NBC: What Will Comcast Do with the Rubble Zucker Left Behind?
by Brian CherryJeff Zucker is out as the President of NBC and the new owners, Comcast, will be taking full control of this legacy network very soon. While NBC is one of the biggest names in broadcast history, buying this network is not like a billionaire buying the New England Patriots. Thanks to years of mismanagement and decisions that seem to have been made after of a bender of Schlitz, pixie sticks, and PCP, the network is in shambles. For a buyer, this is like sinking your money into the Detroit Lions and hoping for the best.
There was a considerable span of time where NBC was the dominant force in television. They were behind a long series of hit shows that included The Cosby Show, Cheers, Night Court, Will and Grace, Seinfeld, Hill Street Blues, etc. NBC’s “Must See TV” lineup gave people reasons to stay conscious on a Thursday evening that didn’t involve preparing their livers for a Friday night of clubbing. Something happened in 2004. Maybe it was the re-election of George W. Bush or maybe it was the ending of their last truly great series “Friends,” but at some point in time that year, something broke both NBC’s spirit and their brain.
It started simply enough. Then Network President, Jeff Zucker, tried to replace “Friends” with two sub standard shows, Coupling and Joey. Coupling was a British show that NBC tried to bring to an American audience. The problem was that this program was the Brits low rent version of Friends. Replacing a popular show, with something that looks a little like it, but without the charm is sort of like trying to replace your first love with a latex based product bought at a Fredrick’s of Hollywood outlet. It’s just not the same. Coupling didn’t work out and neither did the show, Joey. Building a spin-off around the least intriguing character of the Friends cast was a mistake on par with the New Coke, the show After M.A.S.H. and “Hope and Change.” After that the bad decisions just kept on coming. (more…)







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