“Overall the week [in U.S. network TV] belonged to Fox, which scored big with its coverage of the Boston Red Sox vs. Colorado Rockies. All four games of the Red Sox sweep landed in the top 15, with the Game 4 audience totaling nearly 21 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research,” The Associated Press reports.
“NBC didn’t have such a good week, particularly without its usual Sunday night football. It averaged about half of Fox’s viewers, to claim a puny fourth-place showing among the networks,” AP reports. “NBC’s new reality series ‘Phenomenon’ ranked a not-so-phenomenal 45th place.”
“Once deemed a budding hit with a debut audience of 13.9 million viewers, ‘Bionic Women’ in its fifth airing sank to 7.81 million. ‘Chuck,’ another NBC freshman, had only 7.22 million — with the network’s other two fall entries, ‘Life’ and ‘Journeyman,’ logging even smaller viewerships,” AP reports. “And NBC’s ‘Friday Night Lights’ had fewer viewers (5.81 million) than three editions of ‘Destilando Amor,’ a weeknight telenovela on the Spanish-language Univision.”
“For the week in prime time, Fox won with an average of 13.78 million viewers (8.6 rating, 14 household share), followed by ABC with 11.19 million (7.4 rating, 12 share) and, close behind, CBS with 11.17 million (7.2 rating, 12 share). NBC was far back with 7.00 million (4.4 rating, 7 share),” AP reports.
Full article here.
Perhaps NBC President and CEO Jeff Zucker ought to pay some attention to his day job? With NBC’s performance lodged firmly in the crapper, it’s no wonder that Zucker greedily lusts for undeserved iPod hardware royalties from Apple. How’s he going to get them by dangling content that nobody’s watching?
Does anyone think that that Zucker looks like Toad from American Graffiti ?
someone might need to explain to Zucker that one must have something that people want in order to have a leg up in negotiations. I don’t miss NBC from itunes and it looks like not many people will.
MDN MW: set, as in game.set…(match to apple)
From the perspective of the GE stockholder, it’s time for Zucker to go. NBC is looking like damaged goods, on a downward spiral due to weak management.
This guy is such a loser. Great strategy – you’re in last place, point to the others as the reason you can’t be successful.
Jack Welch needs to come out of retirement and take this guy to the wood shed.
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Well I can only speak for myself, but last year I bought every heroes episode as well as tuning in the night they aired (did the same for BSG on Sci-Fi which is also under NBC/Universal) and I’m refusing to tune in. I’ll just rent the season on Netflix when that comes out or just see it at a friends house. But I’m pissed about having iTunes removed as an option for me since I travel a lot and stupid online offerings like Hulu aren’t an option. And I DON’T want to watch commercials, so I’m fine paying $1.99, but asking for any more than that when the cost comes out to be higher than buying the damn DVDs (AND doesn’t cost them nearly as much to produce because there is no physical media, no shipping, etc…) is just ridiculous and out of the question.
(mother)Zucker and Bronfman from Warner have both got to go. Greedy bastards.
Wouldn’t it be funny if Apple bought GE, got all their content, and then fired him. That would be some funny $hit.
This Zucker guy reminds me more and more of one Michael Eisner.
I’m sorry, where was NBC again…
1. Dancing with the Stars – Mon (ABC)
2. World Series – Game 4 (FOX)
3. Desperate Housewives (ABC)
4. Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
5. House (FOX)
6. Dancing with the Stars – Tues (ABC)
7. NCIS (CBS)
8. World Series – Game 2 (FOX)
9. World Series – Game 1 (FOX )
10. CSI: Miami (CBS)
11. Criminal Minds (CBS)
12. CSI (ABC)
13. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC)
14. Survivor (CBS)
15. World Series – Game 3 (FOX)
16. Two and a Half Men (CBS)
17. CSI: NY (CBS)
18. Samantha Who? (ABC)
19. World Series – Game 5 Pregame (FOX)
20. 60 Minutes (CBS)
Oh man, so now we have to endure NBC stories completely unrelated to Apple because MDN feels the need to smear Zuckers character due to his iTunes comments? I love Macs, but the condescending elitist attitudes really do exist within this community.
Zucker is the new Balmer.
So much for Zucker thinking that audiences are Zuckers, they have voted with their remote controls and sent a clear message to NBC.
Stick to your core business, and they will come!!!
Emulate success is the best policy not envy it.
Finally if he wants to earn ipod royalties, then he should build it, & they will come! ie. If he buids NBC back up to No.1, then all his viewers will come bringing with them the advertiser & program buyers from around the global networks.
I’m with Mobl1 – travel a lot, some of NBC’s offerings are enjoyable, but Zucker’s gotta go- Hulu is useless to me, and I HATE watching ads in content- the lack of is a big plus for both TV on DVD and TV on iTunes. $1.99 is a fair price; when introduced, everyone thought it was too high to work with the public. It’s sometimes a little cheaper than the DVD, but the portability is the selling point- if you’ve got several PC’s authorized.
Unfortunately, NBC makes content that is sold to Fox and others, and that availability will be affected, too. I can sit this out, though, to make sure Zucker get’s the message.
On second thoughts, I should have written:- Sucker thinks we are Zuckers!!!!
Well, all I can say is that good thing Phenomenon is not available at iTunes because that really would have canabilized the ratings.
Esp if they creatively priced it at $2.99 for an episode.
Like I said yesterday, this “Let’s throw some shit at the wall and see how much sticks” reality TV B.S., combined with the game-shows-in-primetime-targeted-at-adults mentality is contributing to the dumbing-down of America and those of us with half a brain are in open rebellion against it. Hence NBC’s piss-poor ratings these days.
Fuck Zuck. My $.02.
Peace.
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Olmecmystic
This guy should be gone soon. The GE board will soon realize that Apple is not NBC’s problem, NBC’s problem is the horrible shows they create. I can hardly even watch the Office anymore and that is the only show I watch on TV. We should boycott NBC until they put shows on Itunes again.
@ChrisM,
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Admit it, you’re a dork–I love that MDN calls a spade “a spade” when confronted by the Zuckers, Bronfmans and Eisners of the world. It’s not elitist–spiteful, maybe–but not elitist. (And a little web-based spite is a good thing.)
MW: “fact,” as in, it’s a fact that Zucker, et al., should pay for their greedy incompetence. Nothing wrong with that!
chuck and journeyman are actually watchable….
if not for itunes, I wouldn’t have caught on with Heroes…picking up the show 9 weeks in…iTunes was the only option to catch up.
same for 24 on Fox.
I like ‘Life’, even though I hate the title. So there’s one. And then the Battlestar problem…. But, from what I’ve seen of BG:Razor- it’s a dog, so that solves some of it. Of course, the Series skewed things entirely, and CBS didn’t bother to battle, putting on reruns. The real test is the next few weeks, but it don’t look good for NBC, which was the first network, ya know.
Wow.
That’s not just behind. That’s WAAAAY behind. That’s not even close to 3rd.
#3 11.17 million
#4 (NBC) 7.00 million.
GE’s corporate philosophy (at least once) was always not to be in a market they couldn’t be #1 or #2 in. Now flagship network performance isn’t a measure of the whole of NBCU, but still… not even close to #3 hardly meets GE standards.
Apple should offer to buy them out… haha.
Yes, I know, SJ is waaay to smart and frugal for that.
Still… Apple could. Isn’t that an amazing thought.
“I love Macs, but the condescending elitist attitudes really do exist within this community.”
And in the Windows community, and in the Linux community, you just have to go to those sites to see it.
Sounds like ChrisM has a condescending elitist attitude. Who was it that started the whole “brewhaha” (intentionally mispelled)? I suppose Apple because they wanted to keep things the same? Seeds sown have a wonderful way of coming back as bitter fruit to the ones who plant them for the wrong reason. Are Balmer or Dell happy about their words biting them in their back-side? Does that make me an elitist when I can remind Laura Goldman of her call to sell Apple stock at under 110$ ? Where is the outrage over her costing investors millions who were foolish enough to listen to her? OOOPs, I judged the investors foolish who listened to her. How do you know that this isn’t Zuckers punishment that he may or may not deserve in your eyes to teach him a lesson against greed? It sounds to me like you Chris are setting yourself up to be the JUDGE and JURY of a community of happy customers of Apple.
Lighten Up!
ChrisM: go somewhere else.
“Oh man, so now we have to endure NBC stories completely unrelated to Apple because MDN feels the need to smear Zuckers character due to his iTunes comments? I love Macs, but the condescending elitist attitudes really do exist within this community. “
ChrisM, you are entirely correct. The MDN takes continue on in their childish vein. It hurts, not helps, getting people to switch with that attitude.
Its not only what you say, but how you say it that makes you condesceding or elitist. I think we all agree that Zucker is wrong for pulling out of iTunes, that NBC isn’t doing well, and that hulu will most likely fail. That doesn’t mean I have to vilify him or take cheap shots. Talk about one of the things thats wrong with America today…. everyone seems to think thier opponents need to be cast as demons.
How about telling shareholders “We are going to embrace the web, saving millions on hulu.com by dumping it, and putting ALL our movies and TV shows on iTunes on all stores around the world”.
First on cable, one month later on DVD, one month later on iTunes then one month later on free-to-air. We sell it all four tunes all at no cost to us!
Note to Zucker:
Thanks for RUINING The Office. It used to be good. I figure greedy a-holes like you are behind it being dumbed down.
Looking forward to your being fired. It will happen soon.
Roger
ChrisM,
“Oh man, so now we have to endure NBC stories completely unrelated to Apple…” blah, blah, blah.
Might I suggest that you simply don’t click the headline? Then you won’t have to “endure” anything.
ABC/Disney is doing great in the ratings!
Hmmmmmm
Zucker
Your days at the office are numbered
Maybe Mr. Zucker has a plan to bring all the NBC content to Zune and create the real iTunes/iPod killer. With two Z’s what could go wrong?
So, Apple invents a functioning marketplace out of nothing and hands NBC all this revenue for which they need to do essentially nothing, with a lot of immediate growth and limitless potential for future expansion, and the boneheads demand a cut of Apple’s hardware sales?!
I’ll keep watching Conan, but NBC can go fsck themselves.
@ igads
“Wouldn’t it be funny if Apple bought GE, got all their content, and then fired him. That would be some funny $hit.”
Though it would be funny, Apple wouldn’t be able to touch GE and it’s vast wealth. Granted, GE is broken off into several divisions, not quite sure what division NBC falls in. NBC not having good ratings isn’t hurting GE at all. GE Capital and Energy is typically what helps or hurts GE. I do have to say Jack Welch is as much the man as Steve Jobs is.
ChrisM: “Talk about one of the things thats wrong with America today…. everyone seems to think thier opponents need to be cast as demons.”
I quite agree, but when people actually believe demons and devils exist they of course tend to look for them. And, because they cannot find them in supernatural form, they look for them in human form. It’s not pleasant to live amongst such superstitious nonsense.
US MAcUsers boycott already on the move?
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Maybe Apple should buy NBC?
Are these ratings taking into account people who watch the shows on NBC.com?
NBC is ran by assholes.. assholes get shitty ratings.
Look what NBC has done to the Law & Order franchise. CI is now on USA when it was anchoring the Sunday night spot. The original was moved from it’s long time Wednesday spot to Fridays and when it dropped in ratings they moved it to Sundays. Plus it won’t even hit the air until after the football season. SVU is the only one they haven’t messed with but the ratings are still off.
They also killed off Crossing Jordan after moving it from Sundays to Wednesdays.
They seem to want to fail. They have a good thing going and then shuffle it up and wonder why things are going South.
NBC used to be the best network on the air but if people can’t find the shows they want to watch then the best very quickly becomes the worst.
Apple helped turn relatively unknown NBC shows into hits by giving potential viewers exposure to the shows on iTunes Store. Now, NBC’s online initiatives don’t work that way at all. Now, the show must first become a hit “on the air” before potential online viewers go out of their way to find them online on obscure web locations. In other words, the online presentation serves no useful purpose for making a show more popular.
Zucker had better get that resume
Here it comes – all references to the National Broadcasting Company will now be preceded by the word “beleagured.” So say we all.
Overall the week [in U.S. network TV] belonged to Fox, which scored big with its coverage of the Boston Red Sox vs. Colorado Rockies.
Which again proves that the only things worth watching on network TV are sports and news. Honorable mention goes to a local PBS affiliate that runs the weather radar in the afternoons…
What happened to the writers of 20 years ago that made TV worth watching?
Fire the Zucker.
Chuck is a great show. Too bad it’s on NBC. Now it’ll end up getting cancelled.
There’s NOTHING worth watching on NBC. They are the worst network imaginable. As long as they keep airing shit like The Biggest Loser and that horrible Howie Mandel game show and the washed-down The Office, I say fsck him.
Zucker is a greedy ass whose actions will catch up him.
“Oh man, so now we have to endure NBC stories completely unrelated to Apple”
if you can’t see the relation to Apple, there is nothing we can do to help you…..
US television is one good reason for not emigrating to the US.
Now the question is how he’s going to blame THIS on Apple and iTunes.
MDNMW: dead
Who CARES People?
It’s… it’s NETWORK Television! The LOWEST of the LOW! Mediocrity would be a step up!
This is like bemoaning the closing of a McDonald’s restaurant!
Musicians are killing the music business.
Stay tuned. Tomorrow I’ll have more insights.