Monday, December 08, 2008

Zucker Delivers Death Blow to NBC

Monday, NBC idiot-in-chief, the honorable Jeff Zucker wondered aloud to the press about the continued viability of NBC if it must program 22 hours each and every week.

He floated the idea of dropping one night of programming, or rolling back prime time by one hour. His reason? "Three of our competitors do it." That's right folks, the network that once laughed at FOX as the network you needed aluminum foil on your antenna to pick up, now considers MyNetwork and The CW as legitimate threats to the Peacock.

Ridiculous.

If tonight's internet and industry rumors can be trusted, Jeff's solution seems to be to move Jay Leno into the 10/9 Central time slot - FIVE NIGHTS PER WEEK.

Brilliant.

Conan is getting THE TONIGHT SHOW soon, and Zucker has been struck with the brilliant idea of repurposing Jay himself.

Granted, this move will mean five hours less development that NBC has to fund.

However, it will also cede NBC's strongest hour of the night to the competition. Jeff, you can't honestly tell me you expect HERE'S JAY! (or whatever the hell you're going to call it) to bring in the same audience that the LAW & ORDER franshise does.

My guess is - up to two-thirds of the NBC procedural drama crowd will relocate to ABC and CBS. There will also be another substantial portion of the NBC audience that will find the early news on the local FOX station more palatable.

No matter what, fewer people will watch NBC.

Folks, we're talking about a time slot in which ER used to get a 40 share with new episodes. But instead of fighting for important time slots with original, creative product, Zucker has constantly programmed with an eye toward repurposing on cable first.

Next week, this poor excuse for a programming schedule will feature a dance competition better suited for summer and a relationship 'reality' piece of crap that belongs on MTV.

This is simply preposterous ignorance on display for the world to see - in Hi-Def.

How can GE shareholders continue to allow this man to destroy one of broadcasting's gems? Please, can't someone swoop in and purchase this once mighty network and save it from this pathetic excuse for a TV executive?

In the world of bad ideas, Zucker is king.

Fire Zucker, save the network.