Leno's move could risk NBC advertising
At this year's upfront, where advertisers try to buy time on TV's next hits, many networks are hoping to pull business away from NBC on its risky decision to put Jay Leno on weeknights at 10 p.m. Sam Eaton reports.
Television host Jay Leno (nbc.com)
More on Entertainment
TEXT OF STORY
Sam Eaton: In New York, today marks the beginning of the annual ritual known as the upfront. This year's when TV networks unveil their Fall schedules to advertisers, who buy time in advance on the shows they think are going to be hits. Here's Marketplace's Sam Eaton.
Sam Eaton: Somber is the word most analysts are using to describe this year's upfront season. With the recession cutting into marketing budgets, the competition for advertising dollars is fierce. And many networks are hoping to pull business away from NBC. That's because its decision to put Jay Leno on weeknights at 10 p.m. could drive away younger viewers -- and the advertisers who want to reach them.
Porter Bibb is with Media Tech Capital Partners:
Porter Bibb: We live now in a universe of YouTube and Twitter and all of the available variety acts that are out there in the blogosphere and the cosmos. It's going to be very, very tough for Jay Leno to hold a prime time audience.
But NBC's loss may be mostly cable's gain. A report out last week predicted Leno could lose half a million viewers. And many of them could end up watching dramas on cable, not the big networks.
In Los Angeles, I'm Sam Eaton for Marketplace.
Comments
Comment | Refresh
05/18/2009
Younger viewers don't have any money to spend these days, anyway. They're all working at Target for $9/hr or if they're lucky, at some lame buiness billing center for $12.50/hr. I'm surprised the advertisers still care.
Post a Comment: Please be civil, brief and relevant.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. All comments are moderated. Marketplace reserves the right to edit any comments on this site and to read them on the air if they are extra-interesting. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting.
You must be 13 or over to submit information to American Public Media. The information entered into this form will not be used to send unsolicited email and will not be sold to a third party. For more information see Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.