Report: NBC Considering Cutting Back Prime-Time

NBC is considering reducing the number of hours it programs in prime time, people familiar with the matter said, a cost-cutting move that would reflect broadcast television’s diminishing popularity.

Under the scenario being discussed, NBC would stop programming the 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. hour and give those seven hours per week to local TV stations to program, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The talks are preliminary and it is possible that NBC will decide to continue to program the 10 p.m. hour, one of the people said. NBC hasn’t officially discussed the matter with its affiliate board, a group that represents station partners, two people close to that organization said. The earliest such a shift could take place would be the fall of 2023.

If NBC did drop the hour, it would have to decide which shows in its lineup would get cut. The network currently airs mostly scripted dramas in the 10 p.m. hour. Those could be moved to earlier in the evening to replace other content.

If the plan moves forward, 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., one of the people familiar with the matter said. That would give Mr. Fallon a jump on his chief rivals, Stephen Colbert at CBS and Jimmy Kimmel at ABC.

An NBC spokeswoman said: “We are always looking at strategies to ensure that our broadcast business remains as strong as possible. As a company, our advantage lies in our ability to provide audiences with the content they love across broadcast, cable and streaming.”

The big three broadcast networks—NBC, CBS and ABC—have been programming at least three hours a night since the early days of television. In partnership with local stations across the country, network television was the dominant medium for entertainment and news for decades. It was also the primary way for advertisers to reach a mass audience.

Local stations—some of which are owned by the broadcast networks—program the hours that the networks don’t with content such as daytime talk shows and news.

All the major networks have suffered audience declines for years, facing competition first from cable and then streaming-video. Hits are few and far between while the costs of creating content continue to rise. Advertisers, too, are flocking to streaming and other platforms.

Whether NBCU eventually decides to give up on the 10 p.m. ET hour or not, it is clear that the company’s future strategy revolves around Peacock, reports The Streamable. Not only have they positioned it as a standalone streaming service, but also as a key component in plans to turn Xfinity’s operating system into a platform for all sorts of streaming entertainment.

With the extra money saved from seven hours of broadcast programming, that money would likely be reinvested in expanding the content stream over at Peacock.