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No heroic season opener The first 10 days of the season did not go swimmingly for NBC - but the opening weeks are not necessarily a forecast of the rest of the season, network executives say.
NBC is down 15 percent in total viewers and 16 percent in the 18-49 demo - and those declines include some of its highest-rated shows.
Worse, were it not for Sunday Night Football, those declines would be even more pronounced. Shari Anne Brill, evp of programming for Carat, predicts that NBC may be the first broadcast net to finish up in fourth place in a year when it has the Super Bowl, writes Mediaweek.
Buyers worry that if the declines continue, NBC may not have enough inventory to cover makegoods for clients, but the picture may not be as bleak as it seems for the network.
NBC says that, despite overall declines, ratings guaranteed in packages to advertisers are not significantly higher than what is being delivered. Too, the network still has several shows to premiere, including My Own Worst Enemy, Kath & Kim, 30 Rock and Crusoe. NBC will also benefit from its Thursday-night SNL election spoof specials. And shows such as Heroes are highly TiVo’d. C3 ratings are not in yet, so those ratings are likely to improve. Finally, there has been the distraction of the debates, points out Mitch Metcalf, executive vp, programming, planning and scheduling for NBC. Metcalf said things should settle down in coming weeks and viewers will go back to their normal TV habits.
NBC is not the only struggling network. ABC’s and CBS’s Wednesday lineup sagged in their premieres, and Thursday season premieres slipped across the board, while Fox has already found it necessary to pull the plug on one freshman show. The CW had a miserable Sunday premiere this week, but is doing well overall, due to Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill.
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