Moonves: The Model Ain't Broken
Days after rival NBC Chief Executive Jeff Zucker bemoaned the broadcast television model and gave five prime-time hours over to Tonight Show host Jay Leno, CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves arrives with another story. "I'm here to tell you the model ain't broken," he said to a room full of investors at UBS'

Zucker says NBC may scale down programming hours
A terrible fall season at NBC is forcing the network to consider scaling back the number of hours it airs programming, Chief Executive Jeff Zucker told an investor conference. NEW YORK — A terrible fall season at NBC is forcing the network to consider scaling back the number of hours it airs programming, Chief Executive Jeff Zucker told an investor conference. While N

Jack Cafferty: Palin's "Pathetic" Video Doesn't Deserve an Excuse
Jack Cafferty is one harsh bitch: After the CNN commenter made some vaguely racist remarks towards the Chinese during the Olympics, he is now prepping for a comeback by launching not-so-vague insults in Sarah Palin's direction. Here's Cafferty on the Palin/Couric interviews:   "That is one of the most pathetic pieces of tape I have ever seen from someone aspiring to one of the highest offices in this country," he continued. When Blitzer tried to be diplomatic, Cafferty shot back

Local TV Profoundly Affected by Downturn, NBC Says
The U.S. economic downturn has had a severe effect on broadcaster NBC’s local television stations but the company has not yet seen an advertising slowdown at a national level, its chief executive said. “It’s had a profound effect on our local TV stations, which were highly dependent on auto and retail advertising,” NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker told a conference of Britain’s Royal Television Society in London on Friday. “We haven’t seen an advertising slowdown on

NBC May Scale Back Shows; Heroes, Knight Rider Disappoint
A terrible fall season at NBC is forcing the network to consider scaling back the number of hours it airs programming, NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker told an investor conference in New York on Monday. While NBC will continue to fund the creation of pilots, Zucker told analysts at a media investor conference sponsored by UBS that NBC is considering cutting the number of hours or perhaps even the number of nights it provides programming. "Can we continue to program 22 hours of

Ed Martin: NBC and Jay Leno Put Broadcast Television in Play
 If nothing else, NBC’s announcement this week that it will in September 2009 turn over one third of its Monday-Friday primetime schedule to Tonight Show host Jay Leno has put broadcast television as we know it into play. Nobody can say what the impact of this first of its kind programming strategy will be in the long run, but it will certainly mark the biggest change to the primetime broadcast landscape since 1971, when CBS, NBC and ABC were made by the FCC to surrender a collective nine hours o

Can Jeff Zucker be impeached over this Leno development?
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-FreeI read Brad's post about NBC keeping Jay Leno in the fold and I think it's the latest move by NBC to ruin TV. Can Jeff Zucker be impeached? I'm so fed up with the way he's be running -- ruining -- the network that I'm ready to bust. Seriously, is there anybody over there that still has any connection to what viewers want to see? Basically, NBC is ready to try something completely radical and -- in my estimation -- ridiculous, even though i

Zucker ramps up production in U.K.
International News: NBC U chief says cost issues driving shift -- NBC Universal topper Jeff Zucker has signaled his intention to shift some TV production away from the U.S. and move it to Europe as cost pressures escalate.

A women's group called New Agenda is campaigning ... [Chris Matthews]
A women's group called New Agenda is campaigning against Chris Matthews aka my secret celebrity crush, because of what it feels are his sexist attitudes. According to Politico's Michael Calderone, they've sent a letter to Matthews' boss, NBC Universal head honcho Jeff Zucker, asking for "a meeting to discuss Matthews’ attitude toward women." In addition, New Agenda is sending letters to Democratic party officials in Pennsylvania, as Matthews is rumored to be contemplating a run for office in the Keystone

‘Jay Leno Show’ Takes Competitive Pressure Off, Graboff Says
The host of “The Jay Leno Show” doesn’t expect to beat first-run versions of the scripted drama it will compete with at 10 p.m. weeknights starting in fall 2009. He doesn’t have to, said Marc Graboff, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, at a Burbank press conference the day after it was learned that Mr. Leno, who had been assessing his options for after Conan O’Brien takes over “The Tonight Show” June 1, decided to stay with NBC. “We are not trying to compete,”

So What’s Jay Leno’s New Show Gonna Be Like, Anyway?
Now that reactions to Jay Leno's upcoming move to the 10 p.m. slot have poured in from the furthest reaches of the talk-show circuit, it's time to take a step back and start to think about the creative changes that will be necessary for The Jay Leno Show to make when it starts up in the fall of 2009. Just kidding, no one really cares about the creative process! During yesterday's press conference in Burbank hosted by Leno and NBC co-chiefs Marc Graboff and Ben Silverman, the major motif was one of fiscal re

Winners And Losers of the Jay Leno Switch [Television]
Jay Leno is moving to 10 p.m., every god damn night of the week! That sure is something. You never realize how many people love Jay Leno until something like this happens (or until you find yourself in a comedy club in Winston-Salem, talking to the owner, Roy). NBC is obviously happy about it—and so is Jay, or he would have taken his middling act elsewhere—but, as in everything in showbiz, some people got screwed in this deal. After the jump, the biggest winners and losers of the Return of the C

Jay Leno to Stay at NBC in All-New Time Slot — Right Before Conan!
Wow! Despite a July USA Today interview in which he claimed "I am definitely done next year — with NBC," Jay Leno will remain with the Peacock on his own nightly 10 p.m. talk show when he cedes his 11:30 slot and the Tonight Show to Conan O'Brien next summer, reports Vulture buddy Nikki Finke, who seemingly has Jeff Zucker's office bugged these days. This comes after ceaseless speculation that Leno would move to ABC, which pretty much means NBC is paying him heretofore unimagined amounts of money. Th

Leno to 'Jaywalk' to 10 P.M. in 2009
Last night, The New York Times' Bill Carter broke the news that NBC will be moving Jay Leno to 10 p.m. in 2009. According to Mr. Carter: The new show, which will begin next fall, is expected to be set in Mr. Leno’s longtime studio in Burbank, Calif. Mr. Leno is expected to retain many of the most popular elements of his 'Tonight Show,' including his monologue and bits like 'Headlines' and 'Jay Walking.' One 'Tonight Show' staff member said the new program would not be a variety show. Under the new arrange

NBC-Leno: Answers, and Questions
NBC made its Jay Leno announcement official today, holding a press conference and issuing a press release that spelled out—somewhat—what Leno's 10 p.m. E.T. scriptkiller will involve. From the release, in which Jeff Zucker actually uses, a la Robert Huggins, the phrase "new paradigm":    Leno will sign off as host of The Tonight Show on May 29, 2009. His new show will showcase many of the features that have made Leno America's late-night leader for more than a dozen years. Signature elem

CSI: Miami - Episode 7.02 “Won’t Get Fueled Again” Recap
The episode’s primary crime takes off at a beach party, where the well-dressed scene is disrupted by a screaming man in flames. No one helps, but all manage to clear out of the flaming man’s way. [Wouldn’t want to get cinders on those white linen jackets. Plus, it’s 2008! Sure the man is freaking out, but no one else has heard “stop, drop, and roll” millions of times in any given week?!?] The man was not a guest at the party, and no one recognizes the man. Dr. Tara Price

Jay Leno Stays On NBC, Now Sort of Prime Time
Put a mark in the corner for Jeff Zucker: the NBC chief managed to hang onto both Jay Leno and his replacement, Conan O'Brien, while simultaneously answering the problem of how to cut down on those expensive prime time shows: by moving Leno to the 10PM time slot, where his lazy jokes about Paris Hilton being a slut can better reach his geriatric fans. Leno was supposed to go over to ABC, which, unlike NBC Universal, isn't making those company wide budget-cuts (quite yet), so that was

Leno's Move to 10 p.m. Could Set Off Prime-Time Domino Effect
NBC's groundbreaking deal to move Jay Leno to 10 p.m. weeknights promises to radically alter the rules of prime time, even as it promises significant ramifications for numerous other aspects of the TV business. Already reeling from NBC's Monday massacre of the network's executive ranks, industryites were surprised by the news that Mr. Leno had agreed to stay with the network in order to host a nightly comedy and talk show in prime time. NBC was expected to make Mr. Leno's deal official in a 10 a.m. PST new

Women’s Group Goes After Chris Matthews
The group has now sent a letter to NBC Universal head Jeff Zucker asking for a “a meeting to discuss Matthews’ attitude toward women,” reports the LA Times. They have also sent letters to Democratic officials in Pennsylvania, where Matthews has hinted he might run for Senate in 2010. Share: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. Email this article

Sepinwall on TV: NBC has nothing but Leno left to lose
Jay Leno and NBC CEO Jeff Zucker.Midway through the press conference yesterday to announce that Jay Leno would stay at NBC and take over the 10 p.m. timeslot Monday through Friday, I asked NBC boss Ben Silverman what sort of domino effect devoting five hours a week to Leno would have on the rest of primetime.

Bank Foreclosure Not a Problem for NBC, Everything's Chill
"The deals that don't get done probably shouldn't get done, you know?" he said. "Maybe there's some rationality that's now in the marketplace that's driven by external circumstances, but that's not necessarily a bad thing." Yeah guys, this little "dissolution of the free market" thing is no big deal. Remember NBC's Olympic coverage? How about last week's SNL premiere? Nah man, NBC is doing fine. No chance of a deep plunge for the network