NBC - NBC IS THE BIGGEST LOSER

NBC IS THE BIGGEST LOSER

NBC found itself besieged from all sides following its decision to air the Golden Globes presentation as a three-hour news special Sunday night. On the one hand, it was forced to cancel the original awards show when the Writers Guild of America threatened to picket it and when other entertainment industry unions said that they would observe the picket line. It was then attacked by numerous critics for tearing down the usual wall that exists between the operations of the entertainment and news divisions by insisting that the announcement of the winners at a news conference be covered live in primetime and that it be followed by a two-hour Dateline program in which the nominees would be interviewed. (Although the biggest news about the Globes was that they had been broken by the WGA strike, the strike itself was not mentioned in any of the Dateline interviews.) NBC then failed to reach an agreement with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and Dick Clark Productions that would have allowed it to broadcast the announcement of the winners exclusively. Anticipating lower ratings, it also agreed to return millions of dollars to advertisers who had purchased spots on the Globes telecast. It may not have anticipated just how low those ratings would drop. The Dateline program drew the lowest ratings of the two-hour time period, averaging a 3.2 rating and a 5 share. Viewers' reactions were probably summed up by Chicago Tribune columnist Maureen Ryan, who wrote: "No gowns? No half-drunk acceptance speeches? No thanks." The telecast of the awards announcements was only slightly higher -- pulling a 4.8/7, but still in last place. To make matters even worse, NBC's repeat of its hit American Gladiators series at 10:00 produced a minuscule 2.8/5.

14/01/2008