For
NBC Universal, The Times They Are a-Changin'
For
NBC Universal, the media and entertainment conglomerate formed in 2004
following the NBC/Vivendi Universal merger, the recently settled strike
by the Writers Guild of America was the perfect catalyst for much needed
change in the television industry. Speaking at the National Association
of Television Program Executives (NATPE) convention in late January,
CEO Jeff Zucker compared the work stoppage to a forest fire, and while
he acknowledged the damage caused by the strike he also noted that “fires
fertilize the soil with new ash and clear the ground, often setting
the stage for robust growth.” For Zucker, however, that growth
stems from a major shake-up of the television industry’s standard
mode of operandi that has been in existence since the medium’s
inception.
“We
are in the middle of a wrenching analog-to-digital transition marked
by game-changing technological developments and profound shifts in consumer
behavior, all of which demands a re-engineering of our businesses from
top to bottom,” Zucker said. “We’ve needed to do this
for quite a few years now, but there was no real sense of urgency behind
it. Inertia kept things moving in the same direction, a gentle downward
slide disguised by a strong economy and robust ad market.”
The changes
advocated in the NATPE speech are indeed vast. Instead of ordering twenty-or-more
pilots a season, for instance, Zucker foresees NBC following the cable
television strategy of spending more time with fewer projects while
likewise switching to a year-round scheduling approach instead of simply
premiering new shows in the fall. He also believes in ordering six episodes
of a new series as opposed to an elaborate pilot, allowing both networks
and studios to better amortize the costs associated with producing a
new show.
“Broadcasters
can no longer spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year on pilots
that don’t see the light of day or on upfront presentations or
on deals that don’t pay off,” Zucker explained. “It’s
not about making less programs, it’s about making less waste.”
NBC is indeed cutting
costs by abandoning the traditional May “upfront” proceedings—where
networks announce their fall schedules to advertisers in what Zucker
mockingly referred to as the “glitzy presentation we do every
year at Radio City Music Hall”—and will instead announce
its new schedule in April; one-on-one meetings with the Madison Avenue-types
will follow shortly thereafter. By bringing advertisers into the process
earlier, NBC executives hope to alleviate any concerns as well as discuss
ways that advertising and sponsorship could potentially be integrated
into its upcoming programs.
“My
expectation of the face-to-face meetings are that (NBC) will come in
wanting to partner with my client’s ad looking for ways to fit
naturally,” Jackie Kulesza, vice president and video activation
director of Chicago-based Starcom USA told The Hollywood Reporter
(February 20, 2008). “We don’t want to force anything. The
goal of these meetings isn’t just to show us the schedule but
how we can work together to reach the consumer.”
NBC also
plans to broadcast episodes of two television series currently airing
on sister company USA Network: Monk and Psych. The
reason for such a move is both financial as well as a culmination of
the changes that have been rapidly occurring in the television industry
over the course of the past decade. Although cable channels have significantly
cut into the viewership levels of the major networks in recent years,
the NBCs of the world still garner ratings significantly higher than
those of the USA Networks. By airing on NBC, Monk and Psych
will be exposed to a whole new audience that, even if aware of these
shows, has never experienced them before. Since the episodes are technically
“repeats,” in that they have already been produced and broadcast,
the cost to NBC will be significantly lower compared to original programming.
The move
also benefits both the shows involved as well as the cable network,
as the new exposure has the potential to create an added audience for
new episodes airing on the original channel. “This has been a
strategy Zucker has wanted from the day we integrated,” USA/SciFi
president Bonnie Hammer explained to Variety (February 15,
2008). “I don’t think anyone can afford to remain rigid
in terms of what they think a network or cable or premium cable show
should be.”
“The
mentality used to be that if we repurposed a cable show, people would
think we haven’t done our job,” elaborated Vince Manze,
NBC scheduling and strategy president. “People might say, ‘I
can’t believe they have to do that.’ That’s changed.
We’re still in the business of trying to get hits, but there is
room for these kinds of shows as well.”
“These
kinds of shows” extends further than even cable television, however,
as NBC will air episodes of the webseries quarterlife beginning
February 26, 2008. Created by television veterans Marshall Herskovitz
and Edward Zwick (thirtysomething, My So Called Life),
the series follows a group of creative twentysomethings through a wannabe
writer’s video blog. “Ed and Marshall are well-respected
TV veterans that repeatedly have demonstrated a creative voice that
resonates with a wide audience,” NBC Entertainment co-chairman
Ben Silverman said in November. “quarterlife is yet another
show that evokes their renowned storytelling skills but is based on
an innovative, new business model.”
The SciFi
Channel, another NBC Universal commodity, likewise recently dipped into
the World Wide Web for programming, ordering thirteen episodes of the
high-definition webseries Sanctuary. A science fiction drama
that utilizes live actors against virtual sets, the series was created
by Damian Kindler, a former supervising producer of Stargate SG-1,
and is co-produced by two other Stargate alums, Amanda Tapping
and Martin Wood.
It has
also been speculated that the critically-acclaimed but ratings-challenged
NBC drama Friday Night Lights might be able to stave off cancellation
if the network can find “broadcast partners” similar to
its arrangement with USA Network regarding Law & Order: Criminal
Intent. New episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent
currently air first on the cable channel and then a few months later
on NBC. Production costs are thus shared, and both NBC and USA Network
have experienced solid ratings. NBC has reportedly spoken with The CW,
Comcast Entertainment Networks, TNT and DirecTV about a similar partnership
regarding Friday Night Lights, although no further details
have been released.
Jeff Zucker
certainly tried his best to shake things up at this year’s NATPE
convention, but recent announcements by NBC Universal demonstrates that
the conglomerate he oversees is ready to put its “money where
its mouth is” by instituting many of the changes Zucker advocated.
Will they prove successful? Only time will tell, but it is obvious the
current business model of traditional television—which has been
in existence for over forty years—has become outmoded due to fragmented
viewership and recent technological advances. One can therefore expect
even more change in the months and years ahead.
Just ask
NBC Universal.
February
25, 2008
