CBS kicks NBC while it's down
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Sure, CBS is likely to have another solid year; the network knows how to develop and schedule shows with broad appeal. One other thing CBS knows? How to needle its peacock-feathered rival.CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler got in a couple of shots at NBC and the recently departed Silverman during her time at the Television Critics Association press tour Monday (Aug. 3). In what will likely be a theme with all the network heads, Tassler was asked about Jay Leno's prime-time NBC show and whether, if the show is successful, CBS would consider following suit.
"Whatever happens, they're going to declare victory right from the beginning," Tassler joked in reference to NBC touting Conan O'Brien as "the new king of late night" after O'Brien's first week on "The Tonight Show." "You can write that headline now."
Another reporter asked about the wisdom of NBC's strategy of giving Leno five hours a week: "Is it seen as perhaps that him ceding five hours of narrative programming was not such a good thing over there?"
"Well, you know, I'm really just a D-girl," Tassler cracked. "So I wouldn't comment."
The hearty laughs in the hotel ballroom came from those who remembered the following quote from Silverman in a 2007 Esquire profile, in which he explained that his background as an agent and producer would give him a leg up on his fellow network heads.
"The industry hasn't seen an executive like me in a long time," Silverman told the magazine. "Traditionally, development executives rise through a specific subsection of the TV business -- prime time, network, scripted programming. They're basically D-girls" -- industry slang for low-level and typically powerless studio and network employees. "That's what [ABC Entertainment president] Steve McPherson is, that's what [FOX Entertainment president] Kevin Reilly is. That's bad vernacular, but they're all D-girls."
Silverman, who made his exit from NBC a week ago, is moving on to a new venture with media mogul Barry Diller that will develop programming for all platforms. Would Tassler consider buying shows from him? "If they're good."
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Related:
Ben Silverman ushered out at NBC
Ben Silverman at NBC: Misses and more misses
More coverage from the summer TV press tour
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BURN!!!!!!!
Jay Leno averaged less than 5 million viewers a night when he was on at 11:35pm. Going to the 10pm slot.. I am guessing he is going to get much higher ratings because of curiosity! After curiosity is gone.. his ratings should remain about the same as what he got at 11:30 or a little higher. A 10pm show that only gets 6-7 million viewers is not considered a WIN.. Leno is going to FAIL!
i dont watch any prime time shows at 10 PM, i usually watch local reruns, but i did watch Leno when he was on the Tonight Show, and ill give him a shot at 10, im sure it will be much better than the current Tonight Show.
I think that Leno won't have so many viewers anymore
It is a grave mistake for NBC to air Jay Leno at 10/9 Central/Mountain, because his humor won't translate earlier.
NBC has made so many idiotic decisions over the past decade or so, and this Leno thing is just another in a long line of them. I certainly won't be watching anything on NBC in the fall except SVU, unless they decide to put CHUCK on early.
Otherwise, I'm happy to watch NBC self-destruct. Give people something worth watching, and they'll watch it. Give them garbage and the ratings reflect it. Pretty simple.
The only way that I can see Leno having even average numbers his first week is if his show debuts before the other networks air their Fall schedules OR there is another big news event like the recent M Jackson death and Leno was able to schedule related people to come on and talk about it.
After that, the ratings will plummet since so few people watch NBC these days to see any of their own advertisements people will forget this show is even on. Except for the 50 ads we'll see during the Sunday night NFL game
Counting the minutes before NBC is off the air. CANNOT WAIT!
CBS is my new favorite network since picking up Medium! After all, they have NCIS, too. The only thing I will watch on NBC is Chuck whenever it comes back, and if we're lucky, NBC will dump Chuck and CBS will pick it up and give it the love it deserves! Silverman is an idiot.
Don't mind seeing NBC getting kicked around. For the most part I don't watch a lot of their shows anyway. It's just a bunch of crap, except for Jay Leno's new show which I will watch. It's gonna be better than the new tonight show!