It’s no secret that the major, over-the-air TV networks are losing viewers to streaming services and cable TV. But almost from the start of the television age, ABC, CBS, and NBC have broadcast three hours of programming in prime time, 7–10 p.m.
Now NBC is seriously considering dropping programming in its 10–11 p.m. EST slot. It’s expected that NBC would return that seven hours a week to local broadcasters.
The move would certainly save money. Not having to program an hour-long drama in that slot will be a huge cost-cutting measure, considering the average hour-long TV drama episode costs around $4.5 to $5 million. Multiply that by 20–25 times a season and the savings would be significant.
There would be some tough decisions to make about the schedule if NBC ditched an hour of programming. more here
What, NBC can’t think of another insipid ‘reality’ show to run at the end of the night?
Remember when channels signed off entirely about 11?
Poor, poor Nothing But Communists…
Let’s hope Always Been Communists, and Communist Broadcasting Service are next to sink.
Screw the pinko legacy media.
Oh goody! More paid programming Infomercials… not to be confused with “news”
Maybe if they would reconsider their policy of presenting leftist propaganda as entertainment, they might regain some of their audience. But I doubt they will.
I watched some random game show a couple of weeks ago when I was on the road. Basically Hollywood Squares except enough different that they could do it. Stars were Byron Allen, Bill Engvall, Jon Lovitz, fairly fun people. The grand prize… (which they made impossible to win except by guess) was $5,000. I’m sure the stars were filling dead time and probably enjoyed hanging out, but boy is that a drop from any of the prime time game shows or Wheel/Jeopardy.
Remember when all the local stations played the National Anthem and turned off for the night? Maybe they should just do that again at 6pm and call it good. Let liberals fume over having that played every night.
I think – Netflix has more sex & violence that appeal to the drug riddled masses.
Fake news shows, comic book characters, reality shows, Re-dues of old daytime TV game shows, prime time network television has sucked for at least 2 decades if not more.
Nothing original.
What, only seven hours a week? That’s too little too late. I cut out their entire “prime time programming” years ago. NBC, CBS and ABC, your sponsors have been screwed by your viewership numbers. Your viewers are all brain dead zombies. But then again, maybe that’s who buys their products.
Cease all programming. I don’t give two shits.
A serious, deliberate suggestion:
Air reruns of “Candid Camera”.
That show made people aware that even when no one is watching, you should do the right thing. How embarrassing when you are caught doing something you did not expect to be accountable for.
It is ESPECIALLY timely now, because despite that people now there are cameras EVERYWHERE, they will do things they know they shouldn’t. And when caught, they believe they can LIE their way out of it, doubling down on bad behavior.
THERE was a REAL reality show.
“…the network likely would seek to move up the start time of its late-night programming block including “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” to 10:30 p.m. or 11 p.m. from 11:30 p.m…”
Whatever. That’s like moving the deck chairs about three inches closer to the lifeboats on the Titanic. It doesn’t even get him out of “Late Night TV Clown” territory.
Still, I’d suggest they run this “game-changer” by Pfizer before they do anything rash.
A documentary of the public execution of ALL late night ‘comedy’ hosts should draw a big audience.
Halloween us coming up they could run a hour of Trump programming that would sure scare the hell outta people.
It doesn’t matter to me because I am always in bed before 10 PM and haven’t watched any TV after 8 or 9 o’clock at night for years. And yes, I remember when the 3 TV networks signed off after the Tonight Show or the late-night movie before 1 AM and our local NBC affiliate KHQ channel 6 would always sign off with the playing of the national anthem and a clip from the old documentary Victory At Sea and then a blank screen and the test pattern until 5:30 or 6 AM when the morning farm report came on or Jack LaLanne on another channel. And no damned infomercials with Mr. Popeil huckstering Ronco crap, those came later. And Captain Kangaroo every morning, Monday thru Friday about 6 or 6:30 AM.
I have no idea what is on ABC, NBC and CBS because I haven’t watched any of them for almost thirty years, other than the local weather report.
It wouldn’t hurt my feelings at all if The Big Three B’castors lost/cut back so much on all their programs that they shut down nationally at local midnight. With the local stations closing for the night soon after.
I’ve been watching a lot of FETV (family entertainment TV) lately since I recently found them on cable. Beginning with reruns of The Lone Ranger at 4 AM M-F and Saturday afternoons. Rawhide and other old westerns, Mannix, Perry Mason, Emergency etc. I’m a sucker for old Lone Ranger episodes from the late 40’s thru the mid 50’s. I caught the first episode (from 1949) of The Lone Ranger recently, the origin of The Lone Ranger after the Cavendish (Butch Cavendish played by Gunsmoke’s bartender Sam, Glenn Strange) gang killed 6 Texas rangers and left one alive who became The Lone Ranger, his meeting of his Indian sidekick Tonto and his capture of his white horse and taming of Silver. All the old episodes have been remastered in perfect clarity in glorious B&W, great stuff. There was even an episode where DeForest Kelly played a bad guy.
HEY!! The TV stations in the south signed off with ‘The National Anthem’ followed by ‘Dixie’. Betcha’ didn’t know that. Hank Jr. did
Yeah, all we need in Pittsburgh is 47 hours a day of local news anyways ( how are we SUPPOSED to survive on only the 45 hours a day that WPXI currently provides!)
Too bad. Looks like Russia had to decide: Fund war in Ukraine or keep their propaganda machines going at ABC, CBS, NBC.
We now return control of your television set to you. Until next week, at the same time, when the control voice will take you to… The Outer Limits.
The liberal cable entities such as Spectrum-Time Warner and others have also taken a nose-dive with (former) audience prefering instead tv with apps/smart tv which connects to various programming and without the use of annoying and costly cable. Cable, known as the installed conduit for programming in manyy areas, is on its way out and will be obsolete. DVDs and computer systems which include cd drives are making a big comeback and are far less expensive with no “monthly subscription” costs.
Entertainment industry has run out of ideas, it\’s scraping the bottom of the barrel and there is only wood left.
Shock is the only thing the industry has anymore.
Put The Home Shopping chanel back on, it would be better than anything else they have.