Monday, February 25, 2013

I DON'T PEACOCK THIS NEWS: How much worse can it get for NBC? Bill Carter:
When the official numbers are completed Thursday, NBC will finish this sweeps month not only far behind its regular network competitors, but also well behind the Spanish-language Univision. No broadcast network has ever before finished a television season sweeps month in fifth place....

Over all, the network’s ratings have fallen so far that no episode of any show on NBC in February came within one million viewers of a show on PBS: “Downton Abbey.” And forget approaching the numbers of a cable hit like AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”



Nothing NBC has put on in prime time has matched even the appeal of the “Talking Dead,” a show with people simply discussing “The Walking Dead.” That show managed a 2.2 rating in the 18-49 audience. NBC’s best prime-time number for the month has been a 2.1, achieved by episodes of “The Biggest Loser” and “The Office,” a comedy that is about to go off the air.

Remarkably, the best-rated show on NBC all month has been “Saturday Night Live,” which produced two original versions in February, both times hitting a 2.3 rating, topping everything else on the network.

35 comments:

  1. isaac_spaceman11:48 AM

    I was thinking last night about what a weird show "The Talking Dead" is -- hosted by an MTV retread, with guest panelists seemingly plucked at random from the supporting casts of shows that sometimes share zero DNA with "The Walking Dead" (Joe Mangianello I can understand; Scott Adsit and Retta I cannot).

    ReplyDelete
  2. NBC is becoming what Fox was about 5-6 years ago--a network that is constantly a shamble, but that is able to rely on a couple of shows to drive big numbers (The Voice and Sunday Night Football). Fox managed to use that platform to launch other shows, while NBC has completely failed at that (except for Revolution).

    The other interesting thing is that while NBC is doing poorly, NBC's cable side is doing pretty darn well by cable standards. USA now has 7 decently performing original series, with Graceland likely to add an 8th in the summer, and E! has developed a backbone of Kardashian programming which does quite well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jordan12:21 PM

    Or, show talking about zombies, hosted by the king of the nerds, supported by his comedy-world friends. I've never seen it, just another way to look at it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I haven't watched The Talking Dead (which is unsurprising, given that I haven't watched The Walking Dead), but I'm going to guess the Retta guest appearance has something to do with the fact that she's known for live-tweeting whatever she's watching. Also, she's hilarious.


    Speaking of Retta, which makes one think of Parks & Recreation: that sound you hear is me hoping that NBC's travails keep P&R on the air for at least another season.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Another 'nother way to look at it is that nerds talking about zombies are twice as popular as musical theater soap operas.

    ReplyDelete
  6. At this point calling Chris Hardwick an "MTV retread" is about as accurate as calling Jon Stewart the same thing.

    ReplyDelete
  7. isaac_spaceman3:07 PM

    That could be, but unless you're insidery enough to know whether the guests are Hardwick's friends (I'm not), by all appearances, it's just perfunctory plugging and pay-the-bills appearancing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. isaac_spaceman3:11 PM

    That is not a defensible comparison.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Jordan3:32 PM

    Start to a typical episode of Nerdist:

    Hardwick: Oh my god, thank you so much for coming! We've been friends for ever!
    Guest: I can't believe it took so long! Thank you for having me on Talking Dead, it was so much fun!
    Hardwick: I'm glad you liked it!
    Guest: So when do we start this?
    Hardwick: Oh, we're already recording.

    Looking at the TD guest list, the first couple guests (Oswalt & Posehn) are his DND group, Wil Wheaton was his college roommate, Kevin Smith and Aisha Tyler are fellow podcasters, PFT, Besser, Gould and Silverman are longtime LA comedy scene people. Throw in a couple other major nerds and you've got most of the guests. And most episodes of Nerdist get a lot better than that start. But most start like that.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Now, that is a D&D group I would love to be a part of.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Dave S5:04 PM

    I suggest they bring back The Sing-Off and add a weekly spelling bee to their line-up. Because everyone here would watch and I don't think they could do any worse.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Dave S5:17 PM

    Scott Adsit is a huge comic book nerd (which I mean in a good way) so it's not surprising to me he would appear in this kind of thing.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Adam B.5:39 PM

    Celebrity spelling bee. Make it happen.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Marsha6:14 PM

    That would be an awesome band name: Backbone of Kardashian Programming.

    ReplyDelete
  15. andrewraff6:22 PM

    Homonym

    ReplyDelete
  16. NBC will be running 8 episodes of "Hollywood Game Night," showing celebrities playing board and similar games, hosted by Jane Lynch, so they're already on their way.

    ReplyDelete
  17. isaac_spaceman6:47 PM

    But Mangianello? Retta? They're just there to plug, right?


    Incidentally, I've never listened to the Nerdist podcast and probably didn't even know it existed before this thread. But I'm going to stand by my statement that having a podcast -- any podcast -- doesn't eclipse "Singled Out" as the most successful thing on Hardwick's CV.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Adam B.6:54 PM

    Actual games, or more like Hub's Family Game Night?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Adam B.6:54 PM

    Would be NBC's highest-rated show.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Jordan7:15 PM

    I didn't say every guest, just most of them. And I have no doubt that in February of 2013, more people associate Hardwick with the Nerdist (podcast, webseries, tv specials and upcoming series, etc.) than with Singled Out. Certainly within the key demographic of 18-35.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Completely defensible. He has two TV shows, runs a successful (as in: makes money) podcast network, had a decently-selling book and a ongoing standup career. Hardwick's far beyond his previous career as an MTV peronality.

    ReplyDelete
  22. "They're just there to plug, right?" So like any guest on any other late-night show.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I have a very different perspective on these performers since I started attending classes (and therefore many more shows than normal) at UCB. These guys don't stop working when they're off-screen, and their humor isn't limited to what you see. Retta, Adsit, and Hardwick are all brilliant comedians who are easy to underestimate if you only see them as their TV counterparts. They create like mad.

    It makes total sense that Hardwick would want funny people to be funny with him on his Walking Dead podcast -- it's how you keep a podcast entertaining, no matter what its' subject matter -- and as long as those guests are versed on the subject matter, their resumes don't really matter to me.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Adlai8:21 PM

    Honestly, the Nerdist is a phenomenon. I listen to it from time to time (it's a little too fan boy for me) but it makes perfect sense to me that he does this.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Adlai8:23 PM

    I watch the Biggest Loser, in part because it's just the most bizarre show I can imagine. It's only watchable on DVR - it's 2 hours long, but there's like 20 minutes of content; it's a weird combination of body shaming and watching people work out more in 1 episode than I probably have in a year; and people seem to love it. I'm fascinated.

    ReplyDelete
  26. isaac_spaceman8:51 PM

    If you said "Hardwick is not just an MTV retread," I'd say that's defensible. In fact, you're right that I did not give him enough credit; I didn't know enough about it. And if you said "calling Hardwick an MTV retread is about as accurate as calling Colin Quinn an MTV retread," I'd say that's about right. But you equated Hardwick with Jon Stewart, who is one of the defining entertainers of the last decade. I don't think it's at all insulting to Hardwick to say that he's not in the same career ballpark as Jon Stewart. You don't think Hardwick himself would disagree, do you?


    And as for the show, you can't tell me it's not weird. It is a talk show exclusively about another show that comes right before it (not a show that begs for deep discussion, for that matter), featuring a rotating group of people who have no apparent connection to the subject show. I did not say it was bad; I said it was weird.

    ReplyDelete
  27. isaac_spaceman8:52 PM

    Yes, except guests on other late-night shows aren't usually there to talk exclusively about zombies from somebody else's show.

    ReplyDelete
  28. isaac_spaceman8:53 PM

    More people who listen to the Nerdist podcast, yes. More people who watch the Walking Dead? Questionable.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Actual games. Watch celebrities play Celebrity/Pictionary.

    ReplyDelete
  30. No kidding. I'd pick up the dice again for that in a second.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I'm gonna pitch Celebrity Spelling Bee tomorrow at work. It's brilliant! (I'm not. I'd never give a great idea to the company I'm currently with. But I do think it's a great idea.)

    ReplyDelete
  32. Fred App3:43 PM

    "Celebrity Spelling Bee" would never attract an audience. However, if you call it "Spelling With The Stars," you might have a chance. My other idea, with the Winter Olympics approaching: "Two-Man Luge With the Stars."

    ReplyDelete
  33. Did Retta contribute meaningfully to the conversation? Was she entertaining?

    ReplyDelete
  34. I can see the next NBC memo already:

    "We did our research, and discovered that you don't like our original programming as much as our sketch show -- and WE HEARD YOU!

    Beginning this September, NBC will go all-sketch-and-live-music, all the time. We have been combing the rich comedy-theatre scene in New York and Chicago, and have found 400 comedians willing to work for $600 a week, and put all of them in our employ! We expect mixed quality but top ratings across the board.

    NBC: We're just gonna throw it all on the wall and see what sticks."

    ReplyDelete
  35. Saray9:40 AM

    Sigh. I miss you, Sing-Off.

    ReplyDelete