the upcoming television season brings one of the biggest changes television programming has seen in eons: the jay leno show will air every weeknight at 10 pm on NBC.
this is an epic timeslot, known for housing adult dramas such as er and law & order for 10 years plus. while pvr and timeshifting are making timeslots somewhat inconsequential in this day and age, they aren't completely obsolete just yet. so this move indicates the current state of television and the push towards cheaper tv vs. expensive one hour dramas. the prevalence of reality television on network schedules was the first step in this direction, then came the strength of cable dramas such as six feet under, the sopranos and mad men. TJLS marks the continued demise of quality one hour dramas as a priority for networks.
to be fair though, NBC really didn't have much choice in the matter. with the threat of leno moving to ABC and going head to head with the tonight show, it was facing losing viewers and valuable ad revenue. with er off the schedule and law & order underperforming, the network made the best move it could by cutting potential competition and eliminating a costly dramatic structure. so even if TJLS pulls 2nd or 3rd place in the ratings, NBC will still win when compared to the alternative it was facing.
but looking at TJLS timeslot, NBC will now have talk shows running from 10 pm to 2 am. this likely means NBC will split its viewership with some jumping ship from the tonight show to the jay leno show, while losing drama viewers who have no interest in TJLS at all. so no matter how prudent this move, three plus hours of talk television is risky, despite jay leno's draw.
if the show succeeds, prime time network television will be changed forever. if it fails, however, NBC will need to replace it with not one show, but five prime time programs- making it that much more of a gamble. i'll be staying tuned come fall to see how this one plays out.
• the jay leno show will air every weeknight at 10 pm on NBC commencing september 14th, 2009.
I don't want Jay Leno to fail however I wholeheartedly believe that this was a bad career move. Jay is a man of integrity and honor, but his loyalty to NBC is not in his best interests. If NBC's 10:00 p.m. experiment fails, Leno will get the blame.
Leno would have been much better served had he gone to ABC and competed head to head with Conan O'Brien. ABC's ratings would have soared and Zucker, et al would have been left holding the bag.
What's the old saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." The Tonight Show with Jay Leno consistently beat Letterman and Nightline/Jimmy Kimmel every night, every week. And this was bad why?
Posted by: Lesley | 2009.06.18 at 06:56 PM