Around the Net

How Jay Leno Is Wreaking Havoc for NBC Affiliates

Call it the Leno effect. NBC's decision to shift the late-night talk show host to 10 p.m. enabled the network to substitute a low-cost talk show for expensive scripted dramas. But it's playing havoc with many of NBC's 200 plus affiliates. Leno's weaker "lead-in" is undermining audiences of their 11 p.m. local newscasts, which bring in about a third of the local stations' revenue.

Leno's new show averaged about 5.6 million viewers the first four days of last week, more than a third less than NBC drew last season with its drama shows. Local stations, whose goodwill the network depends upon to keep Leno's show on in every market, may not be able to tolerate the financial pain that Leno is causing to their news programs. They may soon consider their own 10 p.m. program alternatives.

NBC disputes that Leno alone is to blame for the headaches of affiliates. But recognizing the potential problems, NBC gave the affiliates additional commercial time to sell, which has bought the network some local support.

advertisement

advertisement

Read the whole story at Los Angeles Times »

Next story loading loading..