• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

NBC Considers Cutting Back Programming Hours in Prime Time

I can see Pat and Vanna (and Ken/Mayim) complaining themselves if they were to lose the NBC affiliates to 7 PM primetime. Remember how that whole 'Primetime Begins at 7:30' thing went back in the late '80s on the NBC O&Os? They were all dumb sitcoms and only one (I think, Out of This World) made it to another season, in weekend syndication.

Then you have KING 5 (Seattle)'s long-running 'Evening (Magazine)' at 7:30. They would throw a fit if that show were to be moved to the 10:00 hour. There's been a loyal audience for that program since it came on in the 1980s.
 
crainbebo said:
I can see Pat and Vanna (and Ken/Mayim) complaining themselves if they were to lose the NBC affiliates to 7 PM primetime. Remember how that whole 'Primetime Begins at 7:30' thing went back in the late '80s on the NBC O&Os?
Click to expand...

A lot of this came about when the FCC instituted the prime time access rule in 1970:

Prime Time Access Rule - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

The concern at the time was the networks were expanding, and eating up a lot of local time. So the FCC instituted this rule requiring one hour of prime time be set aside for local stations. The local stations used this time to air syndicated game shows and entertainment news shows such as Entertainment Tonight. So instead of local programming, it was more national programming with local spots.
 
Also the Big Ten conference just landed a big television deal. NBC will be programming football all weekend long starting in 2023. It’ll be interesting to see what happens to Saturday night live. And also one last night that they will program to 10 PM spot
 
kfbkfb said:
IIRC, the 1/2 hour network national news programs are rerun (with west coast updates inserted) 3 hours later for the PT zone, seems like this sets a precedent, the 6P 1/2 hour local news could be rerun (with updates if needed, possibly using a text to speech computer program) 3 hours later.


Kirk Bayne
Click to expand...
Latching onto this idea does not make it better, and no, a text to speech computer…really? Maybe in Podunk. And doubtful even there. It is a terrible idea for local stations.
 
TheBigA said:
A lot of this came about when the FCC instituted the prime time access rule in 1970:

Prime Time Access Rule - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

The concern at the time was the networks were expanding, and eating up a lot of local time. So the FCC instituted this rule requiring one hour of prime time be set aside for local stations. The local stations used this time to air syndicated game shows and entertainment news shows such as Entertainment Tonight. So instead of local programming, it was more national programming with local spots.
Click to expand...
I seem to vaguely recall that the top 50 markets were not allowed to fill the 7:30 slot with off-network reruns.

I've mentioned before that King World, which syndicated Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy in the 90s, thought the success of Wheel and Jeopardy back to back would cause the Central and Mountain time zones to go with an 8-11 prime time. It never happened...Jeopardy (usually) is still exiled to a daytime slot in the middle of the country.
 
crainbebo said:
I can see Pat and Vanna (and Ken/Mayim) complaining themselves if they were to lose the NBC affiliates to 7 PM primetime. Remember how that whole 'Primetime Begins at 7:30' thing went back in the late '80s on the NBC O&Os? They were all dumb sitcoms and only one (I think, Out of This World) made it to another season, in weekend syndication.

Then you have KING 5 (Seattle)'s long-running 'Evening (Magazine)' at 7:30. They would throw a fit if that show were to be moved to the 10:00 hour. There's been a loyal audience for that program since it came on in the 1980s.
Click to expand...
Things on radiodiscussions that are never happening:
1. An expanded FM band
2. 7pm network prime time in the eastern and Pacific time zones,
 
gr8oldies said:
I seem to vaguely recall that the top 50 markets were not allowed to fill the 7:30 slot with off-network reruns.

I've mentioned before that King World, which syndicated Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy in the 90s, thought the success of Wheel and Jeopardy back to back would cause the Central and Mountain time zones to go with an 8-11 prime time. It never happened...Jeopardy (usually) is still exiled to a daytime slot in the middle of the country.
Click to expand...
Both shows are still occupying their normal spots beginning at 7pm here in Phoenix (Mountain time in Winter, Pacific daylight time in Summer). AZ does not recognize DST (except for the Navajo Reservation, probably because it exists in both AZ and NM).
 
Another reason for the access rule was that a number of independent producers were being
squeezed out of the network primetime marketplace by the major movie studios (a few I can think of included
Mark Goodson, David Susskind, and Don Fedderson). Don McGannon, CEO of Westinghouse at
the time, proposed the access rule, but one of my professors (who detested McGannon) said it
was only because he wanted to get some Group W shows on the air and was being turned down
by the networks. He didn't have much luck at first: "The David Frost Revue" and "Tom Smothers'
Organic Prime Time Space Ride" were huge flops in 1971-72. Group W didn't really make a dent
in access time until "Evening/PM Magazine." As for the names I mentioned, Goodson had his
successes with "What's My Line?," "To Tell the Truth," "The Price Is Right," and especially "Match
Game PM" and "Family Feud." Fedderson never got a show of his own on the air; he handled
the syndication for Lawrence Welk.
 
landtuna said:
Somebody is still watching NBC during the week? Amazing!
Click to expand...
Isn’t “America’s Got Talent” a monster hit for them? They just finished with “This Is Us.” How are the Wednesday and Thursday shows doing? I’m sure there are other examples I’m missing. No, NBC isn’t my cup of tea either, except for “Sunday Night Football,” the only must-see TV for me from NBC. (Yes, the rhyming was intentional-LOL).
 
bpatrick said:
No way do I see primetime starting at 7 (ET/PT), regardless of what some stations in the Bay Area
did or do. If you're an NBC affiliate and you've got "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!", are you
going to give those up? Let me lay out what the NBC affiliates in the Raleigh-Atlanta corridor
have:

WRAL 7 PM News/7:30 Inside Edition
WXII 7 PM Inside Edition/Entertainment Tonight
WCNC 7 PM Jeopardy!/7:30 Wheel Of Fortune
WYFF 7 PM Entertainment Tonight/7:30 Inside Edition
WXIA 7 PM Wheel Of Fortune/7:30 Jeopardy!

WXIA would probably kill for something that could beat World News Tonight at 7, but remember
that WNT is on WSB and it's almost impossible to beat WSB in any timeslot. So NBC primetime
at 7 is probably not the answer. And when you come right down to it, I don't see these stations
giving up what they have, nor do I see any anyone else in the Eastern and Pacific time zones giving
back the time. And virtually every NBC station in the Central and Mountain time zones has local
news at 6 (and in a few markets, like Nashville, at 6:30). Sorry, folks, but if the plan goes through,
primetime on NBC is going to be 8-10/7-9 Monday-Saturday; 7-10/6-9 Sunday.
Click to expand...
Des Moines iowa has
6pm News /6:30 Wheel of Fortune.
 
crainbebo said:
I can see Pat and Vanna (and Ken/Mayim) complaining themselves if they were to lose the NBC affiliates to 7 PM primetime. Remember how that whole 'Primetime Begins at 7:30' thing went back in the late '80s on the NBC O&Os? They were all dumb sitcoms and only one (I think, Out of This World) made it to another season, in weekend syndication.

Then you have KING 5 (Seattle)'s long-running 'Evening (Magazine)' at 7:30. They would throw a fit if that show were to be moved to the 10:00 hour. There's been a loyal audience for that program since it came on in the 1980s.
Click to expand...
Out of this World always aired in weekend syndication in Des Moines with it first airing on WOI 5 an abc affiliate then KDSM a fox affiliate.
 
Jeopardy/Wheel is local tv gold. This is why these shows will live for years, if not decades. And has been proven (through Jeopardy), it really doesn’t matter who the host is.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom