Posted by
Playful Walrus on Monday, March 01, 2010 12:57:54 PM
One of the many "crimes" people have charged Jay Leno with in this whole prime time/late night shuffling has been that his failed 10pm show took good Hollywood jobs away by replacing five hours of scripted drama.
But it just ain't so. NBC, like other media networks, has been suffering from reduced ad revenues. In addition to the long, ongoing fragmentation of the audience, advertisers have had less money to spend over the last couple of years. Hourlong scripted dramas are some of the most expensive television shows to produce. NBC was going to cut back on them no matter what.
Here's the proof.
Now that Leno is no longer at 10pm, Monday through Friday, what has filled the time?
Monday is a second hour of Law & Order.
Tuesday prime time consists of two hours of The Biggest Loser followed by Parenthood.
Wednesday, there's a second hour of Law & Order: SVU.
Thursday, The Marriage Ref.
Friday, two hours of Dateline NBC.
Parenthood is the only new hourlong drama. The rest is going to consist of repeats (there's no way twice as many Law & Order episodes are going to be made and bought), The Marriage Ref (a kind of talkshow, really), and stretching out a news magazine.
So, blame Jay Leno for all sorts of things, if you want. But don’t blame him for fewer hourlong dramas on NBC.