What do you do when you're losing a race, coming in last in a field of four, and have to justify your dismal performance? You change the scoring. What am I talking about? When asked about why his network is doing so poorly in the ratings, president and chief executive officer of NBC Universal, Jeff Zucker told Television Week, "It's not just about the ratings anymore." What? (Imagine that as said by the Aflac duck). Do you think he really meant it, or is Jeff just hoping that the advertisers won't mind that his primetime lineup is getting its collective butt kicked by CBS, ABC and Fox most every night on the week?
Just to be fair, Zucker explains that the ratings don't matter because the network is fulfilling the expectations of the advertisers. "We're in an era where - we've made a commitment to our advertisers to a schedule. Advertisers have an expectation. It's not just about the ratings anymore. It's about our relationship with our advertisers and what their expectations are."
Specifically, Zucker was defending running reruns of Psych and Monk on Sunday nights, which NBC is going to do again on May 18, even though both programs are being clobbered by the competition. (On May 11, NBC is offering four episodes of The Office and a Law & Order: SVU -- reruns all.)
Here's more of Jeff's rationalization about why NBC persists in showing two hours of USA Network dramas: "Of course we'll change schedules if we have to, because it remains an inexact science. But we're not going to knee-jerk change schedules just because the ratings aren't what somebody else expected them to be. It's really not just about the ratings anymore. It doesn't mean the ratings aren't still important."
Call me cynical, but if NBC were number one in the ratings, I think Jeff Zucker would be singing a different tune. As it is now, the Peacock talks about the quality of their shows (true, they have some good shows), demographics (the net adores the 18-49 year olds), and engagement (which is not the same as attention, but you'd have to be a research geek to understand the fine distinction).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-11-2008 @ 1:58PM
segsig said...
Yes, stinking in the midst of May is a GOOD THING for nbc. Zucker is completely accurate in saying the advertisers will no what to expect now. Last December nbc had to pay advertisers back because of the expectations they had had; now they will know upfront and the ad rates will match the abysmal viewership. That is Zucker's win-win.
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5-11-2008 @ 11:09PM
No1Dad said...
If ratings dont matter why not bring back Journeyman?
5-11-2008 @ 2:14PM
Oreo said...
He sounds like Hillary Clinton! You don't like the rules change them until you find a way to win!
His network comes in 4th beside Fox. They showed that web show for one episodes and the ratings were so bad that The CW almost beat it.
Instead of worrying about the ratings and the system (The system needs to be fixed, but NBC isn't going to.), just make good shows again!
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5-11-2008 @ 2:22PM
Dragulf said...
Look at that man spinning like a top.
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5-11-2008 @ 2:23PM
Jake said...
I think it may be sour apples for Zucker to say this, but I would actually agree. I think the 18-49 Demo keeps NBC viable. And in this age of DVR viewing the traditional Nielson numbers and "wins" don't mean as much. DVRs allow people to skip the commercials, but highly DVR'ed shows will still be around because of future DVD sales and other revenue streams that don't come from advertisers. NBC seems to have a lot of those types of shows right now, which is why Zucker can validly say ratings don't matter. Advertisers know their ads aren't watched in traditional ways anymore.
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5-11-2008 @ 2:44PM
Mel said...
I like Psych and HATE The Office so I'm glad to see them putting it back on next week.
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5-11-2008 @ 2:46PM
lucyfan62 said...
If ratings don't matter, then why cancel a show like JOURNEYMAN that people actually liked?!?
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5-11-2008 @ 3:58PM
Oreo said...
That's a good question considering Friday Night Lights is going into season 3 and I think that even has less viewers.
5-11-2008 @ 5:13PM
Jojee said...
I was waiting for one of us (Journeyman widowers) to speak up.
5-11-2008 @ 6:18PM
Lenny said...
That's the first thing I thought of when I read the article's title! I'm glad to know I'm not alone.
5-11-2008 @ 9:23PM
Bash said...
Yeah... Quantum Leap got several seasons and they axe Journeyman after one half of a season. It so definitively sucks... (had to force myself not to mention other shows that got renewed that I hate because that would lessen my argument... there's always somebody who thinks that that exact show is so over the top good that I must be wrong arguing for Journeyman *sigh*)
5-11-2008 @ 4:37PM
HD Guy said...
Actually I hope he's right. Networks and movie studios have complained about new technologies that would ruin their business model (VCR, RW-DVD, Youtube, File Sharing) while experiencing steady growth throughout that time.
Free content delivered readily in all its forms would solve these many issues with creative product placement and traditional “brought to you by" programming.
It's been half a century but people still know Texaco sponsored the Milton Berle and almost three decades and ET is still selling Reece’s Pieces.
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5-11-2008 @ 5:33PM
Jimmy said...
Far be it from me to agree with the worst network exec NBC has ever head in its long existence, but I do think ratings will not be as important in the future. In fact, I would say the whole network model could be non-existent in 10 or 15 years. Right now, the network model is still king because there is no other way to draw 20 million viewers to CSI or 30 million to American Idol. However, as broadband becomes for prevalent and video-on-demand gets into more homes, the traditional network model will go the same route as the newspaper business model. It'll be a slow and painful death, but it will happen.
All that being said, I agree with you. If NBC was #1, or hell even #2, Zucker would be singing a different tune. It never ceases to amaze how a man who single handily ruined one of the most-watched networks on television continues to move up the Hollywood corporate ladder.
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5-11-2008 @ 7:13PM
Cam said...
I agree with him. Ratings don't matter anymore. The ratings are a relic from the caveman days of TV, before Tivo/DVRs, before iTunes, etc... People need to open their minds and realize that one criteria like ratings does not define the success/failure of a TV show or network. Friday Night Lights is one of the best shows on TV, but no one watches it. Gossip Girl gets dismal ratings, but its the number 1 downloaded show on iTunes. I really hope the Nielsen ratings become more and more insignificant because I get sick of hearing about "ratings this ratings that"
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5-11-2008 @ 7:24PM
Monic said...
I hope he remembers that when it comes to Life.
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5-11-2008 @ 10:44PM
Yvette88 said...
A big reason for the flaccid ratings with Monk in particular, in my opinion, is this: Show was not promoted much at all, network did not begin with the pilot episode--leaving any potential new viewers completely lost, and network didn't give either of these shows time enough to see where the ratings leveled out at.
Monk in particular has a great deal of backstory intrinsic to that character. You need to start with the first episode. NBC would promise a much wider potential audience base being a regular network, and I think this was an opportunity squandered. Psych isn't too far in, but I still would have started with their pilot episode as well.
Also, only flash in the pan shows start off like gangbusters in the ratings. The more solid, quality shows start in slowly and gain steady. If Monk had killed in the ratings the first couple of weeks, I would have been alarmed. This show has won multiple emmys and has proven success. NBC has shown you can get your hands on a sure thing and still mishandle it.
Toss out your schedule. Start with the pilot when you bring it back on May 16th. The pilot. New viewers will have a tough time endearing themselves to this show when so much will be going on that they don't have the backstory on. Give it more than one month to catch on. And finally, promote them both.
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5-12-2008 @ 12:00AM
Will said...
Well, maybe ratings don't matter but that's certainly the excuse the networks used to cancel Journeyman (and Jericho on CBS). I wish they would have promised advertisers less on THOSE shows so they'd still be around. They need to make up their minds about what matters, and stop cancelling shows that have a following.
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5-12-2008 @ 9:16AM
Torley said...
The headline's not what Zucker said. As quoted within this article, Zucker mentioned "it's not *just* about the ratings anymore", my emphasis. Also, he said: "It doesn’t mean the ratings aren’t still important."
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5-12-2008 @ 9:28AM
Susan Burns said...
QWell, apparently it did matter for Jericho on CBS.
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5-12-2008 @ 12:43PM
chgosaint said...
Zucker makes Jack Donaghy look brilliant. Move Zucker back to microwaves ovens.
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