The sky is falling, the sky is falling! That seems to be a cry from many currently. 
A sign that broadcast television is struggling in the age of streaming?
NBC is considering something once thought unthinkable — giving up what has traditionally been one of the prime pieces of real estate on TV. According to The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Flint, NBC is considering giving the 10 to 11 p.m. prime-time hour back to local affiliates.
Now, to be clear, this is nowhere close to a done deal. It’s just something the network is thinking about, and they haven’t discussed it yet with the affiliate board. The earliest it would happen, if it happened at all, would be the fall of 2023. That’s because the 2022-23 prime-time lineup is already set. And if there was a change, it would not include special live events, such as “Sunday Night Football” and awards shows.
But this could be a big deal.
It
could be. NBC is cheap and getting cheaper. You don't do three hours
of Chicago unless you're very intimate with tacky. What NBC is
proposing currently is that they become like FOX and THE CW. Those two
do not program three hours of of prime time Mondays through Friday.
They were going to, FOX once long ago insisted. Never arrived at that
point. They're called "net-lettes'' as a result.
NBC
doesn't know what it is and is willing to give up five hours to save
money. This isn't new. They tried going cheap in the final hour of
prime time Monday through Friday with Jay Leno. They were going to take
THE TONIGHT SHOW and move it on up. That was not to give Jay Leno a
reward, that was to be cheap.
The
Leno move only resulted in hard feelings all around. That may end up
being the case this time as well. It has nothing to do with streaming,
it has to do with being cheap and with NBC's inability to connect with
viewers. If they make this move, it could influence others. Could.
CBS knows it needs three hours of programming to keep their viewers.
While NBC long ago gave up on Saturday nights and now serve up ancient,
edited episodes of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE -- some nearly fifty years old.
CBS knows they need to mix it up with something more current on their
Saturdays. Equally true, CBS has better ratings than NBC. ABC might go
for reducing to two hours. They haven't found another Shonda Rhimes
all this time later.
But
most likely, even if NBC tested it out, it's unlikely ABC and CBS would
follow suit. Those watching broadcast TV regularly are creatures of
habit -- something CBS understands better than any of the big three.
And, should this happen, NBC will no longer be part of "the big three."
It will begin it's tumble out of that exclusive circle.
Again, there are a lot of reasons not to do it. Maybe NBC will do it, maybe it won't.
The
other sky is falling moment of late? Hillary and Chelsea Clinton are
coming to TV. Well, to APPLE+. It still can't scare up enough
subscribers and they thought the thing to do was GUTSY starring Hillary
as an overworked Mother Superior and Chelsea as a flibbertigibbet new to the convent. Think Roz Russell and Hayley Mills in THE TROUBLE WITH ANGELS.
Each week, Hill and Chelse will tackle a crime -- often one that will lead to arresting whomever last cut Hillary's hair.
No, we joke, we kid.
It's much more pathetic than that.
They think they're influencers and that the world is waiting on them.
The world needs to hear from a professional doormat and her spoiled daughter?
For what?
GUTSY should be called PATSY. You're the pasty if you waste your time on their nonsense.
But there will probably be very few patsies. No one will be watching.
That's the big problem, by the way. Watching. YOU AND ME BOTH. Remember that?
The
bulk of Americans elected to ignore that podcast by Hillary. Adding
Chelsea does not make Hillary more appealing. There was no need for
this. But streamers keep giving the crooked Clintons money.
Hillary
isn't likeable. Don't believe Barack Obama who once, in a 2008 debate,
sneered at her and said flatly, "You're likeable enough."
She
isn't. And she's not aged well. Nor is Chelsea easy on the eyes.
Chelasa can't even pass for more 'well groomed' these days. She was an
ugly child. If you doubt it, think back to Rush Limbaugh's extremely
short lived TV show. He compared Chelsea to a dog.
People objected and rushed to defend her.
There
was no "Rush Limbaugh is blind." No, on the left we rushed to defend
Chelsea with "how dare he!" remarks. Which went to the fact that he
hadn't said anything false, he'd just said the wrong thing. You don't pick on someone when they're a child. Now Chelsea can bring her homely face to this show and, with any luck, she can drag her trashy in-laws along with her.
In-laws, yes. Chelsea's married to Marc Mezvinsky. She didn't take his last name. She didn't take his religion. But we're sure it's a very deep and abiding love. Otherwise, why may Marc whose father went to prison after being convicted of 31 charges of felony fraud? To find out what may be waiting around the corner for Clinton Foundation board member Chelsea?
Meanwhile, Hillary's so desperate to be on TV that she's saying things about how the previous betrayal of Bill cheating on her nearly destroyed her.
Yeah, it's that kind of show.
It's
an embarrassment and will fade quickly. There's no use getting upset
by some attention seeker's desperate bid to be relevant.
The sky is not falling. We're just experiencing a few technical problems and the desperation of an unfulfilled woman who has finally, at the age of 74, grasped that her dreams will never, ever come true. APPLE+ calls that "gusty." We call it sad.
