Tonight is either beginning of the end of NBC or the beginning of a new television business model.
I’m betting BIG on the former.
It will be interesting to follow The Jay Leno Show’s ratings for about a week and then the media will become bored reporting that Jay’s numbers were, once again, 5.3 with a 7 share (2.3 / 4 18-49).
But at least for tonight, it’s interesting.
All I can say is – Good Luck, Jay. You’ll still be a rich and successful man even though you are now the face of dying network.
(In truth, broadcast networks are already dead… but I digress.)
My predictions on how the NBC promotions department will spin tomorrow’s ratings:
- Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint.
- Because of the low production costs, we don’t need home run ratings to make a big profit.
- Considering Jay was opposite the premiere of Monday Night Football, he did very well.
- Obviously, we were hoping for a much bigger number, but we firmly believe that the audience will grow once kids have adjusted to returning to school.
- Even though it was National Cream Filled Donut Day, we posted very strong numbers.
- If we would have known this was the date that Grace Kelly died in a car crash (in 1982), we probably would have waited to premiere Jay’s show.
- There may have been some confusion by those people who haven’t adapted to the Gregorian calendar.
Once again, good luck Jay. You’re in a no win situation.
Jill Kennedy – OnMedea