After a freewheeling decade of cocaine benders and decisions like greenlighting “Bionic Woman,” NBC is attempting to make some sound financial decisions. Not only is NBC Universal scaling back its coverage of the April 29th royal wedding, but the network’s sports honcho Dick Ebersol is struggling to get the funds to renew NBC’s Olympic package.
NBC Universal has cut a number of pretaped segments from its “aggressive and comprehensive coverage” of the royal wedding because insiders fear Prince William and Kate Middleton are “too boring,” according to sources…
“The US public’s interest was not what they thought,” sniped an NBC insider. “Kate and Prince William are both really boring.” [Page Six]
Wow, that’s crazy. There’s a marriage between two people who represent a vestigial tail of the government that the United States revolted against almost 250 years ago, and Americans AREN’T interested? Pardon me, my monocle fell out when I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
As US television networks put the finishing touches on Olympic TV rights bids due next month, there’s growing friction between NBC Universal’s longtime Olympics chief, Dick Ebersol, and network brass, sources tell The Post.
NBC Universal outbid competitors for the TV rights last time around, but Jeff Immelt, the CEO of General Electric, then the majority owner of the network, later admitted the Games had been a money loser. That’s something Comcast, NBC’s new cost-conscious owners, are keen to avoid.
Ebersol has been a proponent of packaging sports and airing them as live in primetime to maximize ad revenue rather than broadcasting the moment they air, something rival ESPN is planning to do. [NY Post]
Ebersol’s primetime package was annoying in 2008, when blogs and the Internet started spoiling the stories, and it was downright idiotic in 2010 after the rise of Twitter. Hell, people IN THE SAME CITY AS THE OLYMPICS had to watch the Olympics on tape delay. Comcast shouldn’t just turn down Ebersol’s bid for the Olympics, they should fire him. Preferably out of a cannon.
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If at some point over the next few weeks you find yourself curious in any way about the royal wedding I highly recommend you walk into the middle of the street and fist yourself. Involuntarily you may end up screaming “why?” while doing this- if this occurs you should answer, out-loud, in a gentle but firm voice, “you know why.”
All this applies if and only if Stephen Colbert remains uninvited. Where’s that guy who brought him to the WH Correspondent’s Dinner? Can’t he be in charge of RSVPs?
Doesn’t Ebersol have a reputation for being kind of a Dick (ha!) and difficult to work with anyway?
Unless you’re just watching highlights, non-live sports are so much less fun.
I took my daughter to Sainsburys’ this afternoon to do the shopping, and she stopped and wanted me to get her an easter egg that was dedicated to the Royal wedding. There was wedding crap everywhere.
I nearly left her in the store and drove home.
Smegga, could you send me a couple boxes of Sainsburys’ red label? I miss it rather dearly. Cheers guv.
Ebersol deserves a lot of credit for taking the proud tradition of NBC Sports – NBC’s Baseball Game of the Week, AFC Football, the NBA on NBC – and turning it into coverage of an 8-5 college football team, an international dance show every four years, and hockey.
Maybe NBC should get rid of the stupid “special interest” stories they run during the Olympics and actually show, oh, I don’t know… maybe SPORTS?
Every time I hear that treacly music, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, it’s terrible TV. On the other hand, BACK TO JACKIN’ IT!
Wasn’t this last week’s episode of 30 Rock, “only doing shows that work”?
I didn’t realize people watched the Olympics for the sports. I always watch for Mary Carillo’s reports on polar bears, pandas, etc.
To Ebersol’s credit, he did get the Barnett Cup semifinal for Tennis Night in America.
Wasn’t that the polar bear that NBC teamed with Jaleel White for the short-lived mid-season replacement comedy “Polar Opposites”?