I feel like I do nothing but pick on NBC. Then other times I feel like I HAVE NO CHOICE.
The latest foul up? Tonight's closing ceremonies for the Winter Olympics was cut out so that we could get a preview of the "post-Jay Leno Show experiment" shows with the first one being The Marriage Ref. Created by Jerry Seinfeld, it's part of several of their new shows that they are launching to try to recover.
I know the business structure. Have a big event (like the Olympic Ceremonies) and have a new show premiere after. It's always done after the Super Bowl. Survivor. Undercover Boss. I get it. It makes sense.
HOWEVER -- in this instance, NBC "went to commercial" during the ceremonies, and then came back with the beginning of The Marriage Ref. No word of where the ceremonies went. I don't understand how that happens. NBC had been promoting the event with acts like Avril Lavigne and Nickelback - not great draws for anyone over 14 or with a brain cell.
So besides that no one really wants to watch these acts - how can NBC possibly promote a show and then NOT SHOW THEM PERFORM. What's worse, they don't announce that they're cutting out. And by the way, Marriage Ref, from the few minutes I watched, looked awful. It was like Chelsea Lately with bigger named celebrities. Forced jokes in ridiculous scenarios. NBC was desperate for a show and was hoping Seinfeld's name would get attention.
I'm seriously doubting everything NBC does. It's awful. I know I posted last time hoping that Comcast can fix them. But I really do. After Jay Leno disappears. Can't wait for his premiere tomorrow. That previous sentence was 100% sarcasm.
I miss you Conan.
Totally agree - who is running this programming department? I watched the marriage ref because I was intrigued by the previews but it was pretty bad. Not funny. Soon enough, after Conan has already inked a multi-million deal with another channel, NBC will be hitting their heads against a wall.
ReplyDeleteInteresting blog, Patrick. Jay Leno (part of Baby Boom Generation, born 1942-1953) vs. Conan O'Brien (part of Generation Jones, born 1954-1965) reflects a broader battle happening throughout Western cultures: the emergence of Generation Jones leadership vs. Boomers clinging to power. GenJoneser Obama's ascendance following 16 years of Boomer Presidencies is the most visible example, but we find it throughout the West, where more than two thirds of EU leaders are part of GenJones (following two decades of Boomer dominance).
ReplyDeleteGoogle Generation Jones, and you’ll see it’s gotten lots of media attention, and many prominent commentators from many top publications and networks (Washington Post, Time magazine, NBC, Newsweek, ABC, etc.) now specifically use this term. In fact, the Associated Press' annual Trend Report chose the Rise of Generation Jones as the #1 trend of 2009. Here's a page with a good overview of recent media interest in GenJones: http://generationjones.com/2009latest.html
It’s important to distinguish between the post-WWII demographic boom in births vs. the cultural generations born during that era. Generations are a function of the common formative experiences of its members, not the fertility rates of its parents. And most analysts now see generations as getting shorter (usually 10-15 years now), partly because of the acceleration of culture. Many experts now believe it breaks down more or less this way:
DEMOGRAPHIC boom in babies: 1946-1964
Baby Boom GENERATION: 1942-1953
Generation Jones: 1954-1965
Generation X: 1966-1978
Yeah Emily I like you're thought - sometimes I'm just not sure if I see it. Conan's going to be hard pressed. I don't think Fox is the outlet, but it's going to be hard not to be on network television. I just think they're screwed after Leno leaves - unless they really luck out. I think it also speaks to the destruction of how Late Night TV doesn't really matter - it's all that stuff we talk about in class how technology is evolving.
ReplyDeletehetyd4580 - I like your point as well, but I somewhat think that the Generation Jones (a term I haven't heard until you mentioned it here) isn't really the problem because they should be the ones in charge of the networks - that would put them at 57 at the oldest, and Jeff Zucker (president of NBC Universal) is 44. And Jay's main audience most likely isn't the baby boomers - it's a little late for their bedtime.