Is Leno show hurting NBC?
In yesterday's New York Times, Bill Carter wrote about the effect that Jay Leno's new 10pm show on the rest of the broadcaster's line-up. In short, Leno may be hurting the ratings of the dramas that would typically air at 10pm, such as Law & Order: SVU. Time's James Poniewozik also tackled the issue of Leno here and how can we really answer that question.
While I understand the fiscal reasons surrounding NBC's decision to give Leno's a 5-day a week show at 10pm, I am still baffled by the move. Much has been made of the fact that the top brass at NBC were afraid that Leno would jump over to ABC once his contract was up, a reasonable it would seem. Except that ABC's "Nightline" has been doing well in the ratings, better than most of the late night counterparts. Not to mention the young audience that is siphoned off by "The Colbert Report", a show that appeals to the much coveted demographic that broadcasters' advertisers want to reach.
It will take more analysis to see the collateral damage that Leno's 10pm, but I think it's first victim was the critically acclaimed show "Southland", which was recently canceled just before it was set to premiere. The only thing holding their schedule together is Thursday night's comedy line-up. "Community" has done well, but now they've moved it and it is up against "FlashForward" on ABC, which is doing extremely well. Their two new dramas is "Mercy" and "Trauma" have failed to find an audience, and though NBC says that the are still committed to quality programming, citing their recent acquisition of J.J. Abram's latest series. And yet, I have to wonder if they are committed to any of their shows.
At the end of last season, "Chuck" was in jeopardy of being canceled, until Subway swooped in with a tie-in. But the continue to keep "Heroes" on the schedule with no delays, that show has to cost them a lot, it has been a series that's been losing it's audience since the beginning of the second season.
As Poniewozik cites, the ratings for Leno's shows are holding their own against ABC's 10pm line-up. He also points out that advertisers were given lower expectations for ratings on Leno's show. In gauging the success or failure of Leno's show, it would be interesting to the 10pm news ratings for Fox and CW television stations. One of the main concerns is that local NBC news stations have had lower ratings since Leno's show came on, which is a major problem for the network. Local news is the bread and butter of these stations, so carrying Leno's show is not doing much for their bottom line.
As Fox has no 10pm programming, yet they do have genuine hits like "Glee" at 9pm, I think it would be useful to look at these numbers, even on a bad night for Fox, like Friday. Leno's biggest lead-in is "The Biggest Loser" and that is not even the top rated show for that night. Though this could change as "30 Rock" premieres this week giving them a strong 9pm hour. That being said most viewers have most likely formed habits around other shows.
NBC needs genuine hits, dramas at the least. Bringing back "Chuck" earlier than expected may help but that show is now being subsidized by Subway, so they're saving money on this show. Also, they made a mistake by airing "The Philanthropist" this summer. Not to mention that the dramas on the network are out-shined by NBCU's cable channel USA, that has given us "Burn Notice", "In Plain Sight" and "Royal Pains". And new drama "White Collar" looks promising.
As a viewer I am disappointing with Leno at 10, there are shows that I would watch like SVU but they are up against other shows that I'd want to watch more. From a business perspective, they need to make some radical changes, in not in the way that they decided to put Leno on at 10. There are so many questions I have for this, I could go on for days. Like why'd you give up "Southland"? Do you regret cutting "Medium"?
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While I understand the fiscal reasons surrounding NBC's decision to give Leno's a 5-day a week show at 10pm, I am still baffled by the move. Much has been made of the fact that the top brass at NBC were afraid that Leno would jump over to ABC once his contract was up, a reasonable it would seem. Except that ABC's "Nightline" has been doing well in the ratings, better than most of the late night counterparts. Not to mention the young audience that is siphoned off by "The Colbert Report", a show that appeals to the much coveted demographic that broadcasters' advertisers want to reach.
It will take more analysis to see the collateral damage that Leno's 10pm, but I think it's first victim was the critically acclaimed show "Southland", which was recently canceled just before it was set to premiere. The only thing holding their schedule together is Thursday night's comedy line-up. "Community" has done well, but now they've moved it and it is up against "FlashForward" on ABC, which is doing extremely well. Their two new dramas is "Mercy" and "Trauma" have failed to find an audience, and though NBC says that the are still committed to quality programming, citing their recent acquisition of J.J. Abram's latest series. And yet, I have to wonder if they are committed to any of their shows.
At the end of last season, "Chuck" was in jeopardy of being canceled, until Subway swooped in with a tie-in. But the continue to keep "Heroes" on the schedule with no delays, that show has to cost them a lot, it has been a series that's been losing it's audience since the beginning of the second season.
As Poniewozik cites, the ratings for Leno's shows are holding their own against ABC's 10pm line-up. He also points out that advertisers were given lower expectations for ratings on Leno's show. In gauging the success or failure of Leno's show, it would be interesting to the 10pm news ratings for Fox and CW television stations. One of the main concerns is that local NBC news stations have had lower ratings since Leno's show came on, which is a major problem for the network. Local news is the bread and butter of these stations, so carrying Leno's show is not doing much for their bottom line.
As Fox has no 10pm programming, yet they do have genuine hits like "Glee" at 9pm, I think it would be useful to look at these numbers, even on a bad night for Fox, like Friday. Leno's biggest lead-in is "The Biggest Loser" and that is not even the top rated show for that night. Though this could change as "30 Rock" premieres this week giving them a strong 9pm hour. That being said most viewers have most likely formed habits around other shows.
NBC needs genuine hits, dramas at the least. Bringing back "Chuck" earlier than expected may help but that show is now being subsidized by Subway, so they're saving money on this show. Also, they made a mistake by airing "The Philanthropist" this summer. Not to mention that the dramas on the network are out-shined by NBCU's cable channel USA, that has given us "Burn Notice", "In Plain Sight" and "Royal Pains". And new drama "White Collar" looks promising.
As a viewer I am disappointing with Leno at 10, there are shows that I would watch like SVU but they are up against other shows that I'd want to watch more. From a business perspective, they need to make some radical changes, in not in the way that they decided to put Leno on at 10. There are so many questions I have for this, I could go on for days. Like why'd you give up "Southland"? Do you regret cutting "Medium"?
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