NBC's Leno leap creates industry ripples

By Paul J. Gough and James Hibberd

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - NBC's decision to move Jay Leno to primetime drew a mixed reception from industry observers Tuesday.

As NBC executives made the case for clearing the No. 4 network's 10 p.m. weeknight slot during a news conference featuring the talk-show host, advertisers and affiliates tried to make sense of what all agreed was an audacious step to bolster the broadcaster's schedule.

"I find it to be a bold, future-forward move," said Laura Caraccioli-Davis, executive vp entertainment at Chicago-based ad buyer Starcom. "It's a defensive move to keep Jay from going to ABC. But it's an interesting move in the sense that if it can work, it's not a show that you DVR."

The TiVo-busting nature of a daily talk format was one of many arguments that NBC co-chiefs Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff made in their appearance with Leno in Burbank on Tuesday. They also touted the addition of Leno as a reinforcement of NBC's comedy brand and the dramatic cost savings achieved by opting out of the scripted business at 10 p.m.

"We can do four five of these shows for the cost of one 10 p.m. drama," Graboff said.

In an appearance later in the day on CNBC, NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker said the move will allow the network execs to renew their commitment to scripted programing in the rest of primetime.

"You're going to see great scripted programs between 8 and 10," he said. "And this will actually give them a clearer focus."

Silverman noted that NBC could get back into the scripted business on weekends.

"We're going to be able to program Friday more aggressively, we're going to have more scripted on Sunday, we're going to be able to open up more nights," he said.

But the increase in unscripted hours was roundly panned across Hollywood, which will have fewer opportunities to sell its most expensive TV offering.

"It's sad for the business," a top scripted TV agent said Tuesday. "Then again, we haven't launched a scripted hit to justify holding the hour."

Also taking a big loss will be the Screen Actors Guild, which has been embroiled in a labor dispute with the studios. With most 10 p.m. broadcast dramas featuring large ensemble casts that are better paid than their cable counterparts, NBC's move would put hundreds of actors out of work or force them to take pay cuts.

Hardest hit by the move will be the major TV studios, which already grapple with losing primetime real estate to reality TV. While cable is beefing up their scripted lineups, cable's license fees don't come even close to what the studios get for a 10 p.m. broadcast drama.

Noting a growing resemblance between NBC's scheduling and Comedy Central, which has Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's weeknight shows bookmarking primetime programing at 11 p.m., one agent commented, "NBC is going to make one hell of a cable network."

Others expressed doubts that Leno will be able to grow his audience at an earlier hour even with TV amassing more viewers at 10 than 11:30 p.m. But holding firm at its average of 4.8 million viewers can't be considered a success, either, said Jason Maltby, senior vp broadcast at New York-based ad buyer Mindshare.