• by Wayne Friedman , April 5, 2007

NBC is sticking with its comedy plan on Thursday--for next year.

Its initial move comes in renewing "30 Rock" for next season. The half-hour comedy, about a "Saturday Night Live"-like TV program, is written by and stars "SNL" vet Tina Fey.

NBC likes the fact that the show gets rave reviews, and that easily makes the network's cut as a "quality" show. "30 Rock" will move into a key 9 p.m. Thursday time slot in a couple of weeks--one that has been occupied mostly by "Scrubs" this season.

"We expect it to continue to build its increasingly loyal audience and become another of NBC's classic comedy series," said Kevin Reilly, President, NBC Entertainment.

Most importantly, "30 Rock" is also one of the most upscale comedies on television among 18-49 viewers with $100,000 plus incomes. The network says it has a 28% higher rating among upscale viewers than across all adults 18-49.

"30 Rock" has bounced around some--running mostly at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday recently. The show started out on Wednesday night at 8 p.m., selling advertising time at $176,000 per 30-second spot, according to Advertising Age. NBC says the show has the stats to continue: It averages a 2.7 rating/7 share among adults 18-49, and on its most recent March 8 outing, it pulled in almost 90% of "Scrubs" viewers.