Should we care about the change in leadership at NBC Universal? How does it affect advertising in Kansas City? Well, the news story is that Ben Silverman, Co-Chairman at NBC Universal is stepping down and Jeff Gaspin, the former executive in charge of NBC’s cable channels such as USA and Bravo, is being promoted to replace him. You can read the full story from the NY Times here. Silverman was the person who tried to turn around the network’s prime time lineup with shows like “The Celebrity Apprentice” and “Knight Rider”.
What is applicable to local advertisers in KC is the way in which NBC is acknowledging the fact that Cable TV is a better business to be in these days. “In an interview, Mr. Gaspin acknowledged the change in television fortunes. ‘You can’t dismiss the fact that cable is just much more profitable than broadcast television. I don’t see that changing. Cable is a much superior business model.’”
Another quote from the article talks about the superior programming now found on Cable Networks: “The scripted shows on USA now rival those on NBC, especially in the summertime months, when NBC’s only hit is the reality show ‘America’s Got Talent.’ Last Thursday, when NBC struggled to draw three million viewers to its sitcom repeats, a new episode of USA’s most popular show, ‘Burn Notice,’ attracted 6.8 million viewers.”
Time & time again we are seeing the broadcast networks acknowledge that Cable TV is a valuable medium for today’s advertisers. On any given evening over half of the TV Audience is watching cable TV. If you are a local advertiser that is advertising on TV, but not using cable, you should take a serious look at what you are missing. Don’t take it from me, take it from the executives at NBC Universal.
Do you agree that this has any local advertising impact or is this a case of musical chairs in New York that has little to do with us here in the Midwest?
