The internet (including our site's comments) have been buzzing for quite some time with all sorts of ridiculous predictions of what would happen when the Comcast/GE/NBCU deal was announced.
They've ranged from the Leno rage fueled "Jay Leno is gone the day after the Comcast deal!", to predictions of the swift end of broadcast television "Comcast will trash its broadcast affiliates and go all cable!"
Because the deal has to meet regulatory approval before it closes, and the politicians are already circling, I'd count on far less change over the next year or so that it takes to get approval than many folks are predicting. Note that Jeff Zucker is running the new business until it meets regulatory approval as a sign of that continuity. It wouldn't surprise me if he leaves soon afterwards, but it wouldn't surprise me if he stayed either.
Programming changes will still happen, as usual, but Leno's not going anywhere till at least next fall because NBC has nothing to put in his place.
There's no chance that there will be any negative change to the NBC local affiliate situation until the deal closes. Those affiliates carry plenty of political power and they'll be lining up for their pound of flesh worth of concessions in Washington.
There also won't be any cable carriage fee dust ups provoked by Comcast (although it will be interesting to see if other cable networks or providers try and provoke some) before the deal closes. The new company will be walking on eggshells until the deal's done.
And just a small point that some entertainment writers might want to heed. While Comcast will be in effective control of the new entity, they do not "own" it, they own 51% of it. GE still owns the other 49%.
Aww man, I thought you meant that the Jay Leno show had actually been canceled…
Nice header-grabbing title there, almost got me
I’d be a happier person for not reading the last half of the title.
That title actually got my hopes up… You brought them crashing down.
Great headline grabber…..I wish it were true.
I love that people claim Leno should be cancelled. Yeah, and replaced with what? NBC has 10 other holes to fill before they can even begin to think about regaining 10pm for scripted programming. Jay is simply filler, at least until then, and probably for longer than that.
Your headline is going to show in Google News
Those affiliates carry plenty of political power
please explain
Obviously it isn’t going to be cancelled anytime soon, but what about by next year?
Cucumber, Leno has a 2 year contract with NBC. If they cancel him before fall 2011 they would need to still pay him. So I don’t see Leno going anywhere, until at the earliest, September 2011 and even then I doubt he’ll be going anywhere.
I just now started to tune in Jay Leno’s show, again; It’s a good show and he was moved before his time; wouldn’t it be something to have Jay Leno as the Permanent or lng term sub for the Coanan? They won’t do it but it’s a dream.
“other nonsence” huh? whats with that?
I guess the conservative shtink never dies.NBC/comcast deal is a business decision that clearly both NBC amd comcast will benefit from why you seem resigned to it (check nonsense) should have been reason to let your readers who may not know about it be introduced to it.
Get it together!
JR, for politicians, its all about getting re-elected. Local TV exposure is a *major* factor in that. Any threats that NBC affiliates (those not owned by NBC) perceive to their well being will be communicated to their elected representatives. Be certain they will be heard.
Timothy, Conservative? Only someone ridiculously ideological would think this had anything to do with conservative/liberal.
@J.R. Affiliates control the local news and the local news is still where a lot of people get their information. If you’re a politician holding a hearing on the NBC/Comcast merger you’re going to want those affiliates happy because you have to go back to your district and win re-election which requires you get on the local news as much as possible.
On the merger in general I think the actual NBC network is the least of Comcast’s concern. Comcast is a cable and communications company. So their inclination is to increase the value of cable which in turn means their interest is far more in NBC/Universal’s lucrative cable networks (USA, Bravo, SyFy, etc…) and production company (whose most profitable show is on Fox btw).
I suspect Comcast is holding their nose as far as the actual public television network is concerned.
Can someone explain how “Other Nonsense” is Conservative? I’m not kidding. I don’t generally agree with opinions I think are crazy but I can usually understand the logic (however twisted) behind them. That I just don’t get.
@Bill
Does this site have any vendetta or maybe hard feelings against NBC? Cant rememeber when a show on that network wasnt bitten into on here and it starts with your commentary.But well fox always has a pass and great coverage on here,I have noticed and it just happens to be acutely similar to another section of posts we receive on here.
Timothy, as always it gets back to your perspective. If you view everything we do through the lens of politics, it looks political, when actually none of it is.
There have been no scripted NBC shows that have done well this fall, so since we focus mainly on scripted shows (because that’s where the reader interest is), there isn’t much good news for NBC. How political is that? What good news for NBC have we “missed”?
And Fox has had its best fall broadcast primetime season *ever* (yet we rode the Dollhouse failure all the way into the grave,ask all those fans how “fair” we are). What bad news for Fox broadcasting have we missed?
Bill, the affiliates are going to do something if their ratings continue to tank.
because of Leno.