Comcast buys NBC

[Sylph]

[aMLCproduction]

Can't wait to see the changes Comcast will make

[DRW50]

The important thing is, Jeff Zucker still has a job!

NBC has gone down so low that I expect the media will start the comeback kid story soon enough. They have already hyped NBC buying a JJ Abrams project (I hope it does better than Fringe has).

[Sylph]

That's the most puzzling thing about the whole deal.

Why would they want him to stay?!

[DRW50]

Failing upwards wins out once again.

He must know people. Or know stuff about them.

[Toups]

5 Things Comcast Must Do to Save NBC: http://www.thewrap.com/ind-column/five-things-comcast-must-do-save-nbc-9878

I think eventually Zucker will be out, or moved to another division, away from NBC Entertainment.

[DRW50]

I agree with a lot of that list, although I think "be HBO" is short-sighted. Even HBO isn't really HBO anymore. Their days of having multiple critically lauded shows which also have a healthy viewing audience are generally gone, aside from "True Blood." NBC should just be NBC. NBC took a big risk on keeping "St. Elsewhere" and "Hill Street Blues" when the shows were in the ratings toilet and seen as oddities, and in the long run, the risk paid off, and the shows revolutionized TV forever.

[All My Shadows]

*cough*

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

*cough*

I have a very light cough.

[bellcurve]

But the difference between Hill Street Blues vs. The Office is that the former is a good show. The latter SUCKS.

HBO is SO not HBO anymore. I was watching Slumdog Millionaire one night and they rescored the "Paper Planes" montage with a version that didn't have the gunshots in it. That was weird as hell. Definite Jump The Shark.

[DRW50]

I heard about that. Is that the version that also replaces "seed" with "weed"? Or am I thinking of something else? HBO gets so much praise for what they used to do more than what they do now. I can't imagine a show like Oz ever airing on HBO today.

I don't watch The Office very often, as I think a lot of NBC sitcoms over the past 10-15 years have been too smug (ever since Seinfeld -- this worked for Seinfeld, but that was a unique show). I think NBC has it in them to produce good quality drama, but they don't want to make the effort. They coasted for so long and no one has ever come along to give them a good kick. They still think they can have the next big hit, instead of building something up.

[YRBB]

Hopefully this means NBC will shape up. Or am I dreaming?

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that's going to happen. Though, contracts mean very little these days anyway.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i5d459dabd48db3c7d2944d98c835d8db

[bellcurve]

I'm not entirely sure if there are any line changes, but it wouldn't surprise me at all, given every single network program that had the artist on decided to play the version sans the gunshots or re-edit her live performance. Without her permission.

HBO is and always was supposed to be the place people went for counter-culture. Now HBO is basically like any other network. Same for Showtime.

NBC has been coasting off fumes since Seinfeld's demise. They didn't even bother with proper programming development and decided that Friends, Fraiser, and Will and Grace would carry them into next century. Well, those three shows are gone and where does that leave them? With a bunch of unwatched, unfunny niche comedies that are supposed to relate to a highbrow audience and sense of thinking, hoping that middle America would follow suit.

I can't believe a TV show like The Office anchors NBC's Comedy Lineup. It's no wonder why the network is in the shitter.

[Toups]

Well The Office does beat CSI in demos and CSI usually has almost double the total viewers. Also the Office almost commands the same ad rate as CSI - $191,236 to $198,647. So yeah, The Office is one of NBC's most successful shows and I'm glad they stuck by it during the 1st season when it had very low ratings.

[bellcurve]

Which demos, Toups? 18-49 Female, the one that really matters? or 18-49 Men, 18-34 Female, 12-17 Female/Male? I can eat crow, I have before and I have no problems doing so now. But I need a valid reason and evidence to do so.

And as far as the whole CSI thing, their ratings have tumbled since Grey's Anatomy arrived onto the scene AND since the departures of longtime actors. So what if their demos have slipped? CSI is still a show that has a broader appeal than The Office and the households reflect that. And I notice that Grey's and Private Practice are strangely absent from your list of "Oh, the Office Whooped Their Ass." I mean, if you compare The Office to the rest of network television on every level, the show's ratings still suck.

And as far as the "command the same ad-rate" speech again, give me more information? I don't know a whole lot about advertising, but is that because of the show's ratings or is it because of the audience The Office typically attracts or the type of audience NBC wants to attract to their network(what they deem high brow, big city living, over 100K a year earning Americans with a ton of disposable income and an open-mind)? What kind of products are advertised on The Office versus the ones advertised on CSI?

As an example: I'm assuming the Jaguar company will think their product will get more exposure and more purchase by those who watch The Office(a show that appeals to a niche market, a more high-brow sense in theirs and NBC's eyes) versus those who watch a show like, say, CSI.