• by Lydia Loizides , Op-Ed Contributor, December 3, 2007

One of the things that I love about this business is its inability to change in the face of need -- but its acquiescence to do so in the face of necessity. I am speaking of the deal that was just brokered between NBC and Mr. Beers (leave it to the universe to have this announcement go out the same day that the shuffle at Yahoo takes place!). What we are witnessing is a fundamental shift in the economics of network programming that should be felt throughout the industry.

If we look at the bigger picture, what seems to be coming into play here is what I love to call the "dibble-dabble" model -- commit to everything for development dollars as close to nothing. Even if the programming that is being optioned by NBC won't air until the 3rd quarter of 2008, with the decrease of over 200% in production budgets, the network will still come out ahead. More importantly, lower costs-of-entry mean that brand integration becomes far more plausible in the short term. What remains to be seen is whether or not the broader viewing public will respond to this type of programming - both stylistically as well as aesthetically. After all, what works on cable sometimes can only stay on cable. Now, a truly radical idea would be to add key story arc components that are online, but I digress....