• by Wayne Friedman , January 9, 2010

PASADENA, Calif. -- Major reverberations of NBC's potential plan -- to perhaps juggle its 10 p.m. and late-night programming again -- have had competing network executives offering some critical analysis.

During CBS' part of Television Critics Association tour, Nina Tassler, president of CBS Entertainment, said the results of NBC's putting "The Jay Leno Show" at 10 p.m. proved that some old tenets of the TV business still exist.

"Ultimately, there is no substitute for developing great shows with great talent," she says. "Through it all, we have to realize ABC, CBS and Fox have fared very well during this experiential phase of NBC. It allowed us to get a bigger piece of the ad revenue at 10 p.m."

"The unfortunate thing was that our creative community was somewhat bruised by this," says Tassler. "A lot of people were put out of work." She refers to the collateral damage of NBC's "Leno" decision, which took five hours a week of scripted and other programs out of the hands of TV producers.

Tassler notes that NBC's sudden change of philosophy isn't new. "We hearken back to NBC's grand proclamation that at 8 a.m. it was over -- that they were going to have a whole different strategy," she says.

"What I have the most problem with is for a company to turn and say this is a reflection on the whole network business -- I think it's misguided. Our business is thriving right now with hit shows, as is ABC, as is Fox. At the end of the day, it was an experiment that didn't work."

In regard to future network business, Tassler says CBS will probably produce about as many pilots next year as it has done in recent seasons.

In explaining CBS' decision to run the new reality show "Undercover Boss" after the Super Bowl next month -- which is typically a major launch vehicle for any program -- Tassler says it is a throwback to earlier times.

"Fifteen years ago, this spot was used to launch new programming," says Tassler. "In the last 10 to 15 years, it was used as a platform to get greater exposure for existing shows."

"Undercover Boss" has produced about six shows so far, she says.

"There is tone and quality of the show that is a great fit. It is aspirational. It is a feel-good program. Everyone watching the Super Bowl -- whether you are eight or 80 -- can enjoy the program."

Although Friday- night programming has generally had lower ratings -- and lower viewership than other nights of the week -- CBS is still committed to scheduling the night.

Although the Friday night CBS program "Numb3rs" production schedule was cut this year, she says it is still a strong candidate to return next year. Tassler says overall costs -- mostly to accommodate the new "high class" show "Miami Medical" from Jerry Bruckheimer -- were the reason for fewer "Numb3rs" episodes.