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NBC Gives up "We'll Never be #1"

#31
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11/2/09 at 4:27pm
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Comcast to buy controlling stake in NBC Universal, dump NBC network and O&O stations

It looks like Jeff Zucker's actually managed to kill the first major American network, prominent in radio and later television for over eight dacdes, since 1926.
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#32
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11/2/09 at 8:02pm
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I'm not sure where you are getting the "kill" idea.

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#33
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11/2/09 at 8:20pm
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It's not that I have anything against Jeff Zucker personally. But he has been a consistent failure since being promoted from Today producer, and has been repeatedly promoted despite escalating failures. When he took over as president of entertainment for NBC, the network was far and away the highest rated network in America. Now it regularly ties the CW and Univision. Since he bumped out Bob Wright atop the whole of NBC Universal, the company has lost more than $20 billion -- or around half -- of its value. If the company were still worth $45 billion, GE wouldn't be thinking about selling and Comcast wouldn't be able to afford it. If the Comcast deal goes through, Comcast wants to mine the company for its cable assets and dumb NBC and the owned and operated stations to a third party. It's hard to imagine the number five rating network surviving long on its own with the production studio and cable channels as a buffer. This deal could literally mean the end of the National Broadcasting Company, a demise that would have been unimaginable before Zucker's reign at the channel.
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#34
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11/2/09 at 8:20pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick_S View Post


I'm not sure where you are getting the "kill" idea.

 


i think death can be applied here.  is it legal for a company that broadcasts all networks to own one of the networks???

listen with your own ears...
watch with your own eyes...
make your own decision.
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#35
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11/3/09 at 1:54pm
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Who's to say NBC won't do better without being part of a conglomerate that includes a studio? It did fine without a studio; keep in mind that it and Universal have only been corporate siblings for a couple of years.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Diallo B View Post

 is it legal for a company that broadcasts all networks to own one of the networks???

Well, Time Warner owns Time Warner Cable but also owns half of the CW and all of TNT, TBS, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network, and Boomerang. The government has never given them guff about it.

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#36
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11/3/09 at 2:36pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MatthewA View Post

Who's to say NBC won't do better without being part of a conglomerate that includes a studio? It did fine without a studio; keep in mind that it and Universal have only been corporate siblings for a couple of years.

Before the merger, NBC produced shows through its own studio, NBC Studios. When GE bought Vivendi's non-music entertainment assets and merged them with NBC, NBC Studios and Universal Television were merged into Universal Media Studios. One of the major reasons for NBC wanting to acquire Universal was the production studio, which produced many of NBC's hits at the time. (NBC and Universal Television, formerly MCA TV and earlier Revue Studios have had a decades long relationship with one another) Since the FCC dropped the ban on broadcasting shows from an in-house production studio, having a studio as well as a production company has been almost a necessity. The only independent production company that still thrives is Warner Bros. Television, which has a huge roster of big name showrunners under its umbrella .Which Sumner Redstone spun CBS off from Viacom, he kept the production studio with the CBS Corporation for that very reason. If NBC is spun off, I'm sure they would create their own independent studio, but it'd be a huge disadvantage starting from scratch (even if the new company gets to keep the rights to NBC's enormous library of old shows.) A lot of small, niche shows stay on the air because the network knows its production arm will make the money back in syndication and DVD sales. If you're an independent network, you're at the mercy of the first run advertising dollars. And when you're a fourth or fifth run network amidst the worst advertising slump in generations, I don't think that's enough.
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#37
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11/4/09 at 11:55am
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A story from today's Morning Edition from NPR

Leno Would Welcome A Return To Late Night

"Jay Leno made the switch to prime time in September. His show has not been doing very well in the ratings lately. In a published interview, Leno said if NBC offered him The Tonight Show again, he would take it. Leno's low ratings come at a time when General Electric is said to be selling a stake in NBC Universal to cable company Comcast."

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#38
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11/11/09 at 8:47am
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End game:

Reuters: Jeff Zucker will be head of NBCU/Comcast venture

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#39
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11/13/09 at 11:22am
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Sheer madness!  The man ruins everything he touches, and he still rises. 
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#40
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11/14/09 at 2:48pm
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Good, I hope he takes Comcast down with him. I can't stand them being able to black out the Phillies, Flyers and Sixers games that are on suppose to air on one of the basic cable networks (like ESPN or TNT).
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#41
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11/14/09 at 3:03pm
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Blackout rules are set by the league, not by the team or cable provider.  If you're upset about blackouts, it'd be good if people attended the game, otherwise the lack of a sellout or 10% below sellout triggers a blackout for many leagues
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#42
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11/15/09 at 1:14pm
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Blackouts don't affect MLB, though.
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#43
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11/16/09 at 6:53am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mattCR View Post

Blackout rules are set by the league, not by the team or cable provider.  If you're upset about blackouts, it'd be good if people attended the game, otherwise the lack of a sellout or 10% below sellout triggers a blackout for many leagues

I thought it was only the NFL if the game is not sold out.

But I was referring to Comcast blacking out the local Philly teams on other cable providers, even though the game was carried by ESPN or TNT, which also includes away games. Plus the teams are not blacked out if carried by one of the major networks (like NBC or FOX).
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#44
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11/16/09 at 6:59am
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Quote:

But I was referring to Comcast blacking out the local Philly teams on other cable providers, even though the game was carried by ESPN or TNT, which also includes away games. Plus the teams are not blacked out if carried by one of the major networks (like NBC or FOX).
Tell that to people in Jacksonville.  Even if their game is the national game, it has been blacked out for lack of attendance. 

http://jacksonville.com/sports/football/jaguars/2009-08-21/story/jaguars_ready_for_string_of_blackouts

And yep, they black it out no matter what net it's on (ESPN, etc.).  Per the NFL agreement to broadcast games.

The NBA has a similar agreement.  But you're right, MLB does not.

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#45
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11/16/09 at 8:00am
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Neither does the NHL. And I'm mainly talking about other sports, where it has gotten to a point where I could only follow their games on the radio, if I'm not attending the game myself. Especially with the Flyers, with the only games I can watch are those that air on NBC, now that Versus is no longer carried by DirecTV.

I get that with the NFL, where blackouts even apply to the major networks. I can remember having to follow Eagles games on the radio, because the game did not sell out, even though it was carried by CBS or FOX.


ETA: Blackouts dependent on attendance DOES NOT apply to road games. Besides, I was not talking about the NFL.

Edited by Walter C - 11/17/09 at 7:24am
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