• by Wayne Friedman , August 1, 2011

NBC's way out of its fourth-place position among all broadcast networks will come from a renewed association with upscale programming, says NBC's programming chief.

"We are going to developed upscale shows," says Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment, speaking at the Television Critics Association meeting, "which is what we do well. Hopefully, we will have patience. We want to take a holistic view of the year."

Last season, NBC had a glimmer of hope coming from its big singing competition show "The Voice." For the regular season, "The Voice" was so big that only Fox's industry leader, "American Idol," outdid the series in the key 18-49 rating.

In looking to push the show to new heights, the second season of "The Voice" will begin Feb. 5 after the Super Bowl. NBC is airing the big game this year as part of its agreement with the NFL, in which each of the three TV broadcast networks run the event.

More recently during the summer -- four weeks in July -- NBC has topped other broadcast networks in ratings. This change is highlighted by its big ongoing reality show "America's Got Talent." Greenblatt says the show is now averaging 15 million viewers.

Other strong points for NBC: "The Office" remains the top sitcom among TV networks; "Celebrity Apprentice" grew 10% this past season versus the year before; and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" beat "Late Show with David Letterman" in 41 of 43 weeks.

As for "The Playboy Club," which has been the subject of some controversy, including NBC's Salt Lake City affiliate declining to run it, Greenblatt says some notoriety was expected. The Utah station doesn't air "Saturday Night Live," either.

"That brand name is a bit polarizing," admits Greenblatt, "even though that show isn't." He views "Playboy" more broadly -- as a soap opera -- than, say, AMC's "Mad Men," which it is often compared to.

NBC's overall programming charge is simple: Come up with new stuff.

When working for Fox several years ago, Greenblatt says the programming mantra was to "do what no one else is doing." In that vein, commenting on NBC's current fall schedule: "You can be broad, and come up with things that people are generally excited about."