a long interview with NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker on the Comcast deal and other topics. At around the 6:45 mark he talks about Leno at 10pm and says in terms of the ratings the show is doing "exactly what we thought it would do," though he conceded the impact on local stations was bigger and that it was something that they had to assess.
Video: Zucker on Jay Leno "In terms of ratings it's doing exactly what we thought it would do"
Categories: video
I saw the interview this morning, and I guess I can’t really ding Jeff Zucker here – he was pretty honest in his assessment about Leno. Realistically, I’m sure they didn’t expect more than a 1.5ish over the long run.
Plus, as typical with Zucker’s leadership, he doesn’t fully think things through (which is why he didn’t realize that 11pm local newscasts would suffer so much)
Something to be assessed? Means either cancellation or moving out of the 10 p.m. slot. My guess: cancellation.
My guess: corporate speak to sound like you’re listening to affiliates while changing absolutely nothing (at least this season).
There’s also another factor in the Leno situation. Comcast might not see Leno as successful. The Business media Analysts who have been talking on CNBC have been saying that Leno is not a success for NBC.
Saying the rating’s “doing exactly what we thought” is equivalent to a girl saying that a guy “seems nice.”
Well…they said 1.5 before the show started and it’s doing about 1.5, so yeah, it’s doing what they expected. So Leno itself is doing what they thought.
Their expectations for the late news were probably pretty out of whack though. Or of course they genuinely could not care less about the affiliates. I’m guessing the latter.
Jay Leno Show is not a success. Bottom line. Despite talk of the show actually being profitable, there are other things to consider. The most important is branding. The Jay Leno Show is viewed as a failure. NBC is in last place. His show is hurting the value of NBC. The show will be cancelled by next fall.
it wont be because he did the smart thing and signed a contract with NBC for 2 years..
Sure, Zucker said that he was going to be happy with a 1.5, because he thought that there’s just no way in hell that the show would do worse and the press (well, at least NBC) could call Leno a winner when he gets a 1.6 or even a 1.7. So Leno doing exactly how Zucker thought he would is not a good thing. At all.
But these “Comcast takes over NBC = Leno being cancelled tomorrow”-comments have to stop. TJLS is obviously a long-term experiment which can’t be replaced overnight. I think the chances of Leon being cancelled soon are equal to the chances of Conan being cancelled soon. And Conan will not be fired before Letterman steps down, that’s for sure.
the obvious solution is to cancel Conan and give 11:30 back to Leno
to kev: Yes, Jay signed a long-term contract, but NBC has the option to cancel his show at any time. He would still get paid, but there are more costs in producing the show than just his paycheck. The show will be cancelled, Jay will be paid off and slink away into oblivion.
If NBC had any sense they would put Leno back at 11:30 and Obrien after him, the way it was. Leno was averaging almost 4-5 million viewers a night, Obrien gets half that, dosen’t that tell them something?
“Jay Leno Show is not a success. Bottom line. Despite talk of the show actually being profitable, there are other things to consider. The most important is branding. The Jay Leno Show is viewed as a failure. NBC is in last place. His show is hurting the value of NBC. The show will be cancelled by next fall.”
NBC’s entire lineup minus Biggest Loser, football, and The Office is what’s putting it in last place.
Everyone seems to think NBC has this lineup of hit new shows waiting in the wings that Leno is holding down. When in fact NBC has absolutely nothing. They probably only have enough to just fill in the holes left by the cancellations of their scripted stinkers this year, much less trying to fill a third hour too yet.
The reason NBC is in last is because they have the worst developmental slate in the business.