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He’s fired almost all NBC Universal’s top network programmers Friday and today. Now the NBC Universal chief just told a UBS investor conference that NBC’s terrible fall season is forcing him to consider cutting the number of hours and even the number of nights that the network airs programming. But Jeff Zucker said that NBC will continue to fund the creation of pilots (although he whacked that development process last year and look what it gave him: more failure…) ”Can we continue to program 22 hours of prime-time? Three of our competitors don’t. Can we afford to program seven nights a week? One of our competitors doesn’t,” Zucker said, according to AP. “All of these questions have to be on the table. And we are actively looking at all of those questions.” He blamed the economic crisis and slowdown in advertising revenue in a market that is “as difficult as any we’ve seen,” Zucker said. “Businesses are just afraid to commit.” But, get this — Zucker said he did not blame the poor ratings at NBC on NBC Entertainment co-chairmen Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff. “We have not had a good fall at NBC. I don’t think that’s lost on anyone,” he said, adding, “but in no way have we lost confidence in either one of them.”
OHMYGAWD. (UPDATE: When Going Gets Tough, Ben Goes Skiing)
Zucker also said there needs to be a major change at its 10 owned-and-operated local TV stations, which have been hard-hit by a decline in advertising, especially from the auto sector. “We’re in an era where if we don’t change the models of these local TV stations, we will be newspapers, we will be car companies,” he said. “I don’t want to be a company that files for bankruptcy.” NBC was doing stronger on the cable network front, and Zucker said he expects revenues from its cable channels, which include Bravo, USA Network and MSNBC, to grow in the double-digit percentages next year. In 2009, double-digit growth in cable advertising and single-digit growth in affiliate fees will lift the division, which accounts for 60 percent of the profit at the company, a unit of General Electric Co., he said. “Every one of our cable networks … are going to enjoy their best year ever this year both from a financial standpoint and a ratings standpoint,” Zucker said. “We believe that will again be the case in 2009.”
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Sounds like little Jeff is blaming everyone and everything except his own incompetance.
Memo to: GE Board
Re: Solution to restore profitability to NBC
Two words. Fire Zucker.
“It’s everybody else’s fault but mine!!! Oh, and Ben’s!!!”
My god when does ZUCKER get the axe?
WHen Zucker fails, so he fires Television and keeps Silverman.
Now that’s inbreeding at it’s best
Saturday night has slowly become the dumping ground for networks. It’s a shame. Yes, people have more choices and tend to settle down with Netflix rented dvd than watch tv. Part of that is the fact that people’s Saturday schedules don’t fit with the 8pm/9pm/10pm on the dot programming. What the networks need to do is stop tossing repeats up on Saturday night or really old movies that have played 100 times on basic cable. Sports/Reality/Newsmagazines are the cure. All three are inexpensive to produce, compared to a one hour drama. They can use the time for cross promoting other like shows. So you bring back ABC’s Wide World of Sports with Skiing, X-Games Events other Non-Sunday afternoon sports. NBC and CBS can do the same. Also bring back Rosie. The show wasn’t great but after a few episodes it will hit it’s stride. 8pm on Saturday night followed by NBC Dateline / Extra Edition. Yes, a full hour of light fluff pieces about celebrities who might have just been on Rosie. It’s easy, it’s a no-brainer.
Hmmm.
I think Zucker’s found the secret to success as a television network: Don’t actually have any shows.
Think of the money they’ll save!
Hours of dead air in prime time, it’ll be a hit!
Okay, maybe not a hit, but it’ll probably do better than the Rosie O’Donnell special.
The biggest problem with big business these days are the people running them.
How many times does it have to be said…when you are owned by a soulless semi-criminal behemoth like General Electric, the fish is going to rot from the head.
NBC has consistently been the most backward-looking, corporatist, small-minded network, and that’s been true not just in recent years but for decades now.
If Hollywood is ever going to go back to greater profitability and greater creativity these huge multinationals are going to need to GTFO of the picture.
Until that happens, you’re going to keep having schmucks like Zucker “running” things.
Saturday just needs one moderate hit. Giving up will not only hurt the network but most likely, SNL. But, seriously… deadly seriously… never put self-destructive behemoth Rosie in front of a camera again. She signaled the beginning of the end.
Quoting Nikki:
“…Zucker said he expects revenues from its cable channels, which include Bravo, USA Network and MSNBC, to grow in the double-digit percentages next year. In 2009, double-digit growth in cable advertising and single-digit growth in affiliate fees will lift the division, which accounts for 60 percent of the profit at the company, a unit of General Electric Co., he said. “Every one of our cable networks … are going to enjoy their best year ever this year both from a financial standpoint and a ratings standpoint,” Zucker said. “We believe that will again be the case in 2009.”
Is it a coincidence that Zucker & Silverman have nothing to do with USA Network, SciFi, Bravo & MSNBC and yet the not NBC outlets kicking tail & taking names financially speaking? Or is that cable has way lower budgets (and by the way why are the cable channels still treated as needing lower budget programming when more people watch them than NBC? Shouldn’t it be the other way around now?)?
We’re living in very interesting but very odd humpty-dumpty like times…
Remember when Fred Silverman was the butt of every Johnny Carson or Letterman joke? Remember how embarrassing Warren Littlefield was? Both of them seem like geniuses compared to this batch of talent-free buffoons.
Wow, I’m actually impressed that he’s acknowledged the CW as a network.
when i lived in hollywood (thankfully i got out just in time!), everyone used to say that 95% of the biz jobs were there to say no to projects and prevent production. sigh, shame that it is true…
ps – ben is and always be a moron who got really lucky
My Roth IRA is down 43%… lets see now… my Dodge & Cox Stock Mutual fund holds 35,181,600 shares of General Electric, and my Dodge & Cox Income fund holds 31,739,00 (par value) in General Electric…which of course the current value is 29,232,159.
Thank you GE for hiring this incompetent little prick, who blames everyone else for all the failures.
He can’t blame Ben Silverman.
Then he’d have to blame himself, too.
I think it’s obvious that the mainstream media (MSM) has totally missed what Alvin Toffler warned about way back in 1979: as communication technologies improve the audience will start fragmenting and the days of “mass” TV networks will be dramatically reduced.
Today, in the age of 60+ channel analog cable TV, 120+ channel digital cable TV, 180+ channel small dish satellite TV, the public Internet and cheap DVD players (and increasingly less expensive Blu-ray players, audiences are more and more into niche programming, and the major media companies have to start admitting this fact very soon or they will be run over by companies that can exploit the new media environment.
Gee. Cable nets develop and program shows that people want to watch, and ad revenue follows. NBC does not develop and program shows people want to watch, and takes it on the chin.
See how that works? I know it’s hard to get your pointy head around…
Memo to NBC:
Neat little program ‘Bones’ was developed from a popular mystery book series – go on over to Amazon and check out what scrappy female/male sleuths got a batch of good reviews and 5 stars and cut a deal – look at the top dramas and their all crimesolving
Shoot American. Wanna know why you wrung 20 yrs out of Law and Order? New York City. Wanna know why Spencer for Hire was a hit? Boston. Miami Vice? Miami. And memo to cities – loosen up on the regs – you all come up winners.
Do Crusoe right. Picked up a cheap 13 eps to fill in the fall – not a bad move – but the show didn’t live up. The limited run was a good idea – a novel as the source material was a good idea – the execution was all over the map – but it may be the time for another Winds of War or Shogun or Thornbirds.
Reclaim Saturday and Sunday night. Not all the way back to Disney but heck – a Dr Quinn Medicine Woman – something to sit down to with the kids.
Take some of your long Christmas break and cruise through Oklahoma, the Carolinas, New Jersey, Ohio, Maine, Indiana – ask people what they watch & why & what theyd like to see & why because whoever pitched My Own Worst Enemy is….your worst enemy.
Sherrie…in about six minutes, there will be a job waiting for you at NBC…The name “Zucker” will be on the door but with a little paint, that can be fixed. You’re brilliant.
If Jeff Zucker can’t program 22 hours of prime time like network bosses and exec’s have been doing for 60 years then he is a pussy.
And trying to rationalize your pussyness to stockholders means you are asking (begging?) to be replaced.
Immelt please take note.
Get rid of Notre Dame.They’re bad luck.
Was reading this in an article and the more I read about what Zucker said at the UBS conference the more I’m convinced he’s just not competent enough to run NBC
“I’m incredibly bullish on our diversification,” NBC Universal President and CEO Jeff Zucker told the UBS media conference Monday. Six years ago the company was 90% reliant on advertising and today that’s under 50% “and completely diversified.”
Article goes on to say:
“Because of the changes made over the past six year, the cable networks now account for 60% of the operating profits at NBCU. 20% comes from Universal Pictures and 5% from the theme parks. That leaves 15% from broadcasting, although many people still tend to think of NBCU as primarily a broadcasting company.”
source: http://www.rbr.com/tv-cable/11707.html
Now correct me if I’m wrong here but aren’t both the cable networks and NBC dependent upon advertisers so 60% from cable plus %15 from NBC = 75% And last time I checked 75% is larger than “under 50%”
Not that I’m a fan of CNBC employee Jim Cramer but if you’re dependent upon a few sources for 75% of your profits I think Mr Boo-Yah would say you’re not really diversified.
This math doesn’t seem like the math I studied in high school & college…is this more phoney Hollywood / shareholder math or does Zucker need remedial coursework in addition and percentages or possibly both?
Thanks in advance everyone
PS More evidence that I think Zucker’s brain is permanently fogged
Jeff Zucker on SAG: “We’d like to make a deal. We’d like to make the same deal we’d made with every other union in town. It’s hard to imagine, given what’s happened to the economy, that common sense wouldn’t prevail here.”
Zucker makes *zero* sense here (by making “a deal” Zucker means only “the same deal we’d made with every other union in town”) so him babbling about “common sense” prevailing here strikes me as funny, as nonsensical and silly as insisting that SAG’s deal must equal every other union’s deal. If all the union deals are fungible why don’t the congloms save themselves some time and energy and have all the talent enter into one gigantic union and then only negotiate the “pattern deal” once? Unless the only thing that actors, crew members, writers and directors definitely have in common is that their job titles end in -rs?
If only Johnnie Cochran were around he’d say to union members that “if their deal doesn’t fit, too bad, you still have to live with it”.
We live in crazy times, huh?
Thanks to Sherrie should take Zuckers job – but I dont want it. Who would want to really live so out of touch with the world? And heres the dirty little secret – almost anybody who checks in here could do the job despite the nasty cracks that surfers, some who come in by way of Drudge some another way, take from the in crowd. Being insular is what got you into this mess.
1. Dont copy content, work with the same themes – if you see that of the top 20 broadcast shows half of them are mystery/crime/thriller – even House which is kind of a hospital mystery – develop one of your own. Check out a couple sites where crime or mystery readers gather and see what they like to read. Different characters, different setting – US setting please – but the same theme.
2. Know your history – when times get real bad economically people dont want to come home and be hammered when they turn on the set – they wanna be down they’ll go to the straight news but when they want to be entertained they want to escape – the broadcast shows that arent mystery? comedies, dancing w t stars and the odd sports event. On cable – reruns of those same crime shows and the popular cartoons.
3. Dont waste your money on awards shows – nobody watches them – except the captive viewers in the audience – the rest of us youtube the segments we wanna see – pompous commercial laden without even the smarts to develop some of those super bowl type commercials to hook us. That is so money down the gopher hole.
4. Model yourself after the Helen Mirren character in Gosford Park – remember what she said – that a good servant has to have a talent for anticipating what people will want before they want it? Too much in movies – and TV – is giving people what you think they’re supposed to want instead of figuring out what real people are going to want and surprising them by giving it to them.
5. Read. Whats making money in the movies – James Bond, Harry Potter, Twilight, Batman – all fiction characters that started out between the covers of a book or comic. Thats where the good characters are coming from these days. Go get some.
Sherie is right. Here’s my two cents. Look at a lot of the successful series’ of yore. Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart Show, Rockford Files, House to name a few. The key is Character, character, character. Make a show about a “normal” person, then surround them with interesting (possibly wacky) characters. Is that so hard?
Because, if I see one more hackneyed show about a tough, female cop (Holly Hunter,Kevin Bacon’s wife, Glenn Close) or a lawyer show, I’m gonna hurl. Does anyone know who puts those ads on USA hawking The Starter Wife? I’ll pay good money if I don’t have to see that commercial ever again. But I digress.
Listen to Sherie!
Jeff Zucker should definitely be the one to go. He doesn’t have a clue when it comes to programming. I tried watching a few new shows on NBC this year, but they just didn’t hold my interest. I hope NBC can be saved before it’s too late.
Translation: The best way to make things better is to program better. But programming good stuff is hard! Makes my head hurt! Makes Ben’s head hurt really bad. Easier to just cut programming hours. That way I don’t have to program as much good stuff!
I just don’t understand why anyone would cut a deal with NBC if they had other options at this point. Someone mentioned Notre Dame earlier and they are an apt analogy for the network. Great tradition, zero future. An era of diminished expectations, seldom reached.