• Advertising Age, Thursday, November 3, 2011 2:26 PM

If NBC went belly-up in a world with so many other entertainment choices, would anybody really care?

"More evidence is accumulating to suggest America would not be completely bereft if a certain multi-colored Peacock ceased to hold forth on the TV screen," writes Brian Steinberg in this thoughtful piece that takes the long view of the network's recent failures and campaign to recoup.

"Don't get us wrong. A weakened NBC is a victory for no one. It's one of just five free, over-the-air broadcast networks -- part of an elite club that can reach millions upon millions of viewers in one fell swoop..."he writes. Yet he also measures that point against the backdrop of media fragmentation, "cable networks increasingly approaching broadcast-like ratings," and young TV viewers, "the kind advertisers covet, [who]don't remember a three-network oligarchy and have no loyalty to old notions about the Big Three's prestige."

Read the whole story at Advertising Age »