On Thu, Oct 22, 2009 at 7:47 PM, Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote: > As a viewer, I don't know why I should be aware of, let alone support, > NBC's profits as relevant to its programming. A figurative example > that comes to mind is that I go to a restaurant I know well. I receive > a meal that falls below the standard I have come to expect there and I > complain to the server. In time, a manager comes out and explains to > me that the restaurant has decided to use cheaper ingredients and > their savings will offset alienating regular diners. My response would > be to make it the last time I eat there. > > Even if the Leno Show is cheap enough to make NBC money with > cable-sized ratings, there has to real damage done to the brand. The > question going into the fall season was if the Leno model would lead > the other networks to cut their budgets. I hope these low ratings > answer the question.
To be fair to Leno, I think NBC would argue that the five and a half million people who watch on an average night don't watch it because it is cheap and easy, but because in their judgment it is quality comedy entertainment. If "The West Wing: Next Generation" was somehow cost effective to produce and show every night on NBC at 10:00 even with 5.5M viewers, it would not bother me that NBC was getting low ratings. But yes, if you agree (as I do) that Leno is far from quality programming, then factor in the low ratings, and the "cheap = profitable" rationale for the show, then it does seem that NBC is courting a serious branding problem. I don't think the current level of ratings is quite low enough to convince NBC they made a mistake (and maybe not ABC, which must be seeing itself in the Red on at least 2 nights a week at 10:00 with programs getting more viewers than Cheapo-Leno and wondering what Jimmy Kimmel would pull at 10:00, thinking they would rather be 4th and making a profit than 3rd and bleeding money). I think Leno will have to drop another 15% or so in the ratings for NBC and others to really start thinking this was a mistake - I just think they had to have been hoping they would not be this close to the margin, this soon, on this experiment. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
