NBC affiliates don't want Leno

I expect NBC to stay with Leno until September. The Comcast sale is a big deal. I expect that Comcast ultimately will not own the NBC television network and its O&O stations. Once a new owner is finalized, then they can plan for good Rocky's revival.

The Leno show leaves a huge gap in the prime time field. its unwatchable, and with local programming on Fox, it means if theres nothing good on CBS or ABC, there is "nothing on" at 10. yeah, I have cable, but I like watching scripted shows. Leno is a disaster, and I for one will celebrate the day they cancel it. It would be annoying if it was on one night a week. 5 nights a week and I actually hope for his total failure and humiliation, nice guy or not.

I havent watched his 10pm show yet and WON'T

I swear I must be the only guy on this site who likes Leno and watches his show almost every night, if his show is cancelled I will miss it.....

With the astronomical labor costs associated with scripted dramas, NBC would have to feel they have a real winner on their hands before they are going to shell out exponentially more for a drama than they do for Leno. I truly believe that Leno will gone by this time next year (not sure where,) but those who believe that NBC will suddenly shell out millions for scripted dramas at 10 are fooling themselves. My guess is they will simply turn the time over to the affiliates and let them program it.

VP, you're painting with a very broad brush there. The reality of the situation is more detailed and intricate.

First off, 30 Rock and the Office aren't the only things NBC has going for them. Chuck, Community, and Friday Night Lights are all quality shows that garner respectable ratings. Heroes still gets people tuning in...for whatever reason. And the flagship 30 Rock has gone downhill this year and the dressing is looking a little threadbare right now.

People also still tune in for the NBC procedurals (all 500 iterations of Law and Order they run...), and the currently off-season America's Got Talent still packs the proverbial house. And don't forget that NBC has the Winter Olympics coming up soon as well...

Long story short, I think they keep Leno until the Winter Olympics hits--that gives NBC enough time to do some shuffling of their schedule and perhaps time to borrow/beg/steal from their cable partners to fill the time until next season.

I guess the question is why NBC isn't teaming up with it's cable brethren more. They tried running BSG on NBC--if anything, they should team up and run some shows in a delayed premier partnership format, similar to what they're doing w/DirecTV and FNL.

Perhaps they could try for a Sci-Fi night and try bringing BSG out of mothballs, and then run Caprica to get interest generated on NBC proper--then they can team up for S2 of Caprica and go to town.

Also, if they're going to go scripted at 9pm again, why not try for edgier/racier content, a la Sons of Anarchy or Damages? We've seen bare arse and heard s-bombs on network television before--maybe NBC needs to grow a pair and put itself out there as a 'hip' and 'edgy' alternative to their competition.

Hell, if anything, since Comcast bought them, I would assume that there's an army of lobbyists that would be more than happy to run interference with the FCC...

NBC can promote some of its shows from the "minor leagues" - its cable affiliates. They can try out White Collar, or maybe show the entire BSG series as a mini-event during the summer, etc. The 10:00pm slot is ideal for dramas, and can be used to really experiment with different things.

They could also add a weekly hour-long news magazine hosted by Brian Williams, which focuses on two issues, competing with Frontline and Nightline (in terms of content).

I know it's TVSquad's daily ritual to harp on Leno, but what do you suggest NBC put in it's place? Other than 30 Rock and maybe The Office the rest of NBC lineup is putrid at best. How will ratings magically go up just because they put on scripted shows? Have you actually seen the ratings for NBC? Moan like more and they will put on another edition of The Biggest Looser.

See, Christmas wishes do come true!