Posted on 11/30/2009 3:33:57 AM PST by Scanian
Jay Leno has done more than just bomb in his prime-time slot on NBC. He may have started a revolution there.
It seems that not only are viewers tuning out Leno and other shows offered at 10 p.m. -- they are actually using the slot to catch up on shows they've recorded.
DVR usage, which like live programming is measured by Nielsen Co., is up by 1.4 household ratings points in the 10 p.m. slot, while NBC has lost an average of 1.8 points compared to fall 2008.
"The DVR phenomenon is a little bit higher than we thought," said David Poltrack, CBS' chief research executive.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
"By the end of this decade or shortly thereafter, television networks as we know them today will cease to exist. They will be just another url on the world wide web competing against millions of others."
"Network evening newscasts will go dark after the '08 elections and their news divisions disbanded."
Walter Abbott, (b. 1950), Media observer, blogger and commentator
I’m not upset at this at all. It irritated me to no end that they thought Leno sucked enough to pull him from the Tonight Show, but gave him an HOUR long prime time show? And cancelled My Name is Earl? I know that show wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I don’t think it was doing that poorly either.
NBC will do the “right” thing and push Congress to ban DVRs.
I used to occasionally watch Leno’s show when it was on at 1130. I was so pissed off that they put him on at 10 o’clock due to taking off good shows that I have never watched his show. Put him back at 1130 so he can eventually retire with dignity and not get cancelled and leave with this show being his legacy. Letterman is killing his competition since Leno left...that alone pisses me off even more...lol.
Not quite what was going on. NBC liked Leno, but it also had a restless star in Conan O'Brien. NBC knew that Leno was only going to do the Tonight Show for a few more years, but it was concerned that if it didn't give Conan the Tonight Show, he would move to ABC and start a show competitive to the Tonight Show, much like Letterman did when NBC gave the Tonight Show to Leno instead of him.
So to keep Leno happy, NBC gave him a Tonight Show-type format in prime time, which made sense for a couple of reasons: you keep both Conan and Leno, but you also get a prime time show, that airs five nights a week, that is ridiculously cheap to make. Win-win.
We don’t stay up past 10 PM (it’s a have-a-job thing), but we generally DO watch DVR’d episodes of NCIS, Bones and Lie to Me. We don’t do live TV anymore, except for sports.
Gonad is an asshole with little or no on air talent.....let him go and get someone with talent....no loss
They cancelled Life for prime time Leno.
I don’t care how cheap it is to produce, they lost an excellent show for a show that no one is watching. That’s lose/lose.
NBC should try Brian Williams in that slot. World news at ten, local news at 10:30, sleep at eleven.
That idea is so crazy, I wouldn't be surprised to see Congress enact such a ban. ;-)
I knew this was a bad idea as soon as Leno announced it.
Now Leno and NBC know it, too!
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