Commentary

NBC Back To Traditional Pilot Ways -- But Looking For A New Flight Plan?

by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, January 7, 2010

The fact that NBC is producing a massive number of 18 pilots for next season says a lot about where the business is going -- and that content isn't dead yet.

This is just the information new owner Comcast wants to hear, justifying its purchase. For Comcast, it fortifies a not-so-secret desire to become more than just a data and video pipe.

This seems like a big undertaking by NBC. According to Angela Bromsted, NBC president of prime-time entertainment, the effort is to fill "a lot of holes" between 8 p.m. and 10 pm. (To many insiders, it says more about preparing for when NBC executives decide to end "The Jay Leno Show" five nights a week experiment.)

In some ways it talks to the fact that broadcast networks need to operate in more or less the same ways they have for years: you need to get a lot of swings at the plate to get some hits.

But let's not pin this seemingly losing formula just on broadcast networks.

Cable networks also need a lot of swings for programming to be successful. Just because cable has a dual revenue stream does not give it a better success rate in giving viewers what they want. Some networks have struggled to come up with new stuff the public likes. Look at MTV, Lifetime, and other networks ratings in 2009.

New digital programming? Do you see content media providers making 18 pilots? Not yet. Many high-end premium providers such as NBC Digital and others will only do a Web series once funding is in place - coming from a more-or-less traditional TV sponsor.

But when it comes to those 18 traditional pilots, NBC isn't thinking about getting one or two sponsors to pay for each of those projects. That's because the process isn't guaranteed to go ahead - it's still in the R&D stage.

Still, in this economy, with the broadcast networks desperate to find new ways to generate revenue, shouldn't this part of the network programming financial model also change?

3 comments about "NBC Back To Traditional Pilot Ways -- But Looking For A New Flight Plan?".

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Sheri Kowalke from KFMB-TV, January 7, 2010 at 7:03 p.m.
TMZ reports that Leno is moving back to 1130p...those pilots will be on at 10pm soon.
Reply

Brian Hayashi from ConnectMe 360, January 7, 2010 at 7:13 p.m.

None of the cablers - even HBO - are capable of launching anywhere close to 18 new shows. After years of tepid launches from the broadcast nets - and improved insights into what audiences like - this will eclipse the number of new launches by any other TV brand. Think of this as a spin on the old roadblock model.

(I wonder if Dave Morgan's new company has had any input into NBC's new sked.)

Peter Schankowitz from Joe Digital, Inc., January 8, 2010 at 12:30 p.m.

The bigger question is why, as Wayne notes, you don't see the well-funded digital groups doing more on spec? If you are going to take on the risk of doing 18 broadcast pilots (let's assume around 60-70M?), and, assuming history serves and maybe ONE works enough to get you into syndication, why not utilize the digital arm as a less costly farm league?

It's always baffled me as to why the "forward thinking" digital divisions haven't had the go ahead to do more, take bigger risks, find new and less pricey talent, etc. Done correctly, I'd love to see the ROI on 18 well-developed, well crafted digital series. Examine THOSE, produce X of them for broadcast pilots and, I wonder if the end result is a much, much better batting average. Maybe THAT is the new "flight plan"?