For more than a decade, we've watched as a once-proud network was trashed by a management team so inept, many of us were willing to overlook concerns over NBC Universal's now-completed merger with Comcast, just to be rid of them.
Really, when Comcast is the knight in shining armor, you've gone pretty far off track.
So now here we are, with a new owner and new management, led by Bob Greenblatt, a well-regarded programmer who turned Showtime into a major cable player through series such as Dexter, Weedsand Nurse Jackie.
Tomorrow, we can worry whether it's really the best idea to turn one of the Big Four broadcast networks and its related studio and cable outlets over to the country's largest cable company — one whose own cable networks are hardly models of artistic merit. But for now, let's assume the change will mean better days for NBC and offer Greenblatt some suggestions to speed those days along.
Repair relations.
Nobody loves you when you're down in Hollywood, but it's only when you're out that the knives truly flash. Which explains the near-universal creative community disdain for NBC, particularly former CEO Jeff Zucker, that poured out on industry blogs and in news reports the minute the merger was announced. (When the new management team was revealed in September, the Hollywood Reporter story was headlined, "Hollywood Hopeful for NBC without Jeff Zucker.")
You don't want to overestimate the importance of bitter words in Hollywood. People may not have liked NBC, but that didn't stop most of them from working there if it offered the best or only job available.
Still, the network would be better off with better relations with its suppliers and its competitors, if only to stem the public perception that it's become the TV stop of last resort. And it is public: Blogging, tweeting and a thousand gossip sites ensure that much of what was once "inside information" is now out and on the loose. Image counts in the entertainment industry, and it's hard to maintain a decent image when people take such joy in splattering you with mud.
Grab attention.
We know what an NBC comedy is: ironic and smart, with a penchant for the absurd. But the network's dramas have no consistent identity, sparse critical acclaim and equally sparse public appeal.
The only NBC hour to crack the top 20 in the last weekly ratings was newcomer Harry's Law, and it has yet to face fresh competition on ABC and CBS on the same night.
One of the blessings of being that unsuccessful is that you're obviously not burdened by success; you can try new things and push old envelopes.
It would probably be a mistake to turn NBC into a slightly bigger Showtime; as good as Dexter is, its appeal is too limited for a broadcast network, even in these days of splintered audiences. But it might not be a bad idea to launch at least one series with a similar sort of edge, just to get people talking about the network's hours again.
Go big.
Unlike NBC's dramas, its sitcoms win awards and praise. What they don't win, at least not reliably, is their time slots, not even in the younger demographic, where they do best.
Don't get me wrong. I love Community; I hold out hope for Outsourced, and I have lingering affection for a fading 30 Rock. But what NBC needs is an actual hit, not a demo-driven series it can parse and explain into being a hit. There's nothing wrong with having a niche show like Parks and Recreation, but an entire evening of Parks and Recreation dooms you to perpetual also-ran status.
Go wide.
Look at the phenomenal numbers BET pulled in with its revival of CW's The Game. Look at the growing success of the Spanish-language networks. Doesn't that tell you that there are at least two underserved markets just waiting for some Big Four network to wise up and tap into them?
And who better to do so than NBC, the network of I Spy, Chico and the Man and The Cosby Show? Not only does NBC have the tradition, it has the ratings proof that such a program, when done well, can attract a mass audience that extends far beyond any racial or cultural targets. The talent and the viewers are out there. What's lacking is the network will.
That will do, for now, for NBC advice. But here's one for the network's new owners at Comcast:
Hands off.
Did you notice that, when Keith Olbermann resigned from MSNBC, the immediate angry response in some quarters was to blame Comcast?
It's unclear whether or to what degree the company was involved (despite corporate denials), but those instant accusations are enough to remind Comcast that many people are wary of its power, intentions and influence.
Wariness may never grow into fury — and given the current government climate, even fury might not be enough to prod Congress or the Federal Communications Commission into action. (Fleeting nudity gets the FCC's attention; a corporate stranglehold on media outlets, not so much.) But Comcast would be wise not to push it.
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