Monday, November 24, 2008
Network Bailout Mentioned
They've been living on borrowed time for the better part of two decades, thanks to advertisers willing to toss in more cash each year even as ratings slowly trended ever lower.
But with the economy in a tailspin - and the Big Three auto manufacturers, some of TV's best advertisers, near ruin - the biz may finally have to pull the emergency cord.
'This day was going to come,' says one conglom bigwig. 'I don't think the business can be sustained without real change at this juncture. ... We have a gun to all of our heads.'
Already smarting from a writers strike-impacted season, the networks haven't had much more to celebrate this fall. Collectively, the Big Five (including the CW) are down 13% among adults 18-49 vs. last year.
One of the traditional major nets - ABC, NBC or CBS - could mirror the Fox sked and drop an hour of primetime, airing only from 8 to 10 p.m. (or perhaps 9 to 11 p.m.) and return that extra hour to the affiliates
(from Variety).
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this posted by David August at 1:12 PM 
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