NBC has begun considering a cut to its primetime programming. The television giant is reportedly discussing whether it will keep its coveted 10 pm to 11 pm EST time slot. NBC may cut its programming during that time, thus saving the network a surprising amount of money weekly. If NBC chooses to do so, that hour would be given over to local TV stations. The matter is apparently being mulled over at an executive level and hasn't yet been brought to the NBC affiliates' board. It has been reported that these discussions are preliminary and aren't close to any serious decision-making level.
Getting rid of the 10 pm time slot is a budgetary move for NBC but symbolizes a more significant change for the rest of us. If NBC were to stop broadcasting between 10 pm and 11 pm, it might represent the beginning and end of the age of broadcast television. In the old days, when radio was the primary mode by which people received their media, TV stations would have an end to their broadcast day. Whereupon, they would play the National Anthem over a picture of a waving American flag, and the channel would go to static. Now, cable and broadcast television might return to this era as streaming begins to replace the old world of TV.
NBC is one of the old guards of television networks. Its programming comprises daytime soap operas, procedural shows like Law & Order, news, and primetime sports. It's famous for its broadcasts of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Times Square Ball Drop on New Year's, and the very first Super Bowl. Like most other television networks, NBC is continuing to focus its energies more on streaming than on its broadcast shows recently. The NBC platform Peacock is one of the biggest streaming platforms available and maintains quality programming.
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NBC is experiencing a lot of changes, and trimming broadcast services is going on everywhere. Days of Our Lives, one of the longest-running daytime soap operas broadcast almost every weekday since 1965, recently finished its television run to move exclusively to Peacock. In an experiment similar to cutting NBC's 10 pm slot, the Chairman of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, Mike Lazarus, cut NBC's programming from 1:30 am to 2 am EST and gave it over to NBC's affiliate stations. Lazarus is the main executive behind talks of cutting the 10 pm time slot.
An NBC spokesperson stated to The Wall Street Journal:
"We are always looking at strategies to ensure that our broadcast business remains as strong as possible," the NBC spokesperson said in a statement. "As a company, our advantage lies in our ability to provide audiences with the content they love across broadcast, cable and streaming."
Everyone knows that streaming is the future of TV, but taking an hour away from one of its most prosperous times in the ratings seems a bit drastic to most NBC viewers. The 10 pm time slot includes shows like Law & Order: Organized Crime, Dateline, and NBC Sunday Night Football. These are all big draws for NBC and are not thrown away or moved lightly. But the change in programming means a lot for NBC's later shows like The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Saturday Night Live.
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With a cut at 10 pm, these shows, which draw more viewers than the ones previously listed, are likely to get earlier airtime. And earlier airtime usually means an increase in ratings. Making these shows more popular is an excellent strategy for NBC. Putting the programs that are already the crème de la crème of NBC in the hands of more people means they have a greater likelihood of pulling more viewers into subscribing to Peacock. And that's what the larger goal is.
When streaming services scored higher on Nielsen Ratings than broadcast television earlier this year, it was a big wake-up call to regular TV networks. The increasing popularity of streaming platforms is not going to stop. And the large migration of cable viewers becoming streaming subscribers will only get more substantial as the years go on. Even cable providers are making their services more cooperative with streaming on the big screen.
Most TV remotes nowadays look closer to a Roku remote than an old-school channel clicker, with Netflix and Disney+ buttons listed right on the controller. As more people slowly move away from cable boxes in favor of Xbox, there is no stopping the steady decline of 20th-century media. How people digest media is constantly changing. As NBC tries to adapt, they represent one of the biggest and most surprising consequences of this change.