• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, July 5, 2007

NBC's top executive Jeff Zucker caused a stir last fall when he indicated the network would forgo scripted programming in the 8 p.m. weeknight hour to reduce costs. Now, another executive is suggesting NBC would be open to cutting originals on Fridays entirely.

In an interview with Fortune, NBC entertainment co-chairman Marc Graboff says "something has got to give" as programming costs escalate and advertisers shift dollars away from broadcast TV. One possibility is to make Fridays the new Saturday -- or at least the second one.

"For years, everyone programmed Saturday night with originals," he told the business magazine. "Now, nobody programs Saturday. Maybe that will happen with Friday?" Graboff said a network simply "can't afford to pay for 19 hours a week of original high-quality programming" these days.

Still, turning Fridays completely over to low-cost game shows and reality gambits appears to be at least a year away at NBC. At present, the network has dramas scheduled in the 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. hours this fall -- "Las Vegas" and "Friday Night Lights," respectively, following game shows at 8. And it may not switch gears until either higher-rated ABC or CBS goes first in a sort of brinksmanship. Fox is already there with two new reality series coming to Friday night this fall.

A call and email to NBC seeking comment were not returned at press time.

While increased production costs and declining network ratings don't appear to be going away, Graboff's comments -- published July 2 -- could have been made before the recently finished broadcast upfront. Networks didn't appear to suffer the major slowdown in dollar commitments some had projected. Fourth-place NBC's intake, however, was reportedly the same as 2006.

NBC has seen its Friday ratings wither some 30% over the last five seasons to a 2.6 in the 18-to-49 demo. All other networks, save CBS, which offers three hours of originals on the night, have fared similarly.

The specter of Fridays devoid of originals could pique the same NBC affiliates that were turned off when Zucker made his comments last fall. Affiliates depend on their respective networks' ratings to drive their own revenues.

Particularly vocal was the head of one of NBC's largest affiliate groups, David Barrett of Hearst-Argyle, who took a you-have-to-spend-money-to-make-money approach. "All the affiliates expect there has got to be a strong programming commitment by [NBC]," he said last October. "It's what has led them to huge profitability in the past, and it is what's leading the way for Fox and CBS and ABC to a certain extent. It's about the show ... they've got to be investing in the content."

(In fairness, genres alone don't mean low ratings. As "American Idol" and "Dancing with the Stars" have shown, reality series at 8 can do rather well and buoy a network overall.)

When Barrett made his comments, he noted that NBC had seemed to backtrack from Zucker's pledge -- proposed as part of a $750 million a year cost-savings plan -- after controversy followed. Former programming chief Kevin Reilly had reportedly said a network "can't be exclusive with reality at 8."

But when NBC announced its new fall schedule in May, the network came pretty close with scripted fare only on Thursdays (two comedies) and a combination of reality and game shows at 8 p.m. on the other four weeknights. "Deal or No Deal," still-strong but with declining ratings, is slated for two nights, while the so-so "Biggest Loser" and "1 vs. 100" will take up two others.