WHAT was NBC West Coast president Scott Sassa suggesting yesterday when he said NBC’s new “Emeril” show wasn’t made for the network’s most prized viewers – who don’t tune in until after nine o’clock?
Sassa shocked reporters yesterday during a conference call to introduce the network’s new fall line-up when he implied that the new comedy starring Food Network chef Emeril Lagasse would not attract NBC’s most desirable audience.
“The real numerical thing that was weighed into this was that the fact that the traditional NBC audience of upscale viewers, that are urban-centered, that are working people, have a hard time getting to the TV set at eight o’clock,” he said.
“What we wanted to do was find some kind of non-conventional quote ‘NBC show’ that we could put on the air.
“I think Emeril is somebody who is massively popular that we think will do quite well at eight o’clock among a lot of different [kinds of audiences],” Sassa said.
The faux pas hit Sassa later, after a reporter asked him to clarify his statement.
“What I was saying was that the most important numbers that we look at show that the typical NBC viewer becomes more available or available in bigger numbers, starting at nine o’clock,” he said.
“So at eight o’clock, with the exception of “Friends” and “Ed,” you’re asking a lot of people to start their night early at eight o’clock with other things to do
“We had to find shows that were a little different than the traditional NBC audience. We found that Emeril was different, yet fitted to the audience mold that would get a different kind of audience,” he said.
The Emeril show – a behind-the-scenes comedy about the TV chef – will air Tuesday night at 8 p.m. next fall, according to the new schedule released yesterday.
This season, NBC has had a rocky race in the ratings – but has kept its No. 1 ranking among viewers 18-49 years old, the most-coveted group among advertisers.
That is at least one reason why NBC has been the most profitable among all the networks in recent years.