.
He has to get back on his meds.
I hate TV as a business. Why do shows like Deal or No Deal (which are cheaper to make, as well) do well, but shows like Scrubs struggle?
If they are trying to cut costs, is it a safe bet that Studio 60 will be canceled before the season ends?
Ironically (or perhaps fittingly) the last episode of Studio 60 featured an executive passing on a reality show, even though she knew it would be a fit, because she felt their network shouldn’t associate themselves with lowest-denominator schlock and should focus on quality.
What I want to know is if this goes through, what will get cut?!
NO WAY!!!! I hate Deal Or No Deal I don’t care how cheap it is to make! i have school on fridays like most people and i can’t stay up THAT late on thursdays! (Yes i’m doing it now but i this is driveing me CRAZY!) I love The Office and Earl! i will NOT stand for this! What about “Must See TV?!” Everyone loves Must See TV Thursdays! Year after year it has made us all laugh and there just going to take it all away? Just like that? I hope i can befriend somone who works at NBC soon! Thares to much on the line right now! The fate of Must See TV and the take over of Deal Or No Deal and 1 VS. 100 I must stop this! but i can’t so i won’t even try. *Insert sobing face here*
Oh, for the love of Pete….
It’ll be D or ND and the Biggest Loser – hey, maybe they’ll throw some type of “Bachelor” show in there, too. Woooo!
Must See TV, my a**. *grumble*
One of the articles I’ve read on this matter mentioned that with the exception of Thursday nights, ABC is currently running only “low-cost” shows in their 8pm timeslots. (Dancing With The Stars twice a week, Wifeswap, Extreme Makeover twice a week) The only difference is that ABC made their scheduling changes quietly.
Also, if you look at NBC’s current schedule, they have at least one of their “low-cost” shows on almost every night of the week. If this new scheduling goes into effect in the current TV season (I haven’t seen any specifics as to when this all will go down, has anybody else?), I don’t think they’ll be getting rid of shows, just shuffling the schedule a bit.
..NBC further proves it stands for
Nothing
But
Crap
TV Guide said today that NBC has confirmed they will not be moving the shows My Name is Earl or The Office. They made the comment along that lines that the 8pm hour on Thursday is not the time to show a reality show
Wow, just when you thought NBC had finally pulled it’s head out from it’s fore-point-of-contact, they go and do this. Their website is now officially trashed into a half-baked bulletin board system format, and the videos that I was able to watch last week cannot be played because I am missing some piece of software that does not appear to exist. Sorry NBC, No Smacktard Asslings Allowed, just go the route of dodo and do everyone a favor by shutting down and poisoning our minds with your utter banality. You’re fired