Wednesday, December 30, 2009

New York Times Praises New Year's Day Classic NHL on NBC

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/sports/hockey/31hockey.html?hp

If it runs. (See posting from yesterday about delay of event possible)

NBC Changes An Hour of Daily Schedule Beginning Next Week

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted: 12/30/2009 12:59:41 PM
Air Date: 01/04/2010 Monday
Start Time: 03:04:00 AM [ET]
Show Name: THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH CONAN ALL NIGHT
Duration: 00:56:00
Type: Program Change
Message: Effective 1/4/2010: Tonight-AN replaces Fallon-AN

----------------------------------------------------------------------
NBC stations might have appreciated a bit more notice, but that's just my opinion.

Chattanooga and Jackson clients will find the change already made when they next open an avail in MediaOffice.

MediaPost Examines Leno Ratings In December

Not So Funny: 'Jay Leno' Show Under-Performs
Wayne Friedman, Dec 24, 2009 02:54 PM

In the big pool of December reruns -- a place where "The Jay Leno Show" was supposed to shine -- the NBC talk program is still mired in mid 1 ratings among 18-49 viewers, under his season average.

Case in point: in the week leading up to Christmas, "Leno" averaged a 1.4 rating/4 share among 18-49 viewers -- numbers that are down versus its 1.73 season average rating through Dec. 13. His average in December alone is at a 1.5 rating.

NBC has touted that in those lower TV viewing periods, fresh programming from "Leno" would come his way when up against reruns and lesser programming on the network.

The positive for NBC? In some cases, "Leno" has moved into second place during the time period. One Tuesday -- Dec. 22, for example -- a repeat of "The Good Wife" posted a 1.7 rating/5 share, while "Leno" earned a 1.5/5, and a repeat of ABC's "Christmas at The White House" grabbed a 0.9/3.

Rich Greenfield, media industry analyst at Pali Research, says cable's ratings, already on the rise overall, have been higher during the 10 p.m. time period, due in part to "Leno." Cable networks have picked up 1.6 adult 18-49 ratings points, some of this coming from ABC and CBS.


In the first week of Leno's show, curiosity from viewers pushed his average for the week to a 3.42 rating against 18-49 viewers -- twice as high as his current season average. In the weeks following, the show fell to a 1.92, 1.74, then to a 1.66 in weeks four and five.

In weeks six through 11, "Leno" ratings held steady around the 1.5 rating range, with a 1.54, 1.48, 1.48, 1.46, 1.52, and a 1.48. Then they fell in week 12 to a 1.35 average -- the last week in the November sweeps where other networks offered big new programming.


Week 13 spiked up to a 1.72 rating, most of that coming from a big 2.9 rating on Tuesday Dec. 8 following the conclusion of "The Biggest Loser."

NBC also said the Leno show would deliver less time-shifting -- a positive for many TV advertisers that fear viewers who fast-forward through commercials.

According to a report by Brad Adgate, senior vice president and corporate research director of media-buying agency Horizon Media, "Leno" viewership has only been boosted by 6.4% over seven days, while the overall prime-time average is up 19%.

Scrooge Traffic @ New Years

Posted: 12/29/2009
Type: Announcements
Message: NHL game on Jan. 1 is played outdoors and is subject to postponement due to poor weather conditions. If postponed, it would be re-scheduled to air on NBC on Sat. 1/2/2010 at 2p ET. Under this postponement scenario, the 2009 NHL Winter Classic game would air in place of the live game on 1/1/2010 and Sports programming on 1/2/2010 would be adjusted but still guaranteed until 6p ET. Full contingency details to follow shortly.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Primetime Changed for Jan 8th..

There will be a program change in primetime on January 8 and will be officially booked later today. Please check APT's what's new posting for this change:


Friday, January 8th
8:00-10:00 DATELINE. (Original)

I'll begin changing my 2010 clients now.

Bengals @ NY Jets Next Sunday

Posted: 12/28/2009 09:53:42 AM
Air Date: 01/03/2010 Sunday
Start Time: 08:15:00 PM [ET]
Show Name: NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Duration: 03:15:00
Type: Announcements
Message: Flex Week #7 teams announced: Cincinnati Bengals @ NY Jets.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Attention: 2010 Clients!

NothingButChange will become password protected in 2010.

I'll be notifying clients by email about the methods used to access this information.

A Farewell To Sunbelt

Your November books are installed. Selling Books have been updated.

Best of luck with Wide Orbit.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Santa Visits Jackson, and someplace up North

My delightful clients in Jackson, MS now have their November 2009 PAVs installed, with every non-sports inventory item getting entirely new audience estimates for each of the next four quarters. A Master Planner has been mailed to Melinda.

Oh, and a true class act got a visit from Santa, too.

May you have a delightful Christmas.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Look What Santa Left!

Posted: 12/23/2009 04:28:07 PM
Air Date: 02/28/2010 Sunday
Start Time: 12:35:00 AM [ET]
Show Name: 2010 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES
Duration: 02:55:00
Type: Program Change
Message: OLYMPIC PRIMETIME REPEAT moves from 11:35p-3:05a ET/PT and 10:35p-2:05a CT/MT and replaces OLYMPIC PARTY SHOW REPEAT. Duration is now 2:55:00. Clearances assumed based on previously advised clearances for OLYMPIC PARTY SHOW REPEAT. Posted: 12/23/2009 03:57:45 PM
Air Date: 02/28/2010 Sunday
Start Time: 11:35:00 PM [ET]
Show Name: 2010 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES
Duration: 01:00:00
Type: Program Change
Message: OLYMPIC CLOSING PARTY SHOW moves from 10:30-11:00pm ET/PT and 9:30-10pm CT/MT and expands by 30-minutes. OLYMPIC PRIMETIME REPEAT moves to 12:35-3:30am ET/CT and 11:35pm-2:30am CT/MT. Clearances assumed based on previously advised clearances for OLYMPIC PRIMETIME REPEAT. Posted: 12/23/2009 03:40:05 PM
Air Date: 02/28/2010 Sunday
Start Time: 10:30:00 PM [ET]
Show Name: 'TBA
Duration: 00:30:00
Type: Program Change
Message: ENTERTAINMENT SHOW TBA is booked and moves OLYMPIC CLOSING PARTY SHOW to 11:35pm-12:35am ET/PT and 10:35pm-11:35pm CT/MT.

Who Makes The Menus At Your Restaurant?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/dining/23menus.html?em

Do you think successful national chains expect their waiters or cooks to update and plan menus?

Then why do broadcasting beancounters think AEs should create their own estimates?

Nielsen's Mistakes

Mountain Time clients apparently have November data available within MediaOffice.

Either Nielsen made a mistake, or Sunbelt actually paid for tapes they can use for 8 days.

Enjoy.

Chattanooga data arrives...

It's shown up in Birmingham, as have DVDs not due out for a week. 10 DMAs I work with all showed up today.

Chattanooga goes first. :) You want to go first? Ask. It'll cost you.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Chattanooga Update and an FYI for Mountain State RDRx Clients

Ok, I'm confused and it shouldn't be this difficult.

Chattanooga printed copy books WERE shipped yesterday, but not the DVDs, according to Birmingham. So, we're all waiting. Hey, I would have been done by now had the data been here this morning. [sigh]

Attention Mountain Time Clients: I called the Nielsen Book Hotline again today and the message recorded at 4pm Florida time today said Casper, Pocatello and Helena *books* will be shipped today, which is a day ahead of schedule. Since Sunbelt has switched to WideOrbit Sales starting with November 09 data, they should contact WideOrbit per the method WideOrbit has recommended. But just in case...

http://www.wideorbit.com/wideorbit.com/index.php/contact-us.html
(from that page)
For Support On All Other WideOrbit Products:
Normal business hours are 5:00AM PST to 6:00PM PST.

* Please phone +1.415.675.6775

Waiting for Data...

Only some of the markets listed on Nielsen's telephone hotline message last night have been delivered, and Chattanooga has not yet shown up. I've got emails into our staff in Alabama to determine what is going on.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Monday Update: Nielsen Ships Chattanooga November Data!

FedEx should deliver data disks to our Birmingham offices late Tuesday morning, Central time. Within hours, I'll be working on WRCB's Selling Book Estimates.

Ralph's team in Chattanooga should be greeted on Wednesday morning with a new Master Planner, if all data is delivered on schedule.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Changes to 1st Quarter, plus post-Olympic Schedules Announced

The following will be booked:

Thursday, January 14th
9:00-9:30 30 ROCK (Original)

Sunday, February 7th
7:00-9:00 THE BIGGEST LOSER (Repeat)
9:00-11:00 THE BIGGEST LOSER (Repeat)

Monday, March 1st - March 29th
8:00-9:00 CHUCK (Original)
9:00-10:00 PARENTHOOD (Original)

Thursday, March 4th - April 2nd
8:00-8:30 COMMUNITY (Original)
8:30-9:00 PARKS AND RECREATION (Original)
9:00-9:30 THE OFFICE (Original)
9:30-10:00 30 ROCK (Original)

Sunday, March 14th - March 28th
7:00-8:00 DATELINE (Original)
8:00-9:00 MARRIAGE REF (Original)
9:00-11:00 CELEBRITY APPRENTICE (Original)

released 7 minutes ago, and should be in RDRx client inventories later today.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

2nd and 3rd Quarter Golf Schedules Hit APT

I'll be coming back to tweak these after I make sure everyone's 1st Quarter Prime is all set... I'm clicking a lot of Hiatus buttons for the last half of February.

NBC: Dec 23rd and Jan 1 Prime Changed

From NBC just 10 minutes ago....

"We making changes to primetime on December 23rd and January 1st.

On Wednesday, December 23rd, we're putting in 2 episodes of MERCY at 8 & 9PM ET, replacing the 4 episodes of THE OFFICE. We'll still have an OFFICE marathon on December 30th, but we want to reinstate MERCY in its regularly-scheduled time period on the 23rd and give it some added exposure at 9PM to target female viewers on a night where there might be some extra holiday sampling.

Also, on New Year's Day, we're scheduling a repeat of last night's inspirational season finale of THE BIGGEST LOSER to air from 8-10PM ET, replacing repeat episodes of LAW & ORDER and DATELINE NBC. THE BIGGEST LOSER finale was a huge hit last night and repeating it on the 1st will be good counter-programming to the very male-skewing Sugar Bowl and be a strong promotional platform for the new season of THE BIGGEST LOSER couples premiering on January 5th."

NBC RDRx clients are being updated today.

Monday, December 7, 2009

100 Questions Nipped In The Bud After 6 Episodes

NBC trims its order for 'Questions'
Midseason comedy reduced from 13 episodes to six.
By Nellie Andreeva from HollywoodReporter.com

Dec 6, 2009, 11:00 PM ET
NBC has cut the order for midseason comedy "100 Questions" from 13 to six.

The cast and crew of the UMS-produced show were informed about the network's decision on Friday when they wrapped production on Episode 6. NBC explains the order reduction with the full-season pickups given to freshman comedy "Community" and sophomore half-hour "Parks and Recreation."

With NBC having secured its two-hour Thursday comedy block, which also includes veterans "The Office" and "30 Rock," for the rest of the season, and the network also set to preempt its programming for two weeks in February to carry the Winter Olympics, it opted to reduce the order for "100 Questions," an NBC rep said.

Earlier this fall, the network also scaled back the order for midseason drama "Day One," which will now air as a four-hour miniseries.

NBC's other scripted midseason entry, drama "Parenthood," will produce its full 13-episode order.

"Questions," from UMS, is a multicamera comedy unlike the four NBC comedies on the air, which are single-camera. However, the network is developing mostly multicamera sitcoms for next season.

The project, which underwent recasting of several roles after the upfronts, starts Brit Sophie Winkleman as a young woman looking for love who joins a popular online dating site.

"Questions" is the latest new midseason series to get an order reduction this fall. In addition to "Day One," Fox's drama "Past Life" and ABC's comedy "Romantically Challenged" at ABC also were cut, with the networks touting the success of their new fall offerings as a reason for the lack of midseason shelf space.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Second Quarter Sports Specials Announced by NBC

It's Friday! So, NBC posts 21 Sports Specials airing April through June 2010 in APT.
Most of my clients already have all these specials listed, but now I go through and double check my earlier guesses against APT. By Monday, clients should be in sync.

26 days till December 31.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

January "Face The Aces" Fold

NBC Sports has canceled Face The Aces in January, and is moving World of Adventure and Freestyle Skiing on the 30th. RDRx clients will begin to see changes today.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Presidential Address PreEmpts Leno Tuesday, December 1st

On Tuesday December 1, President Obama will be making an address to the nation. Therefore, the next to last episode of the current cycle of THE BIGGEST LOSER will air from 9-11PM ET on 12/1. As this is a very important episode the week before the highly anticipated live finale and the 2-hour format at this late stage does not lend itself to re-editing, it will just slide later by an hour. THE JAY LENO SHOW will be pre-empted for this night only.

The following will be booked:

Tuesday, December 1st
8:00-9:00 NBC News Special: Presidential Address To The Nation
9:00-11:00 THE BIGGEST LOSER (Original) (2-hours)


Mountain and Pacific Time Zone Stations Prime Lineup for 12/1 Will Be:

DATELINE (repeat)
THE BIGGEST LOSER (Original) (2-hours)

Monday, November 23, 2009

Surprise! Friday Nights in December Changed

Friday, December 4th
8:00-9:00 A MUPPETS CHRISTMAS: LETTERS TO SANTA (Repeat)

Friday, December 11th
8:00-9:00 LAW & ORDER (Original)

Holiday Hours for NBC and OneDomain

From NBC:
BE ADVISED THAT IN OBSERVANCE OF THE THANKSGIVING DAY HOLIDAY, THE NBC AFFILIATE RELATIONS OFFICES IN NEW YORK AND UNIVERSAL CITY WILL BE CLOSED FROM 2:00PM, WEDNESDAY, 11/25/09, THROUGH FRIDAY 11/27/09.

ODI offices in Birmingham, AL will be closed on Thursday and Friday.

My office rarely closes, as my primary office is equipped for client service at any time, while my mobile office is undergoing upgrades.

For a quick view of my office through a cell phone camera, visit http://houseoftvratings.blogspot.com/

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Chuck at 8/7; Heroes 9/8 Mondays in January

Mondays will feature Chuck and Heroes in January and early February. (smart move)
There's a two hour Heroes premiere on Monday, 1/4 and a special Sunday 2 hour premiere of Chuck on 1/10.

There are some other minor moves, but RDRx clients will find them in MediaOffice inventory Friday morning.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Emmys in 2009, plus NBC is pleased with NFL Sunday

THIS JUST IN... (from NBC)

Through Week 10 of the NFL season, NBC's “Sunday Night Football” stands as the most watched
primetime program on any network! It's #1 in Households and also in the coveted A18-49 demo.
This is unprecedented for the NFL in primetime competing against so much original programming.
This season's “Sunday Night Football” is the most watched NFL primetime package in 12 years!

---------------------------------------

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – November 18, 2009 – NBC will broadcast the “62nd Primetime Emmy® Awards” live on Sunday, August 29 (8-11 p.m. ET; other time zones delayed), it was announced today by Paul Telegdy, Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming, NBC and Universal Media Studios.

"NBC is excited to host television's biggest night with the Primetime Emmy Awards," said Telegdy. "Scheduling and announcing the telecast for August 29 this early in the awards cycle will give the Television Academy and NBC a head start on creative discussions."

The first time NBC broadcast the Primetime Emmy Awards on August 27, 2006 -- due to the scheduling of the network's popular NFL Football franchise Sunday nights in September -- it was the highest-rated entertainment program of that summer. It still ranks as the highest-rated Emmy Awards telecast of the past four years.

Nominations for the “62nd Primetime Emmy Awards” will be announced Thursday, July 8 at 5:40 a.m. (PT) from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre in North Hollywood, Calif.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Want another hour of Christmas @ Rock to sell?

From NBC:
CHRISTMAS IN ROCKEFELLER CENTER (Optional Program): NBC is pleased to offer an additional hour of Christmas in Rockefeller Center to all stations. This optional hour will consist entirely of local inventory and lead directly into the scheduled Network "Christmas in Rockefeller Center" program in all time zones. Full format details to follow shortly.

RDRx comment: Smart move, NBC. This program is an absolute sure thing with a track record a decade long, always delivering a large audience of money demos. With this additional hour also having no network spots, this is a great chance to dramatically increase your revenues from this program on this day.

Clients, please let me know as soon as possible if your station plans to carry this extra hour. You can't sell it if it isn't in MediaOffice!

Friday, November 13, 2009

Friday The 13th Removes Most Mystery

Emails indicated, and now APT confirms, that Tuesday through Saturday NBC Prime schedules have been confirmed through First Quarter 2010, with no significant changes. However, we still don't know anything about the last hour of Sunday or either hour of Monday.

All RDRx NBC clients have already been updated to reflect all of these changes. Look in your Public area in Avails for a Master Planner saved by RDRx dated in the past 48 hours, and use it as a template for your avails and media kits.

Friday, November 6, 2009

A Friday Gift from NBC

Yep, Friday afternoon @ 30 Rock. So far, they've changed the scheduling/duration of a skating special airing in January. Let's see if they move the deck chairs any more before departing for CT for the (update: 3 day) weekend.

Of course, when I tease NBC about the careless way they treat local station sales, I'm talking about the people who move these shows around as if they were pawns, not the kind folks in Affiliate Relations who have to tell us, our traffic departments and (through us) our clients already sold on moved/cancelled programming the bad news. You can bet the messengers don't have homes in the Hamptons or in CT.

Update: *Just* 12 changes in January, half of all sports programming in the month. See you on Tuesday, suits in Manhattan. We'll be here when you get back.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

But Wait.. More Changes to NBC Sports

Yep, APT reminds us that NBC Sports loves change. I'll start making the fourth and first quarter changes this morning.

All 3 Sunbelt stations now have NBC Sports listings and estimates through January of 2011 in preparation for their departure in 56 days.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

In Wine Country to Dry Up in April

Saturdays, April 10 - September 18, 2010
2:02a-2:30a BELLATOR FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS (Original)

As I finish up Sunbelt Sports through 2010, I'll begin replacing the In Wine Country show with this MMA half hour. From the wine-tasters to the beer-chuggers.. trust me, I live in Las Vegas, home of UFC and TapOut. Truck Customizers, gun shops, tattoo parlors, bail-bond services and ambulance chasers lawyers are all potential advertisers to the hard-core MMA fans.

After further review, I'm a dolt. Regular readers here already know that. :)
TV audiences of Strike Force, the MMA show in the same time period for several years, had a tiny audience that was mostly young females. It's late Saturday night, and most male MMA fans are otherwise occupied. :)

Sunday, November 1, 2009

NBC's APT Shows TBA for January Prime

NBC's "newly improved" APT still shows nothing but TBA in most of Prime for 2010 aside from Olympics.

Stations who will be my clients next year will still be able to sell other than time period blocks. Those who aren't... well, I can't save the world. Honest, I tried. 61

Friday, October 30, 2009

It's Friday afternoon @ 30 Rock...

And on the way out the door of 30 Rock on October 30, NBC leaks Trauma is canceled in a few weeks, and they'll let us know when they decide what to put in there in January. How about quad runs of sitcom reruns every night? Never mind.. that's the last half of December.

Ooops, it's really 62 now..

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Re-united... and it'll feel so good...

Ok, I can connect to my clients in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho now.

(Idaho gets a double dose, as Fox just made some changes for Sunday prime in January.. but readers of this blog don't care, cause you sell NBC!)

Folks working for Peggy are up first.. then Debbie.

NBC: Five Nights In December Changed Again

Wed 23 & 30th.. Office
Mon 28th.. Community
Tues 29th .. Parks & Rec
Thurs, 31st 30 Rock

Ten hours of encores.. I'm pausing the single largest NBC Sports update of my career to make these changes on all client inventories starting now.

Update: TN and MS are updated. The clients I reach through KVBC can't be accessed until someone reboot's the computer located @ 1500. I've notified Birmingham support, who will call Angel. ..sigh.. 64

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

NBC Releases 328 Event-filled 2010 Sports Calendar

I've been working with NBC's Sports Programming and their scheduling for well over a decade now, and this is the first time I can recall NBC actually telling their affiliates anything close to this detail regarding future sports broadcasts.

328 NBC Sports events and specials in 2010 alone! Just between us, if we tried to track how many times each of these events were to be changed/moved/canceled/etc in the next year, I would raise my rates. So, let's pretend all of these will air on the dates NBC claims now. :)

My five NBC RDRx clients will see this massive announcement showing up in MediaOffic inventory and estimates over the next several days, because I do understand the value of presenting annuals with hundreds of sports event sponsorship possibilities all at once. Perhaps this lump disclosure by NBC is their effort to join in that team effort.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Lots of Updates for November & December Prime

Most of the changes are related to fill-ins, plus a holiday series called The Sing Off, and a Community minimarathon on December 29th.

As Judi just released this info 7 minutes ago, I'm just now starting the update with NBC RDRx clients, but all should see it in inventory and estimates today.

Monday, October 12, 2009

New York Times Revisits Leno Hour

Two weeks into a new season, the talk of television is the Leno effect --and whether it is hazardous to NBC's health.

It is not just a question of how the new "Jay Leno Show" itself is faring in the ratings, but also what the show's occupation of the 10 p.m. hour on NBC means to the network as a whole.

As Shari Anne Brill, the senior vice president and director of program analysis for the advertising agency Carat, put it, "It's really looking like dominoes."

The dominoes in question are the other parts of NBC's schedule affected by the network's decision to relocate its late-night star, Mr. Leno, to prime time. Even though, as NBC executives point out, it is early in this experiment, signs of potential collateral damage have already emerged.

(Click the title of this post to go to the original article at the NYT.)

Friday, October 9, 2009

Friday Afternoon in Manhattan...

And on the way out, NBC Sports Specials pause to mention they are moving around two sports specials in 3 weeks. Face The Ace and World of Adventure Sports on 10/31 get jostled. Why? Only NBC knows, but APT doesn't say why.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Southland Cancelled Before Premiere....

Wow..

from Judi...

ATTN: NBC Program Directors

DATELINE continues to be a strong performer on Fridays, so we're keeping it in the 9PM ET time period, except on 10/16, 11/27 & 12/25.

Next Friday, October 16th, NBC News will be airing a 1-hour special, "Secrets of the Lost Symbol" from 9-10PM ET. (The press release on this was sent out yesterday; RDRx clients already have this in their inventory as a special.)

On November 27th, the Friday after Thanksgiving, we're scheduling an encore presentation of the movie, "The 40 Year Old Virgin," from 8-10PM ET, and on Christmas night an encore of the SNL Christmas 2009 special is already booked to air from 8-10PM ET.

Other changes too, and you'll find them all when you fire up MediaOffice on Friday morning.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Should your station be pushing NBC.com Streaming?

Consider the wording in the following release intended for the NBC TV audience.. your viewers.

NBC.COM GIVES VIEWERS A CHANCE TO STREAM NBC'S 'SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE' IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE BROADCAST

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. October 2, 2009 - NBC.com is giving viewers of critically acclaimed, fan-favorite series "Saturday Night Live" the chance to stay "up-to-date" with every hilarious moment by streaming the current season's episodes. The premiere episode is available now at http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/episodes/?vid=1162391#vid=1162391.

A full list of NBC shows streaming this season follows:

"30 Rock"
"The Biggest Loser"
"Chuck"
"Community"
"Days of our Lives"
"Heroes"
"The Jay Leno Show"
"Late Night with Jimmy Fallon"
"Mercy"
"The Office"
"Parks and Recreation"
"Saturday Night Live"
"SNL Weekend Update Thursday"
"Southland"
"The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien"
"Trauma"

NBC.com, the Emmy Award-winning broadcast network website, is a leading online and mobile destination for television and interactive entertainment. With both derivative and web-exclusive programming, NBC.com pioneered the "360" experience with "Heroes 360," which gave viewers a way to extend their entertainment experience beyond the broadcast, and the first weekly social networking experience attached to a primetime entertainment program with "Dunder Mifflin Infinity." The site offers full episode streaming of many NBC Entertainment shows as well as short clips, interactive games and social networking, including user-generated content. NBC.com continually develops new ways for consumers to experience entertainment content on both existing and emerging platforms. The site is the recipient of multiple Emmy and Webby awards for its content and applications. Please log on to www.nbc.com to learn more.

end of release... now the RDRx perspective.

If you've looked at the difference between your own station's Live Only Nielsen ratings of primetime network programming versus Live Plus 3 days or 7 days, reflecting DVR viewing AFTER original airdate but still on your station, you'll see the conflict between NBC's pitch above and what I believe to be the local station's (and advertisers) best interests.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Law & Order repeats on Saturday replaced by Mercy repeats..

Plus, there are three Holiday Specials added to the 4th Quarter, each with repeats.

RDRx clients now have these changes/additions within prime and specials inventory folders of MediaOffice.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

NBC Shares NTI Demos of last week's Prime

NBC PRIMETIME RESULTS FOR THE WEEK OF SEPT. 21-27

'NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL' IS THE #1 PROGRAM OF THE WEEK IN ADULTS 18-49

NBC SPORTS' COLTS-CARDINALS TELECAST PROPELS THE NETWORK TO A SUNDAY PRIMETIME WIN IN 18-49, TOTAL VIEWERS AND OTHER KEY MEASURES

ON TUESDAY, 'THE BIGGEST LOSER' POSTS YEAR-OVER-YEAR GAINS IN 18-49 AND TOTAL VIEWERS, DESPITE FIERCE PREMIERE-WEEK COMPETITION

ON WEDNESDAY, THE SERIES DEBUT OF 'MERCY' IS UP 44 PERCENT IN 18-49 VS. NBC'S 2008-09 REGULAR-SEASON AVERAGE IN THE SLOT, AND 'LAW & ORDER: SVU' IS UP 47 PERCENT

FRIDAY'S 'LAW & ORDER' SEASON DEBUT CAPTURES NBC'S BIGGEST OVERALL AUDIENCE IN THE SLOT SINCE JANUARY

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. September 29, 2009 Paced by "NBC Sunday Night Football," which was the #1 primetime telecast of the week in adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 2.7 rating, 8 share in 18-49 and 7.7 million viewers overall for the week of September 21-27, according to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research.

NBC Sports' "Sunday Night Football" telecast of the Indianapolis Colts versus the Arizona Cardinals topped the weekly primetime rankings in the key demographic of adults 18-49. "Sunday Night Football" also ranked #1 among all primetime programs in adults 25-54, men 18-49 and men 25-54. In total viewers, "SNF" ranked #4 among all telecasts this week.

Primetime averages for the week of September 21-27 in adults 18-49 were ABC (3.3/9), CBS (3.2/9), Fox (3.1/9), NBC (2.7/8) and CW (1.0/3). In overall total viewers the weekly averages were CBS (11.8 million), ABC (11.0 million), NBC (7.7 million), Fox (7.4 million) and CW (2.2 million).

NBC highlights for the week of September 21-27:

* NBC Sports' "Sunday Night Football" telecast of the Indianapolis Colts at the Arizona Cardinals propelled NBC to a convincing primetime win on Sunday night. NBC's margin of victory over the #2 network was 71 percent in adults 18-49 and 28 percent in total viewers.

* On Friday, the 20th season debut of "Law & Order" apprehended NBC's biggest overall audience in its time period since January 9.

* On Thursday, "The Office" ranked #1 in its highly competitive time period in men 18-34 and men 18-49 and #2 in adults 18-34, against such competition as the season premieres of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and CBS's "CSI." Also on Thursday, "Community" ranked #1 in its slot among the major networks in men 18-34 and #2 in adults 18-34.

* On Wednesday, the series debut of "Mercy" delivered a 44 percent increase in adults 18-49 and a 46 percent gain in total viewers versus NBC's average for the time period during the regular 2008-09 season. "Mercy" ranked #2 among the major networks in the hour in adults 25-54 and total viewers.

* Also on Wednesday, the 11th season premiere of "Law & Order: SVU" locked up gains of 47 percent in adults 18-49 and 43 percent in total viewers versus NBC's average in the slot last year during the traditional September-May season.

* On Tuesday, "The Biggest Loser" gained 21 percent in 18-49 rating and 27 percent or more than 1.8 million persons in total viewers from its first half-hour to its fourth, despite time-period competition that included a two-hour edition of "Dancing With the Stars" on ABC, a two-hour "Hell's Kitchen" on Fox, and the season debut of "NCIS" followed by the series debut of "NCIS: Los Angeles" on CBS. Versus the same night last year, "Loser" was up 3 percent in both 18-49 and total viewers

* Also on Tuesday, "The Jay Leno Show" ranked #1 among the major networks in its time period in adults 18-34, topping the series premieres of CBS's "The Good Wife" and ABC's "The Forgotten" in that valuable demographic.

* On Monday, the fourth-season premiere of "Heroes" averaged a 2.8 rating in adults 18-49 in a highly competitive time period that included Fox's season premiere of "House," ABC's season debut of "Dancing With the Stars" and the season premiere of CBS's Monday comedy block. The 2.8 rating for "Heroes" compares to the 2.7 rating in 18-49 that NBC averaged in this slot last season.

Ratings reflect "live plus same day" data unless otherwise noted. Season-to-date figures are averages of "live plus seven day" data except for the two most recent weeks, which are "live plus same day."

Additional NBC highlights for the week of September 21-27:

On Monday, September 21, from 8-10:01 p.m. ET, the fourth-season premiere of "Heroes" averaged a 2.8 rating, 7 share in adults 18-49 and 6.1 million viewers overall in a highly competitive time period that included Fox's two-hour season premiere of "House," ABC's two-hour season debut of "Dancing With the Stars" and the season premiere of CBS's two-hour Monday comedy block. The 2.8 rating for "Heroes" is comparable to the 2.7 rating in 18-49 that NBC averaged in this slot last season.

It is worth noting that "Heroes" has been one of the most time-shifted programs on network television, last season adding an average of 24 percent to its "live plus same day" rating in adults 18-49 when "live plus seven day" results were calculated.

Monday from 10:01-11 p.m. ET, "The Jay Leno Show" averaged a 1.8/5 in adults 18-49, a 2.2/5 in adults 25-54 and 5.8 million viewers overall. Time-period competition included the season debuts of CBS's "CSI: Miami" and ABC's "Castle."

Versus Jay Leno's 2008-09 average at 11:35 p.m. ET on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," Monday's telecast was up in adults 18-49 (1.8 vs. 1.4), adults 25-54 (2.2 vs. 1.8) and total viewers (5.8 million vs. 5.1 million). Comparisons to NBC's Monday-through-Friday 10-11 p.m. ET non-sports average over the prior 52 weeks were: in adults 18-49 (1.8 vs. 2.2), adults 25-54 (2.2 vs. 2.7) and total viewers (5.8 million vs. 6.9 million).

On Tuesday, September 22 from 8-10:01 p.m. ET, "The Biggest Loser" averaged a 3.1/8 in adults 18-49 and 7.6 million viewers overall. Versus "The Biggest Loser's" results on the same night last year, last week's telecast was up 3 percent in both 18-49 (3.1 vs. 3.0) and total viewers (7.6 million vs. 7.4 million).

From its first half-hour to its fourth, "Loser" increased by 21 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 3.4/9 from a 2.8/8) and by 27 percent or more than 1.8 million persons in total viewers (to 8.5 million from 6.7 million), despite time-period competition that included a two-hour edition of "Dancing with the Stars" on ABC, a two-hour "Hell's Kitchen" on Fox and the season debut of "NCIS" followed by the series debut of "NCIS: Los Angeles" on CBS.

Tuesday from 10:01-11 p.m. ET, "The Jay Leno Show" averaged a 2.5/7 in adults 18-49, a 2.8/7 in adults 25-54 and 6.9 million viewers overall, versus time-period competition that included the series debuts "The Good Wife" on CBS and "The Forgotten" on ABC. "The Jay Leno Show" ranked #1 among the major networks in the hour in adults 18-34.

Versus Jay Leno's 2008-09 average at 11:35 p.m. ET on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," Tuesday's telecast was up in adults 18-49 (2.5 vs. 1.4), adults 25-54 (2.8 vs. 1.8) and total viewers (6.9 million vs. 5.1 million). Versus NBC's Monday-through-Friday 10-11 p.m. ET non-sports average over the prior 52 weeks, Tuesday's telecast was comparable in adults 18-49 (2.5 vs. 2.2), adults 25-54 (2.8 vs. 2.7) and total viewers (6.9 million vs. 6.9 million).

On Wednesday, September 23 from 8-9 p.m. ET, the series premiere of "Mercy" (2.3/7 in 18-49, 8.4 million viewers overall) ranked #2 among the major networks in adults 25-54 and total viewers. Versus NBC's average in this time period during the regular 2008-09 season, "Mercy" was up 44 percent in 18-49 rating (2.3 vs. 1.6) and 46 percent or more than 2.6 million persons in total viewers (8.4 million vs. 5.7 million). From half-hour to half-hour, "Mercy" increased in adults 18-49 (to a 2.4 from a 2.3), adults 25-54 (to 2.9 from 2.8) and adults 18-34 (to 1.7 from 1.5).

Wednesday from 9-10 p.m. ET, the 11th season premiere of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" averaged a 2.5/7 in adults 18-49 and 8.4 million viewers overall. This marks NBC's top 18-49 and total-viewer results in this time period during the traditional September-May season since October 29, 2008. Versus NBC's average in this time period during the regular 2008-09 season, "SVU" was up 47 percent in 18-49 rating (2.5 vs. 1.7) and 43 percent or 2.5 million persons in total viewers (8.4 million vs. 5.9 million). From its first half-hour to its second, "SVU" grew by 13 percent in adults 18-49 (to a 2.7/7 from a 2.4/6) and by 11 percent in total viewers (to 8.8 million from 8.0 million).

Wednesday from 10:01-11 p.m. ET, "The Jay Leno Show" averaged a 2.0/5 in adults 18-49, a 2.3/6 in adults 25-54 and 6.4 million viewers overall. Wednesday's time-period competition included the season premiere of CBS's "CSI: NY" and the series premiere of ABC's "Eastwick."

Versus Jay Leno's 2008-09 average at 11:35 p.m. ET on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," Wednesday's telecast was up in adults 18-49 (2.0 vs. 1.4), adults 25-54 (2.3 vs. 1.8) and total viewers (6.4 million vs. 5.1 million). Comparisons to NBC's Monday-through-Friday 10-11 p.m. ET non-sports average over the prior 52 weeks were: in adults 18-49 (2.0 vs. 2.2), adults 25-54 (2.3 vs. 2.7) and total viewers (6.4 million vs. 6.9 million).

On Thursday, September 24 from 8-8:30 p.m. ET, "Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday" averaged a 1.7/5 in adults 18-49 and 4.5 million viewers overall. At 8:30 p.m., "Parks and Recreation" (1.8/5 in 18-49, 4.1 million viewers overall) built on its 18-49 lead-in by 6 percent in adults 18-49 and by 33 percent in adults 18-34 (to a 2.0 from a 1.5).

Thursday from 9-9:31 p.m. ET, "The Office" (3.9/10 in 18-49, 7.5 million viewers overall) ranked #1 in its highly competitive time period in men 18-34 and men 18-49 and #2 in adults 18-34, against competition that included the season premieres of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and CBS's "CSI."

Thursday from 9:31-10:01 p.m., "Community" (2.7/7 in 18-49, 5.4 million viewers overall) ranked #1 among the major networks in the half-hour in men 18-34 and #2 in adults 18-34.

Thursday from 10:01-11 p.m. ET, "The Jay Leno Show" averaged a 1.7/5 in adults 18-49, a 2.1/5 in adults 25-54 and 5.1 million viewers overall. Thursday's time-period competition included the season premiere of CBS's "The Mentalist" and the concluding hour of the season premiere of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy."

Versus Jay Leno's 2008-09 average at 11:35 p.m. ET on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," Thursday's telecast was up in adults 18-49 (1.7 vs. 1.4) and adults 25-54 (2.1 vs. 1.8) and comparable in total viewers (5.1 million vs. 5.1 million). Comparisons to NBC's Monday-through-Friday 10-11 p.m. ET non-sports average over the prior 52 weeks were: in adults 18-49 (1.7 vs. 2.2), adults 25-54 (2.1 vs. 2.7) and total viewers (5.1 million vs. 6.9 million).

On Friday, September 25 from 8-9 p.m. ET, the 20th season premiere of "Law & Order" averaged a 1.2/4 in 18-49 and 6.2 million viewers overall. "Law & Order" apprehended NBC's biggest overall audience in the time period since January 9, ranking #2 in the slot among the major networks in total viewers. From its first half-hour to its second, "Law & Order" increased by 18 percent in adult 18-49 rating (to a 1.3 from a 1.1) and 13 percent in 25-54 rating (1.7 vs. 1.5).

Friday from 9-10:01 p.m. ET, "Dateline NBC" (1.5/5 in 18-49, 6.0 million viewers overall) tied for #2 among the major networks in adults 18-49 and ranked #2 outright in total viewers, adults, men and women 25-54 and women 18-49.

Friday from 10:01-11 p.m. ET, "The Jay Leno Show" averaged a 1.6/5 in adults 18-49, a 2.0/6 in adults 25-54 and 5.8 million viewers overall. Friday's time-period competition included the season premiere of CBS's "Numb3rs" and ABC's "20/20." In the time slot, "The Jay Leno Show" ranked #2 among the major networks in adults 18-34 and tied for #1 in men 18-34.

Versus Jay Leno's 2008-09 average at 11:35 p.m. ET on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," Friday's telecast was up in adults 18-49 (1.6 vs. 1.4), in adults 25-54 (2.0 vs. 1.8) and in total viewers (5.8 million vs. 5.1 million). Comparisons to NBC's Monday-through-Friday 10-11 p.m. ET non-sports average over the prior 52 weeks were: in adults 18-49 (1.6 vs. 2.2), adults 25-54 (2.0 vs. 2.7) and total viewers (5.8 million vs. 6.9 million).

On Saturday, September 26 from 8-8:30 p.m. ET, an encore telecast of "Law & Order" averaged a 0.6/2 in 18-49 and 3.3 million viewers overall. At 9 p.m., a rebroadcast of "Mercy" (0.9/3 in 18-49, 3.9 million viewers overall) built on its lead-in from the previous hour by 50 percent in adults 18-49.

Saturday at 10 p.m. ET, an encore telecast of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1.3/4 in 18-49, 5.1 million viewers overall) built on its lead-in from the previous hour by 44 percent in 18-49 rating. "SVU" was the #1 non-sports choice in the hour among the major networks in adults, men and women 18-34.

On Sunday, Sept. 27, the "NBC Sunday Night Football" telecast of the Indianapolis Colts at the Arizona Cardinals propelled NBC to a convincing Sunday win in total viewers, adults 18-34, adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and all key adult-male demos. For its full duration, the Colts-Cardinals game averaged a 6.8/17 in adults 18-49, 17.5 million viewers overall and a 10.7/17 household rating/share from 8:31-11:13 p.m. ET.

For the night (from 7:30-11 p.m. ET), NBC averaged a 5.8/16 in adults 18-49 and 15.2 million viewers overall. NBC's margin of victory over the #2 network in adults 18-49 was 71 percent (5.8 vs. a 3.4 for Fox) and in total viewers it was 28 percent, or 3.3 million persons in total viewers (15.2 million vs. 11.9 million for CBS).

Also on Sunday, "Football Night in America 2" from 7:30-7:56 p.m. ET averaged a 2.7/9 in 18-49, 6.8 million viewers overall and a 4.3/8 household rating/share. "Football Night in America 3" from 7:56-8:22 p.m. delivered a 3.7/11 in 18-49, 9.6 million viewers overall and a 6.0/10 in households. From 8:22-8:31 p.m., "NBC Sunday Night Football Pre Kickoff" averaged a 4.9/14 in 18-49, 13.3 million viewers overall and an 8.2/14 in households. Note: "Football Night in America" from 7-7:30 p.m. ET was sustaining programming and does not figure in the nightly or weekly primetime averages.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Sports Specials Changes This Fall

NBC has just announced a series of ISU Skating Grand Prix events from all over the world, and my clients all have new inventory and estimates in Winter Sports. They've also moved a couple of other sports specials on the calendar.

Please take a look at the very solid delivery of 18-49 and 25-54 Women in these skating specials, timed perfectly for Christmas advertisements.

Oh, and APT will be shutting down over the weekend. They claimed they were going to make lots of improvements, but from what I can tell, it will bring APT up to.. 1992.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Brian Williams Adds Audience in Past Season

from Lloyd Siegel.. a real gentleman @ NBC

"NBC NIGHTLY NEWS WITH BRIAN WILLIAMS" WINS THE 2008-09 SEASON IN ALL CATEGORIES

"NBC Nightly News" is The Only Evening News Broadcast to Add Total Viewers for the Season

'World News' and 'Evening News' Post Their Lowest-Ever Total Viewer Delivery For A Season

For the week of Sept. 14, "Nightly" Tops the Competition with a 717K Lead Over ABC

NEW YORK - September 22, 2009 - "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams" was the most-watched evening news broadcast of the 2008-09 season, according to Nielsen Media Research data. For the season, "NBC Nightly News" averaged 8.609 million total viewers, a +10% advantage (+791,000) over ABC "World News'" 7.818 million, and +42% more (+2.556 million) than "CBS Evening News'" 6.053 million total viewers. "Nightly" increased its total viewer advantage over "World News" to +791,000 total viewers, versus a +340,000 lead during the 2007-08 season. "Nightly" had its best total viewer delivery and best total viewer advantage over "World News" since the 2005-06 season, and the best total viewer advantage over "Evening News" since the 1994-95 season. "Nightly" has now won 13 consecutive seasons in total viewers.

Versus the 2007-08 season, "Nightly" was the only newscast to show year-to-year growth. "Nightly" added +88,000 viewers this season, while "World News" dropped by -363,000 viewers and "Evening News" lost -103,000 viewers. Both ABC and CBS had their lowest-ever total viewer season deliveries since at least the start of the People Meters.

In homes for the 2008-09 season, "Nightly" averaged a 5.7 rating and a 12 share, +8% more than "World News'" 5.3/11 rating, and a +39% lead over "Evening News'" 4.1/8 rating. This is the 13th consecutive season win for "NBC Nightly News" in homes (including one tie).

Among the key demographic adults 25-54, "Nightly News" delivered a 2.1 rating for the season topping "World News'" 1.9 rating by +11%, and "Evening News'" 1.5 rating by +40%. "Nightly" beat ABC by +320,000 and CBS by +853,000 viewers in the key A25-54 demo for the season. This represents "Nightly's" 13th consecutive season win in rating adults 25-54 (including 1 tie) and its best adults 25-54 (000) advantage over both "World News" and "Evening News" since the 2002-03 season. "World News" had its lowest-ever rating adults 25-54 season delivery since at least the start of the People Meters.

"NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams" also won the week of September 14-20, 2009 delivering 8.152 million total viewers, +717,000 more than ABC "World News'" 7.435 million, and +2.929 million more than CBS "Evening News'" 5.223 million. CBS "Evening News" is based on a four-day average with Monday excluded. "Nightly" has now won 48 of the past 49 weeks.

Among the key demographic adults 25-54 for the week, "Nightly News" delivered a 1.9 rating, ahead of ABC's 1.7 rating and CBS' 1.2 rating. In homes, "Nightly News" won by increasing to a 5.5 rating and a 12 share. In second place, ABC drew a 5.0/10 rating, and CBS posted a 3.6/8 rating.

On its digital platforms, "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams" continued its strong performance with more than 3.3 million online streams for the week ending September 19, 2009.

Friday Night's Dateline: Jacko's Rabbi's Tapes

September 23, 2009
HEAR THE KING OF POP IN HIS OWN WORDS THIS FRIDAY, SEPT. 25 IN "THE MICHAEL JACKSON TAPES: A 'DATELINE' EXCLUSIVE"

Meredith Vieira Interviews Rabbi Shmuley Boteach About His Recordings With Jackson Being Made Public for the First Time

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach to Appear Live on "Today" on Friday, Sept. 25 and Tuesday, Sept. 29


(NEW YORK) - September 23, 2009 - As investigations into the death of Michael Jackson continue to take center stage, viewers will have a rare chance to hear the King of Pop in his own words this Friday, Sept. 25 in a "Dateline" exclusive, reported by Meredith Vieira. From 1999 to 2001, Jackson was a friend of Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, and he often confided in him. And now, recordings of those conversations -- made with Jackson's permission -- will be made public for the first time.

In the tapes, Jackson comes out from behind his mask to reveal a man who in spite of all his fame, success and musical talent, was desperately lonely. He dishes about celebrities like Madonna and Brooke Shields, but also talks openly about his love of children, the torment of his childhood and his deepest fears. For the one hour special, Vieira interviews Rabbi Boteach, who calls himself "America's Rabbi," about their conversations, detailed in his new book, The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation. Rabbi Boteach will also appear live on "Today," Friday, Sept. 25 and Tuesday, Sept. 29.

In my professional opinion, this Dateline will deliver higher demographics in LPM and National Peoplemeter markets than the average 2 hour Friday night Dateline. Now, pardon me, but after I add this special to my client inventories, I'm gonna have to take a shower.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Thursday Night's Ratings for NBC Prime

NBC PRIMETIME RATINGS RESULTS FOR SEPT. 17, 2009

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. September 18, 2009 The following are NBC primetime ratings results for September 17.

From 8-8:30 p.m. ET, NBC's "Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday" averaged a 2.0/7 in adults 18-49 and 5.7 million viewers overall. "Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday" matched NBC's highest non-sports 18-49 rating in the slot since April 30 and attracted NBC's biggest non-sports overall audience in the time period since April. 9.

From 8:30-9 p.m. ET, the second season premiere of "Parks and Recreation" delivered a 2.1/6 in adults 18-49 and 5.0 million viewers overall, improving on its 18-49 lead-in from "Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday" by 5 percent in adults 18-49 and 18 percent in adults 18-34 (2.0 vs. 1.7).

From 9-9:30 p.m. ET, the sixth season premiere of "The Office" averaged a 4.0/11 in adults 18-49 and 8.1 million viewers overall, making "The Office" the #1 telecast of the night in 18-49. In the time period, "The Office" was #1 among the major networks in every key demographic.

From 9:30-10 p.m. ET, the series premiere of "Community" delivered a 3.7/10 in adults 18-49 and 7.7 million viewers overall, retaining 93 percent of its 18-49 lead-in from "The Office." That's NBC's highest retention to date of an original "Office" lead-in in this time period. "Community" scored NBC's highest non-sports 18-49 rating and biggest non-sports overall audience in the time period since April 2, the night of the "ER" finale. "Community" won the time period in adults, men and women 18-34; adults, men and women 18-49; and adults and women 25-54.

From 10-11 p.m. ET, "The Jay Leno Show" averaged a 2.7 rating, 8 share in adults 18-49, a 3.3/9 in adults 25-54 and 8.5 million viewers overall.

"The Jay Leno Show" ranked #1 among the major networks in the time period in adults 18-49, #1 in adults 25-54 (the key demographic for late local news) and #2 in total viewers. Last night's time-period competition included CBS's "Mentalist" encore and ABC's "Private Practice" rebroadcasgt.

"The Jay Leno Show" delivered NBC's highest non-sports 18-49 rating in the time period since April 9 and biggest non-sports overall audience since April 16.

Versus Jay Leno's 2008-09 average at 11:35 p.m. ET on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," last night's telecast was up substantially in adults 18-49 (2.7 vs. 1.4), adults 25-54 (3.3 vs. 1.8) and total viewers (8.5 million vs. 5.1 million). Versus NBC's Monday-through-Friday 10-11 p.m. ET non-sports average over the prior 52 weeks, last night's telecast was also up substantially in adults 18-49 (2.7 vs. 2.2), adults 25-54 (3.3 vs. 2.7) and total viewers (8.5 million vs. 6.9 million).

NBC is #1 among the major networks for the night in adults, men and women 18-34 and men 18-49 (tie).

Preliminary 18-49 averages for Wednesday night are: Fox, 3.0/9; NBC, 2.9/8; CBS, 2.5/7; CW, 1.4.4; and ABC, 1.3/4. In overall total viewers, September 17 preliminary results are: CBS, 9.7 million; Fox, 9.0 million; NBC, 7.3 million; ABC, 4.4 million; and CW, 3.3 million.

Note that all national ratings are "live plus same day" unless otherwise indicated.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Mountain Time Zone Clients

I can access Wyoming and Montana. However, we still have issues with the Idaho server running in Pocatello. More info to come.. 30 hours later, I can now access Idaho. Changes being made for my Fox and NBC clients there.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

New York Times Examines Leno Premiere Ratings

September 15, 2009, 11:45 am
Leno Ratings Exceed Expectations
By Bill Carter
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images Jay Leno

NBC succeeded in creating a television event with the premiere of Jay Leno’s new prime time hour as almost 18 million viewers showed up. Mr. Leno’s audience was almost NFL sized - two games on NBC last week reached just over 20 million and were the most watched sports events since the Super Bowl.

For NBC the other good news was how broad the interest was in Mr Leno’s return. He scored a hit rating of 5.1 in the age group NBC most prizes - viewers between 18 and 49 (about 6.7 million viewers) - but he was even bigger with older groups, hitting a 6.2 rating among viewers 25 to 54 and a huge 10.8 rating among viewers over 50.

The show held viewers well through the hour, losing about 800,000 for the 10:30 half hour but it added younger viewers in that half hour.

NBC gave Mr. Leno the best lead-in it could with the finale of its hit summer talent series “America’s Got Talent,” which had a last half hour audience of 15.2 million. But Mr. Leno immediately improved on that, climbing to 18.1 million for his first half hour back on television after a three month absence.

NBC got a similar great start for Conan O’Brien in his first “Tonight Show” appearance as Mr. Leno’s replacmenrlt: He reached 9.2 million his first night. He’s levelled off since and NBC expects Mr. Leno to do the same. But for a first night his results exceeded most expectations.

Friday, September 11, 2009

NBC Football Kickoff Ratings from Sept 10th

[09.11.09 - 08:51 AM]
NBC SPORTS SCORES BEST NFL KICKOFF IN 7 YEARS
Released by NBC
[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.] Thanks, FutonCritic.

NBC SPORTS SCORES BEST NFL KICKOFF IN 7 YEARS


Best Overnight Sports Rating Since Super Bowl XLIII; Best Overnight Primetime Rating Since American Idol Finale

NBC Dominates Competition in Primetime Beating Second Place CBS by 144 %

NEW YORK - Sept. 11, 2009 - Last night's Titans-Steelers game on NBC Sports was the highest rated NFL Kickoff in seven years, had the best overnight sports rating since Super Bowl XLIII, the best overnight primetime rating since the American Idol finale and dominated the other networks according to data released today by Nielsen Media Research.

The game won by the Steelers 13-10 in overtime, scored a 13.8 overnight rating/23 share (8:45-11:45 p.m. ET), the highest rating for the Thursday NFL Kickoff since the inaugural game on network television (14.5/23 on ABC in 2003).

- BEST SINCE SUPER BOWL: Last night's game had the best overnight rating for any sporting event since Super Bowl XLIII, which was the most watched broadcast in U.S. television history. The Titans-Steelers game also generated the highest overnight rating for any primetime show on any broadcast network since the American Idol finale (15.3/25 on 5/20/09).

- DOMINATED PRIMETIME: NBC dominated primetime (8-11 p.m.) with a 12.2/20 average in the metered markets, establishing a 144 percent margin of victory over CBS's second-place 5.0/8 and more than quadrupling each of the other broadcast networks -- CW, 2.7/4; ABC, 2.6/4; Fox, 2.6/4.

- UP 37% OVER LAST YEAR: Last night's game was up 37 percent from the 2008 NFL Kickoff (Giants-Redskins, 10.1/17), which started early to allow coverage of the Republican National Convention, up six percent from the 2007 NFL Kickoff (Colts-Saints, 13.0/21) and up two percent from the 2006 NFL Kickoff (Dolphins-Steelers, 13.5/22).

- The rating peaked during the overtime period at a 15.0/29 from 11:30-11:45 p.m. ET.

TOP RATED SPORTS PROGRAMS SINCE SUPER BOWL XLIII
*Based on overnight ratings
1. NFL Kickoff (Titans-Steelers) 13.8/23 NBC
2. NCAA Championship (Mich. St-UNC) 11.9/19 CBS
3. NBA Finals, Gm. 4 (Lakers-Magic) 10.9/19 ABC
4. MLB All-Star Game 10.4/18 Fox
5. Kentucky Derby 10.2/22 NBC
6. NBA Finals, Gm. 3 10.1/17 ABC
7. NBA Finals, Gm. 2 9.9/17 ABC
8. NBA Finals, Gm. 5 9.4/16 ABC
9. NCAA Semifinal (Villanova-UNC) 9.3/17 CBS
10. NBA Finals, Gm. 1 8.9/15 ABC

NFL KICKOFF - THURSDAY NIGHT SEASON OPENERS OVERNIGHT RATINGS:
2009: NBC 13.8/23 (Pittsburgh 13 - Tennessee 10)
2008: NBC 10.1/17 (NY Giants 16 - Washington 7)
2007: NBC 13.0/21 (Indianapolis 41 - New Orleans 10)
2006: NBC 13.5/22 (Pittsburgh 28 - Miami 17)
2005: ABC 13.1/22 (New England 30 - Oakland 20)
2004: ABC 12.6/20 (New England 27 - Indianapolis 24)
2003: ABC 14.5/23 (Washington 16 - NY Jets 13)
*2002 ESPN 7.6/13 (Houston 19 - Dallas 10)
*U.S. HH Rating: overnight rating not available

TOP 10 METERED MARKETS FOR LAST NIGHT'S GAME
1. Pittsburgh, 49.6/70
2. Nashville, 40.1/56
3. Baltimore, 20.5/33
4. Las Vegas, 20.0/32
5. New Orleans, 18.8/27
6. Cleveland, 18.7/30
7. Memphis, 18.2/25
8. Knoxville, 18.0/27
9. Washington D.C., 17.3/29
10. Norfolk, 16.9/27

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Holiday Weekend? Not for NBC Changes.....

Check this out...

Posted: 09/04/2009 06:39:48 PM
Air Date: 12/05/2009 Saturday
Start Time: 02:00:00 PM [ET]
Show Name: NBC SPORTS SPECIALS
Duration: 01:00:00
Type: Program Deletion
Message: Program Deletion: Baja 1000

And 8 other sports changes posted to APT after 5pm on Friday on Labor Day Weekend.

See what I mean about Friday afternoons in New York City?

Friday, September 4, 2009

NBC Carries Obama Live in Prime Next Wednesday

Eastern and Central Time Zones will have their first hour of prime replaced with President Obama's Address to Congress about Health Care. Here's a surprise... Fox hasn't announced their plans to carry this address.

Why is it so many Americans can't understand this is simply an extension of Medicare or VA Health Care type services and not the end of private choice? Last I checked, there are no "death panels" at VA Hospitals. And my parents seem to get by with Medicare.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Winter Holiday Specials Announced..

Plus, NBC replaces Office and Community Saturday encores with Law & Order encores beginning September 26th.

Clients will see these changes later today, or as late as tomorrow morning... ODI's proprietary support network used to access my clients will undergo an upgrade in our Birmingham offices later this evening, so my usual evening work hours will be impacted.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Sunday Night Football Ratings from Last Night

"NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL" SCORES BEST NFL PRESEASON OVERNIGHT IN 5 YEARS

Sunday Night Football Dominates the Night, Delivering Peacock's Best Sunday Night Performance Since Super Bowl


NEW YORK August 31, 2009 NBC Sports' "Sunday Night Football" preseason game last night delivered the best overnight rating for any NFL preseason game on any network in five years. The 7.3 overnight rating and 12 share (8-11 p.m. ET) for the Chicago Bears-Denver Broncos preseason contest was the best since the 8.2/13 for the Titans-Cowboys preseason game on August 30, 2004.

Sunday Night Football was the No. 1 telecast of the night in the metered markets and dominated its time period, more than doubling second-place CBS in the time slot (7.3 vs. 3.4). NBC averaged a 6.4/11 from 7-11 p.m. ET, representing the network's highest Sunday primetime average in the metered markets since Super Bowl XLIII on Feb. 1.

The broadcast, which featured Bears QB Jay Cutler's return to Denver after his off-season trade from the Broncos to the Bears, peaked at an 8.2/14 from 9-9:30 p.m. ET. The preseason game was won by the Bears 27-17.

Top 10 Metered Markets:
1. Denver, 25.9/45
2. Chicago, 22.6/36
3. Las Vegas, 12.1/19
4. Milwaukee, 11.0/18
5. Albuquerque, 10.7/17
6. Nashville, 10.6/16
7. Jacksonville, 10.4/16
8. Oklahoma City, 10.1/15
9. New Orleans, 9.1/13
10. Indianapolis, 8.8/14

Sunday, August 30, 2009

NBC Colors Peacock; Proud of Press Coverage

ATTENTION NBC AFFILIATE BOARD, GENERAL MANAGERS AND CORPORATE EXECS

On Friday (8/28) you all received a notice from Jean Dietze and I about the New Fall Branding initiative and the information regarding program formats, etc. Below you will see an article that will come out online this evening (Sunday - 8/30) and in printed form in Monday morning's Variety (and a few other outlets) discussing the NBC brand.

We wanted you to have the article ASAP.

Be on the lookout in the next several days with more information about this and other matters on the 2009 Fall Launch and The Jay Leno Show.

-Scot


Colorful new peacock for NBC
Network's old icon is new again
By Michael Schneider

NBC is about to get a little "more colorful."
As part of a major branding makeover, the Peacock will unveil a new slogan for the net, as well as a new on-air look, on Sept. 14 -- the night that "The Jay Leno Show" debuts.
The tagline "more colorful" will begin popping up in NBC promos at that time as text onscreen -- but never actually voiced on-air.
The phrase is a conscious throwback to both the net's famous colorful peacock icon, as well as the announcement regularly heard on the net at the dawn of color TV: "The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC."
"Sometimes the most powerful ideas are the ones staring at you in the face," said NBC Entertainment marketing prexy Adam Stotsky. "The NBC peacock is 53 years old but has incredible heritage and brand equity. We've seen research that suggests an incredible unaided awareness that the icon means NBC."
NBC will introduce "more colorful" to promos and campaigns supporting Peacock programming rather than introducing spots that just focus on the network.
"Color," Stotsky added, "is also what we strive to do in our programming."
The on-air makeover comes as NBC's programming and marketing teams pore over data from an internal study over what the Peacock brand is and what it should be.
"Our brand is significantly defined by the shows we put on," said NBC Universal TV Group chief marketing officer John Miller. "Part of that effort we went through... was the idea of our internal brand guidelines, to recapture the heritage of NBC."
NBC began the exercise late last year, tapping global marketing firm Naked Communications to help reposition the net's once-storied brand.
The Peacock's Nielsen woes, coupled with its unprecedented decision to move Jay Leno into the 10 p.m. slot five nights a week this fall, gave the execs reason to start thinking how to reposition the network.
"NBC has admittedly not been as strong over the last five years," Miller said. "But the things that never wavered were those icons and people's memories of NBC... Something that connects and is a part of our legacy is a natural. Our goal now is to make sure we have shows that people will want to watch."
Execs declined to elaborate on the brand study's internal findings and how the net's programming team may adjust their thinking on what NBC should be developing.
"We need to prove our chops first," Miller said.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Senator Edward Kennedy Funeral Sat AM

Live for about two hours tomorrow, beginning at 10am EDT.

Since each station's last minute traffic scramble will be different, and air date is tomorrow morning, my coming up with an audience estimate for an event without spots is fairly useless. However, if you want estimates, just let me know.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

July Installs Complete

Very early this morning, I finished the last four of my clients' July installs. Everyone has a new JULYES Selling Book, using JULY 09 PVT levels and JULY 09 PAV shares whenever possible. In addition, I've updated sports to reflect higher July 09 PVT levels than JULY 08 previously used in SPORTES selling books.

The July book is commonly thought of as a throw-away at local stations.. it shows local TV and network at their worst performance of the year, and plays right into the hands of basic cable who treats it as their perfect opportunity.

In addition, most agencies try to ignore the July books unless in negotiations, so it's understandable why stations largely ignore this data.

What a shame. For the next five weeks, local TV salespeople have, without question, the most detailed, accurate, trusted, most recent and expensive in-depth survey possible; a huge sample of your advertisers' potential and returning customers personal, private behavior done behind closed doors in the last 7 weeks, during this "one of a kind Summer of Recession" (I also write Lexus ads).

In smaller markets, where the July book is often totally ignored, the sample size in diaries divided by DMA household is simply staggering. But.. I'm beating a dead horse. Use the July book for local, direct sales with business decision makers who are actively seeking a way to survive this summer, ok?

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Southland Premiere Delayed 4 Weeks

Dateline will fill the second hour of prime on Fridays until 10/16.

I'll begin updating my clients as soon as I finish installing the July data on the Sunbelt servers now they can be reached.

Ted Kennedy Coverage Limited By NBC

IMO, NBC is treating the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy with dignity and without rating-grabbing, exploitative programming.

The half hour NBC Nightly newscast scheduled for this evening will be optionally extended by half an hour, which should not impact anyone's prime advertising campaigns.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Figure Skating Special added for January 23rd Prime

Figure skating delivers female demos with a certainty unlike any other programming on NBC. In addition to daytime broadcasts (in HD, of course) of US Figure Skating Championships on Saturday and Sunday in late January, NBC will "also air" (aka encore)in Prime on Saturday night.

Once I get everyone settled with July based selling books, I'll be adding this special to both sports and specials calendars and selling books.

Jackson has July 09 Based Estimates

As do my clients in Alabama and Florida.

Same day service for all of my clients thus far.

Data may be available for my Mountain Time Zone clients, but I can't get to their servers to find out. Birmingham has been asked to contact Las Vegas again in the morning.

Chattanooga Has July Data & New Selling Books

And they are already being reviewed by Ralph Flynn.

Now, I'm working on Jackson, MS.

I also see the KVBC Server is having difficulties... and I can't connect to my clients in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Waiting for July Sweeps Data? Read this...

The July data is looking very interesting... I'm seeing pretty broad viewing level increases versus last summer, and summer broadcast TV shares seem to be on the rebound. At this point, I've only done new JULYES Selling Book estimates with LPM data for an ABC and diary data for a Fox, so I don't have a sense how NBC is looking yet.

Chattanooga, the Nielsen DVDs with your data are *due* to be given to Fedex on Monday for delivery to Birmingham Tuesday morning. By lunchtime your time, you'll be able to see the data and by the end of the day, you'll have an updated JULYES Selling Book, with specials and sports updated to reflect the latest shares.

But... it's possible Nielsen may ship early... as soon as tonight. If that happens, the data will be available on Monday morning. If this was a major sweep book, I would be pestering my co-workers in Birmingham to come in on their weekend off to load the hard copy DVD onto our servers, then transfer the data to yours, allowing me to work over the weekend on your data instead of beginning Monday. It's the way I am.. and I constantly apologize for my um, zeal to Alex Lacy, the master of data at ODI.

My clients in Idaho, Florida, Mississippi, Wyoming, Alabama and Montana should have data delivered in the middle to end of next week. I don't expect to see any Sunbelt or Raycom data until at least Wednesday.

However, this is Nielsen's LAST round EVER of sending out physical DVD copies to processors like OneDomain; beginning with November 09 Sweep data, it will all be sent digitally, through the internet, directly to our servers, then installed on your machines the SAME DAY.

No more Fedex roulette... it's not like Fedex doesn't already have challenges in the week before Christmas, but asking them to hand-deliver hard copies of incredibly expensive, perishable and competitively critical information in the middle of the Christmas season and holiday traffic/travel has always been problematic.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

More AGT Encores for Wednesdays in September

"Placeholder" programming Most Outrageous Videos of All Time, Parts 1 and 2 will be sacrificed in the name of more America's Got Talent repeats during the first hour of Wednesday prime during the first two weeks of September.

I just checked, and at 2:43p PDT today, APT shows nothing... but Maria tells me otherwise. :) My clients already have had their inventory updated.

Remember, each time you see a new programming change listed here, you will NOT see it in your MediaOffice system until you close the program, then re-open it. Only then will you see the changes made since the last time you opened the program.

NBC Extends Sunday Night Football Through 2013

Dear NBC Affiliate General Managers,

I am pleased to tell you that we have extended our deal with the NFL for 2 years, through the 2013 season. As with the original agreement, NBC will continue to broadcast 16 regular season “Sunday Night Football” games, each season’s “NFL Opening Kickoff” Thursday night primetime game, both Wild Card Saturday games and preseason games in primetime. The NFL will continue to provide flexible game scheduling over the final seven weeks of the regular season to ensure quality matchups and games with playoff implications.

We are thrilled that NBC will continue to feature the biggest games on the biggest NFL night through the 2013 football season.

I sincerely appreciate all that you do to make Sunday Night Football a tremendous success for NBC and wish you good luck for 2009 NFL season.

Best Regards,

Dick Ebersol

Sunday, August 16, 2009

USOC: Postpones Own TV Network Competing Against NBC

August 16, 2009
USOC Backs Off Disputed Olympic Network Plans
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYTimes.com

Filed at 12:30 p.m. ET

BERLIN (AP) -- The U.S. Olympic Committee postponed plans for its own television network after objections from international Olympic officials.

USOC chairman Larry Probst said Sunday he has decided to delay development of the TV project until all issues have been resolved with the International Olympic Committee.

The announcement came a day after Probst met in Berlin with IOC president Jacques Rogge to discuss the dispute over the U.S. Olympic Network.

''I think we're moving in a positive direction,'' Probst told reporters. ''We want to try to get to the point where we've addressed all their issues and concerns as quickly as possible.''

The IOC criticized the USOC last month for ''unilaterally'' announcing the launch of the TV network on July 8, saying it raised complex legal questions and could jeopardize relations with Olympic broadcaster NBC.


Probst was surprised by the backlash.

''There is no question that we underestimated the intensity of the reaction that we got from multiple constituents,'' Probst said. ''I won't talk about what was going on behind the scenes, who said what or who did what, but obviously there was a more intense reaction than we anticipated.

''We anticipated a reaction that would've been neutral to positive and that didn't happen. It was a miscalculation on our part. The execution on this could've been better.''

The IOC welcomed the decision.

''It was a good, positive and productive meeting,'' IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. ''We look forward to having more detailed information on their proposal.''

Probst said he and Rogge agreed to meet soon.

The decision is a major boost for Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics. Had the USOC pushed ahead with the TV plans, it could have hurt Chicago's chances in the IOC vote on Oct. 2 vote in Copenhagen. The other bid cities are Rio de Janeiro, Madrid and Tokyo.

''The USOC wants to do everything it can to help support the Chicago bid,'' Probst said. ''We want to see Chicago win the bid. Anything we can do to help to support them, we're going to do that.''

Patrick Ryan, the chairman and CEO of Chicago 2016, said he appreciated the USOC's decision.

''We applaud Larry Probst and the USOC for making a strong statement of partnership by stating that the USOC would secure the full support and cooperation of the IOC before moving forward with the Olympic Network,'' Ryan said in a statement. ''It is important not only for the USOC and IOC relationship, but also for the USOC's role within the Olympic movement.''

The IOC and USOC have had tense relations in recent years, particularly over the contentious issue of the USOC's share of Olympic revenues.

The IOC accused the USOC of acting hastily by announcing plans for the network, which was scheduled to go on air next year after the Vancouver Winter Olympics with Comcast as broadcast partner.

NBC holds the U.S. broadcast rights through the 2012 London Olympics. The network acquired the rights to the Vancouver and London Games in 2003 in a deal worth $2.2 billion. NBC has said it plans to be among the U.S. networks bidding for rights to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi and 2016 Summer Olympics.

The USOC has said the network was a way to keep Olympic sports in front of viewers beyond the games. The project was intended benefit smaller sports that struggle to find air time outside of the Olympics.

Probst still feels it's a viable concept.

''I think it can be good for athletes. I think it can be good for the federations. I think it could be good for sponsors. I think it can be good for the Olympic movement overall,'' Probst said. ''But I think it's got to be properly orchestrated and properly timed. Part of that orchestration is making sure that the IOC and other constituencies are fully bought in and supportive.''

------

AP Sports Writer Stephen Wilson in London contributed to this report

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

First 10 NHL Games on NBC in 2010 Set

Sundays January through April, noonish to 3pm EDT.

Clients will see these changes Wednesday.

Monday, August 10, 2009

AGT Encore Replaces "Most Outrageous" Wednesdays

For the next three weeks, beginning Wednesday August 11th, NBC has yanked their hour-long video clip shows and has replaced them with encore airings of America's Got Talent for the first hour of prime.

Friday, August 7, 2009

NBC Sports Specials for First Quarter 2010

Late last night, APT posted the infamously mysterious NBC Sports Specials for 1st Quarter 2010. The usual suspects of PBR, Ice Skating, Adventure Sports and Gymnastics are sprinkled on either side of Winter Olympics.

I'm starting updates now.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Chicago Tribune Coverage of NBC @ TCA

August 05, 2009
'I'm an Executive, Get Me Out of Here': Notes on the NBC session at press tour

The Watcher Blog: Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune

Wednesday's NBC executive session, which kicked off the network's day at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, was both entertaining and immensely irritating.

Entertaining if you enjoy the sheer comedy of evasion and executive doublespeak in the wake of consistent failure. It was hard not to cackle -- and many in the room did -- when NBC primetime president Angela Bromstad said that it was "always the plan" for Ben Silverman to have a short tenure at NBC.

We can only presume it was part of the plan for him to leave a string of schlocky, low-rated shows in his wake. But, to paraphrase Spencer Pratt, that network was devaluing Ben's fame, right?

Despite the unintentional comedy, the session was also quite irritating, and in the end somewhat contentious, because Bromstad consistently acted shocked -- shocked! -- that this room full of pesky journalists wanted answers about NBC's direction and plans in the wake of Silverman's recent departure (Jeff Gaspin, who is actually the top executive at NBC, was a no-show at the panel, which didn't help the situation. Bromstad was joined by NBC reality chief Paul Telegdy).

Nbcu By the end, this grim session might as well have been called, "I'm an NBC Executive, Get Me Out of Here!"

What ratings does NBC want for Jay Leno's primetime show? Bromstad said the success or failure of Leno's show has to be determined over the course of the program's first year, not over the course of its first five days. If we wanted anything more specific, we should ask the late-night executives who would be part of a Leno panel later on Wednesday. (The specifics of Bromstad's Leno and Conan O'Brien dodges are laid out by Alan Sepinwall here.)

Perhaps the most dispiriting part of the panel was the confusion over what, if anything, NBC stands for. Bromstad talked about some recent shows not being "on brand" for NBC.

Well, what's NBC's brand? She cited "30 Rock," "Law & Order: SVU," "The Office" and "Heroes," as well as "The Biggest Loser" and "The Apprentice," all shows that were developed well before the Silverman era.

She also said something about shows having to be "relatable" and about "real people." Part of the problem with "Kings" is that it was "a little bit too highbrow and a little bit too difficult to sell in a 30-second spot."

"Knight Rider" didn't have that problem, and it did great, didn't it? (And if NBC wants advice on how to be "on brand," or how to even have a brand, I'm sure the folks from USA are still somewhere in the building today. With the success of their shows, they're schooling the mothership on a consistent basis.)

Seriously, despite the annual TCA blather about NBC reclaiming the Peacock's quality crown, I'm not going to get my hopes up. The network has booted "Friday Night Lights" to the summer of 2010, it completely mishandled "Kings," and it may well be dumbing down "Southland."

"I think they tried to do too much in those six episodes" of "Southland," Bromstad said. Instead of, in effect, making six versions of the pilot (she actually called it "re-piloting the pilot"), "it became very serialized, and they were a large, large ensemble. So it’s really going to focus on [the characters played by] Regina King and Ben McKenzie ... the two sets of officers and detectives and sort of focus on, you know, crimes and how they come together."

Great. Because if its one thing we need on TV, it's another show about cops and crime.

Time critic James Poniewozik said that critics are unusually hard on NBC, and maybe that's true. Perhaps there is lot of pent-up resentment when it comes to the once-proud peacock network..

What's happened to NBC over the past decade hasn't been easy to watch. If the network's executives could at least be candid and forthright, it would certainly be a step in the right direction.

Some news bits from the executive panel and from the "Community" panel that followed:

* As mentioned above, "Friday Night Lights" won't return on NBC until the summer of 2010. However the show's fourth season will premiere Oct. 28 on DirecTV's 101 Network.
* The plan is still to bring back "Chuck" in March, but Bromstad said she feels it can "move around" and discussions about whether to bring it back earlier and increase its episode order beyond the 13 episodes that have been ordered are "continuing."
* Though much of the primetime NBC schedule is now taken up with Sunday football and Leno's show, the development budget for the network has not been cut.
* NBC sees "Day One" as a one-season show, though if it's a hit, it could come back.
* John Oliver from "The Daily Show" is very good in the somewhat uneven pilot for "Community," NBC's fall comedy. However he'll only be in two of the first 12 episodes, which is a bit of a drag, given that he and star Joel McHale are so good in their scenes together.
* Ken Jeong ("The Hangover") has joined "Community" as a Spanish teacher.

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/

First Quarter 2010 Golf Announced

As the Olympics fill up most of February, all but one golf event in next year's first quarter run in March of 2010.

Heck, even beginners can get these estimates correct this time.. four of the events actually ran same day/time in the March 2009 book. I'll bet even WideOrbit could handle this one. (I just can't help it.)

Bayou Classic & Army All American Football Returns

For some reason, NBC loves holding these games back for posting on APT until very late summer, but with all of the other changes in subsidized sports NBC is going through, I didn't include these non-franchise games in your inventory until NBC made a commitment (and the sale?)

Bayou Classic does best in the South among my clients on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. All-American game leads into NFL Playoffs in January. RDRx clients, look for both games today in your Football folder.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Reuters: Bromstad about NBC's Future

August 5, 2009
Struggling NBC Looks to Quality Shows, Cost Control
By REUTERS

Filed at 3:45 p.m. ET

PASADENA, California (Reuters) - Executives at struggling NBC said on Wednesday they were focused on top-quality scripted programs and better cost control to lift the network out of its current bottom place among the leading four U.S. TV networks.

Defining NBC as the broadcaster which airs shows that are human, deal with real people, and are fundamentally positive, executives pointed to Emmy-award comedy "30 Rock," "The Office" and drama "Heroes" as the way forward for the network.

"We have a strong foundation and some of the best shows on television and I think we have to build on that," Angela Bromstad, president of primetime entertainment, told TV critics gathered here for an annual showcase of upcoming programs.

"I think we have fallen short in the past couple of years and it is our goal to bring back those high quality sophisticated dramas and comedies and a brand of alternative programing," she said.


Bromstad said the departure last month of NBC Entertainment Co-Chairman Ben Silverman after two years at the network was not unexpected and would not bring many changes because NBC was already moving in the right direction.

"It has always been Ben's plan to transition back to his entrepreneurial roots," she said.

Silverman brought shows like "The Office" to NBC but struggled to develop major primetime audience hits that would lift it out of its last place in the TV ratings behind CBS Corp's CBS, News Corp's Fox, and Walt Disney's ABC. NBC is owned by partnership of General Electric Co and Vivendi.

Silverman also oversaw the upcoming move of late night talk show host Jay Leno to primetime five nights a week in what was seen as a bid to cut costs of expensive scripted dramas that dominate the 10 pm hour when Leno's new program will air.

"We have just allowed shows to get way too expensive and it has gotten out of control. I think we have to find a way to bring those costs down," Bromstad said.

However, she said there had been no cost-cutting in the network's development budget which fuels new programing.

Bromstad declined to define a viewership target for the new Leno show, which will premiere in September, saying the success of the move would be measured in months rather than days.

NBC's new shows for the new 2009-10 season that begins in September include two medical dramas and a comedy based around a community college starring Joel McHale, host of the satirical pop culture news show "The Soup" on the E! cable network.

The network's most-anticipated new family drama, "Parenthood," was shifted to the spring season after its star Maura Tierney took time off because of breast cancer.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Richard Chang)

Monday, August 3, 2009

New Offices, New Attitude & NBC Changes September Prime

With almost zero downtime, my hard-working associates in Birmingham, Alabama have moved across town to a new lakeside location. Friday afternoon, everything got shut down but already today, Monday August 3rd, we're back to business as usual.

Here in Las Vegas, I'm now just finishing my massive office upgrade.. I'll be sending some photos out to those who are interested.. as well as my co-workers. I may not have a lakeside view, but they don't have water-cooled, 142% overclocked 8 core CPUs with 12 gigs of RAM, SSD drives and both Quad SLI AND SLI video(yes, six GPUs) going in the same computer and displayed on monitors 6 feet, 4 inches wide. And that's just one of, ahem, 6 computers in this room.

I have access to all of my clients today, and it's a good thing, as NBC has shuffled Parks and Rec repeats as well as added a two hour Dateline to Jay Leno's first Friday night. I'll start work on these this afternoon.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Wow.. the IT guys in Birmingham are GOOD!!

Less than four hours after pulling the plug in their old offices, the guys and gals at OneDomain have their email and CRM servers up!

Should you need to reach me this weekend, my OneDomain email is working.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Friday, July 31.. Moving Day in Birmingham!

My hard-working co-workers in Alabama are getting a significant upgrade in their offices this weekend, as they move to a larger, more modern building a few miles away. As all but my Raycom stations are accessed through ODI's Bomgar service, it will be down for portions of the weekend beginning Friday. Of course, you can still reach me in the office here in Las Vegas.. I'm not moving, but have just completed a major upgrade in my computing power, plus purchasing civilized furniture replacing (ahem) a card table and a plastic rolling cart.

Do you know how much heat an overclocked PC with 6 video cards gives off? Whew. And it's 103.6 degrees outside my window right now.

New Year's Eve Announced; "Jeep" Jettisoned

Carson Daly will provide the last hour of prime on Dec 31 from NYC, then follow up with an hour from 11:30p-12:30a in all time zones.

There seems to be more conflict between NBC and some of the Sports Specials producers; latest indication is the name "Jeep" has been stripped from the Adventure Sports series. There are also some interesting stories about NBC's dealings with off-road and womens golf programming sources involving time period purchases and billings. I'll pull them up in the next few days.. this might help explain why NBC doesn't do much to promote the NBC Sports Specials, either on-air or with marketing tools for local stations.

Finally, there are some minor changes to winter sports in December. Clients are being updated today.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Friday Night Lights Theatrical Airs Sunday, Sept 6th

A 90 minute Dateline will lead into the 2004 movie, the original Texas high school football source for NBC's own Friday Night Lights series.

There's no NFL that night, with the last of the pre-season games airing August 30th and the first Sunday Football Night In America on September 13th.

RDRx NBC clients will see this entered today.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Ben Silverman Out; Gaspin In

The King of Reality is free to go back to his creative endeavors.

UNIVERSAL CITY, CA - July 27, 2009 - Jeff Gaspin has been named Chairman, NBC Universal Television Entertainment, effective immediately. This move expands his role to now include oversight of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, in addition to all of his current duties. This new structure will consolidate all of the company's television entertainment assets, both broadcast and cable, English and Spanish, under one roof and will better allow the company to leverage its content across all of those properties.
Gaspin already has management responsibility for the company's portfolio of entertainment cable networks, including USA, SyFy, Bravo, Oxygen, Universal HD, Sleuth, and Chiller, as well as its interests in the A&E and History networks. In addition, Gaspin oversees the company's television distribution, including linear, digital and wireless, off-net syndication and first-run efforts, as well as the Telemundo broadcast network and its owned stations.
Ben Silverman, who has been Co-Chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, has announced that he is returning to his entrepreneurial roots to form a new venture. He will remain in his current role for several weeks to assist in the launch of NBC's fall schedule. Marc Graboff, who has also been Co-Chairman, will continue as Chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, reporting to Gaspin.
These announcements were made today by Jeff Zucker, President and CEO, NBC Universal, to whom Gaspin reports.
Said Zucker: "Jeff Gaspin is an extraordinary media professional who has had an incredible record of success in his 25 years in the business. He's a strong creative executive who also has the business acumen necessary to succeed in today's media environment. This new structure helps us align all of our television entertainment assets under one veteran executive at a time when continued innovation is essential."
Zucker added: “Ben Silverman has many exciting things he wants to accomplish and we applaud him as he sets off on his new endeavors. Ben brought us tremendous new thinking in this changing media age, and we're grateful for that. Now, we look forward to working with him in his new venture."

Friday, July 24, 2009

Whew.. No changes announced on Friday

I tease NBC NYC about issuing major programming change notifications late on Fridays.. after all, they give me something to do during the weekend.

However, for those stations without someone as, um, devoted as I am, the timing of such announcements means the instant AEs walk in the door on Monday, their MediaOffice inventory and estimates are already wrong.

If you are curious about our services for NBC TV stations, take a look at the profile here for links to OneDomain.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

"The Wanted" Moves Time Period on Mon, July 27th

NBC is shifting The Wanted an hour earlier, with Dateline following as lead-in to local news.. guess the lead-in on Monday wasn't what they hoped.

Also, they've added another new L&O:CI on Monday, August 31st before the season finale.

I'm starting client updates now.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Eastern/Central Wed AGT Encore Bumped By Obama

[07.20.09 - 04:39 PM]
BIG THREE TO COVER OBAMA NEWS CONFERENCE
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- ABC, CBS and NBC have all signed on to carry President Obama's latest news conference this Wednesday at 8:00/7:00c.

FOX will once again be the only major network not to carry the event, instead opting to stick with its two-hour edition of "So You Think You Can Dance." FOX also chose not to air Obama's previous news conference on April 29.

As for the other networks, CBS agreed this morning to turn over the hour of its lineup, which was already devoted to repeat programming.

ABC and NBC subsequently signed on after the White House shifted the planned hour-long broadcast from 9:00/8:00c to 8:00/7:00c.

To accommodate said coverage, the Alphabet will slide "Wipeout" and "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" back an hour to 9:00/8:00c and 10:00/9:00c, respectively. "Over a Barrel: The Truth about Oil," originally set for 10:00/9:00c, will instead air on Friday, July 24 at 10:00/9:00c as a special edition of "20/20."

The Peacock then will simply drop its 8:00/7:00c encore of "America's Got Talent."

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Ratings Info about AGT and Conan From NBC

•AMERICA'S GOT TALENT generated the #1 results of the night in 18-49 and total viewers, out-delivering "So You Think You Can Dance" head-to-head and in full-duration averages. AMERICA'S GOT TALENT also outscored "Wipeout" and all other primetime programs on the broadcast networks last night. From its first half-hour to its second, AMERICA'S GOT TALENT increased by 15 percent in 18-49 rating and by 12 percent or more than 1.3 million persons in total viewers.

•The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien has delivered a decisive win for the week of July 6-10 in late-night's key demographic of adults 18-49, beating CBS's LATE SHOW on five of five nights. Conan also more than doubled Letterman in the younger half of the key demo, adults 18-34. For the week, Conan delivered bigger audiences than LATE SHOW in adults, men and women 18-34; adults, men and women 18-49; and adults and men 25-54. The median age of Conan’s audience last week was 46.7, more than 10 years younger than Letterman’s 57.3.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

NHL on NBC Extended through 2011

NHL & NBC ANNOUNCE MULTIYEAR EXTENSION
July 15, 2009

NEW YORK - July 15, 2009 - The National Hockey League and NBC Sports today announced an extension through the 2010-11 season of their successful revenue-sharing partnership -- one that has achieved viewership milestones, programming and production innovations, awards and critical acclaim. The joint announcement was made by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Ken Schanzer, President, NBC Sports.

"The NHL/NBC partnership has been terrific. Our association has led to such technical innovations as the 'Inside the Glass' reporting and to such programming advancements as the extremely popular Winter Classic," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final was broadcast television's most-watched hockey game in 36 years, which makes clear the NHL and NBC are building an audience, are building momentum and are perfectly positioned to continue growing the game."

Schanzer said: "We're thrilled to be able to continue our relationship with the NHL and build on all the positive momentum on and off the ice. Together, we have attained viewership milestones not seen in more than three decades. And the Winter Classic, in just two years, has become one of the highlights of the sports calendar. We strongly believe this is a league that is poised for continued growth."

RECORD VIEWERSHIP: NBC Sports has achieved a number of ratings milestones including broadcasting the most-watched regular season game in 34 years (2009 Winter Classic) and the most-viewed NHL game overall in 36 years (Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final).

INNOVATIVE PRODUCTION: NBC Sports and the NHL have introduced many innovations to help grow the game, including the "Inside the Glass" analyst position, which has revolutionized the way hockey is covered and of which USA Today said "is as close to the action as TV gets."

AWARDS: NBC Sports received a Sports Emmy Award for its promotion of the 2009 Winter Classic and the inaugural event garnered a Sports Business Journal Sport Business Award as Event of the Year.

ACCOLADES: NBC's NHL production has received critical acclaim, earning praise for innovations such as "Inside the Glass," a reporter position between the teams' benches first introduced by NBC hockey producer Sam Flood. The Toronto Star called "Inside the Glass" invaluable. ESPN.com said of NBC's hockey coverage, "the NHL has never looked or sounded better in its free, on-the-air history." The Hockey News called "Inside the Glass," "the biggest innovation to hit televised hockey in recent years." " Hockey has found a network that will let the sport be the sport," said the San Jose Mercury News.

NBC Sports' 2010 NHL coverage begins on New Year's Day with the third annual NHL Winter Classic.

NBC Sports will also continue to broadcast games throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs and up to five Stanley Cup Final games.

NHL & NBC: The successful partnership, which was announced in May 2004, launched in January 2006 and previously extended in 2007 and 2008, has been highlighted by innovations, awards and ratings milestones. NBC Sports' NHL coverage is produced by Sam Flood, the originator of the Inside the Glass position. Emmy award nominee "Doc" Emrick, Eddie Olczyk (analyst), Pierre McGuire (Inside the Glass analyst) and Mike Milbury comprise NBC's NHL broadcast team.

Listener Silenced; Weekend Road Trip Cancelled

L&O repeats replace Listener in Thursday prime starting 7/30, while Dateline fills in for Road Trip encores Sundays ASAP.

Add a couple of two hour Merlins and a repeat of the SNL Presidential Bash from last November.. you'll find them in MediaOffice inventory now.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Parenthood On Sick Leave... Mercy Starts September

Start of production on NBC Universal’s new series “Parenthood” has been postponed for eight weeks due to medical evaluation that valued cast member Maura Tierney is undergoing. The top priority for NBC, Universal Media Studios and Imagine Television is the well-being of Ms. Tierney. We are unable to release further details and ask that you respect her privacy at this time.

Due to these circumstances, NBC's new drama series “Mercy” will premiere in the fall. Details on changes to NBC's fall premiere dates will be forthcoming.

7/13 Nightly News Gets U of Phoenix Sponsorship

Attention Stations: On 7/13/09, NBC Nightly News is scheduled to be broadcast with single sponsorship (University of Phoenix) and limited commercial interruption. The promo swap position that is normally in position 3 within Nightly News will now follow the news tag and precede the terminal NI swap position (the two promo swaps will run back to back). Due to this special limited interruption sponsorship of NBC Nightly News by the University of Phoenix, stations are requested not to schedule any local commercials of direct competitors during the station break.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Zucker says "We have seen a bottom"

Zucker Says Marketplace Has Reached Bottom

NBCU Chief says local station business showing signs of improvement

By Ben Grossman -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/9/2009

NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker said Thursday that while the overall marketplace is still challenged, he thinks it may have bottomed out.

“It’s still quite uncertain and we don’t really see the full recovery we are all hoping for,” he said. “It’s still tough out there, but I think we have seen a bottom.”

Zucker added that while the overall marketplace remains very challenged, he is seeing some improvement in the station business.

“Our local television stations seem to be improving,” Zucker told CNBC’s Erin Burnett in an interview conducted in Sun Valley, Idaho, though he did not offer any specifics.

Zucker also predicted no major deals in the media space through the end of the year.

“I think this is a year about getting your house in order. I think we’ll see nothing in the media space for the rest of the year.”

Zucker also acknowledged with the upfront marketplace normally done by July 4, this year’s delayed dealings show the conversations with buyers, “are much more difficult this year.”

“I think the key word is flexibility. Both sides want flexibility and we’ll just have to see who gives,” he said.

He added that while NBC U is making money on the web, the revenues [for the media business] are “not where we expected to be today.”

No Olympic Zone Program in Feb 2010

Unlike previous Olympics, NBC will not be providing the hybrid network/local daily half hour format. Those clients who had requested inventory and estimates for this program will find it removed today, but at most clients, I didn't include it in expected programming, so it doesn't have to be removed.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Road Trip Detoured To Monday Nights: AGT Encore Fills Pothole

America's Got Talent repeats start Tuesday, July 14th @ 8/7p
Great American Road Trip slides to Monday 8/7p starting July 13th

September encore and weekend changes are also part of this announcement.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Tuesday Days Of Our Lives Jacked

NBC News will provide live coverage of the Michael Jackson Memorial on Tues July 7th beginning at 1p ET-live to all time zones, duration and operating conditions will be issued Monday, July 6th.

No Days of Our Lives anywhere.

And Still More Jackson Preemptions

Tuesday night's L&O:SVU is now toast, as we spend yet another hour on Michael Jackson, this time, a Dateline coverage of the "memorial service."

Sunday, July 5, 2009

New York Times Talks Tonight Demos

July 6, 2009

‘Tonight Show’ Audience a Decade Younger

One of the big questions facing Conan O’Brien was this: How can he succeed with the older “Tonight Show” viewers? The answer: by making them younger.

In Mr. O’Brien’s first month as host, the median age of “Tonight Show” viewers has fallen by a decade — to 45 from 55, a startling shift in such a short time. This audience composition means advertisers can now address almost exclusively young viewers on “Tonight,” and NBC is already contemplating a shift in how it sells the show.

In network television, where audiences tend to age up consistently, this is an eye-popping development. But the shift is not all good news for NBC. One way Mr. O’Brien has lowered the age is by losing many older viewers.

“The Late Show With David Letterman” has already posted one week in which it drew more viewers than Mr. O’Brien, who reached the smallest audience in “Tonight” show history, just 3.3 million viewers, about two million fewer than Jay Leno’s average as host.

(The next week Mr. O’Brien bounced back and edged past Mr. Letterman in total viewers, 3.7 million to 3.5 million. It was an unusual week as the death of Michael Jackson elevated a third competitor, “Nightline” on ABC, to most-watched status with 3.9 million viewers for its half-hour.)

The numbers in late night have been tossed around with unusual aggression as NBC and CBS jockey for the spin’s high ground. If cash follows youth, as it often does in television, NBC may not care much.

“Conan’s performance is, honestly, extraordinary,” said Alan Wurtzel, the president for research at NBC, adding that the show had overwhelming strength in the youngest demographic, viewers 18 to 34. “These kinds of transitions are hard, especially with an iconic program like the ‘Tonight Show.’ ”

For its part, CBS argues that NBC’s claims about demographic superiority are strained, pointing to several weeks of declines for Mr. O’Brien in many audience groups. “Conan’s strength is almost entirely in men between 18 and 34,” said David F. Poltrack, the president for research at CBS. “We’re gaining in other categories.” Mr. Letterman, for example, is up more than 50 percent among viewers over 50.

On the sidelines, advertising executives are taking a skeptical approach. Generally they concede that dominance in younger viewers remains a big advantage, while also questioning whether “Tonight,” always the “big tent” in late night, risks becoming too much a niche show, as Mr. O’Brien seemingly thins the herd of older viewers.

“The idea of buying network TV was to get those big boxcar ratings,” said Steven J. Farella, the president of the media buying agency TargetCast TCM. “They don’t usually get boxcar numbers anymore, but we don’t need minivan numbers.”

The argument in marketing offices is likely to continue. “We really don’t know anything yet,” said Shari Anne Brill, the senior vice president and programming director for Carat USA. She said the preseason ad sales period, known as the upfront, had not yet taken place; and, she said, there is the unresolved question of how Mr. Leno will fare when he moves into the weeknight 10 p.m. period for NBC.

“He could potentially eat some of Mr. O’Brien’s young,” she said.

John Rash, senior vice president of the Campbell-Mithun agency, said, “All audiences have value, but the 18-to-49 audience has more value. You will make higher profits if you win with that audience.” He added, “You can still say you’re the No. 1 show if you are more profitable.”

That is exactly what NBC is doing. After one week the network sent out a hyperventilating press release declaring Mr. O’Brien the “new king of late night.”

Mr. Poltrack scoffed that the claim was preposterously premature, pointing to falloffs in succeeding weeks among groups like women 18 to 49. In his first week, Mr. O’Brien was up in that group from Mr. Leno’s performance by 32 percent; by the third week, he was down 28 percent.

Mr. Poltrack said the gap had especially narrowed among viewers 35 to 54. “I think eventually we will win that category,” he said.

One NBC executive, who asked not to be identified when citing what is usually confidential information, said the show had been selling about 65 percent of the commercials during “Tonight” on its 18-to-49 rating, and 23 percent on viewers 25 to 54, and only 12 percent on the youngest category, viewers 18 to 34.

But Mr. O’Brien has been so overpowering in that last group that NBC can still be expected to shift more money toward that demographic — and to try to charge advertisers a premium for it, the executive said.

That may meet with resistance. Several ad agency executives said that young men could be reached more readily than in the past on Web sites and cable channels like Comedy Central and Spike, so networks deserve less of a premium for attracting them.

Some of that is probably negotiating talk. But Mr. Farella said he would worry about making “Tonight” look like a cable show.

“I don’t think that’s O.K.,” he said. “The goal of a broadcaster is still to be exactly that.”

Mr. Rash said the changes in the “Tonight” audience were to be expected. “Jay Leno was younger than Johnny Carson, but he was from the same modern comedian construct, whereas Conan O’Brien is perfectly postmodern in his approach,” he said. “That may be alienating to older viewers. But he has to play to his strengths. Television and politics are the same: it’s a mistake to ignore your base.”

Mr. Wurtzel argued that Mr. O’Brien had no intention of turning “Tonight” into a niche show.

“I think we’re going to see growth,” he said. “The show has to calibrate. Conan is reshaping the profile of the show’s audience. It’s going according to plan.”

Both he and Mr. Poltrack offered one consistent analysis using exactly the same words: “Let’s see where we are in September.”