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NBC Universal Experience Withdrawal
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I think NBC’s programming chief Ben Silverman might just possibly be completely bonkers. After touting his own entrepreneurial prowess and dissing the other network programming chiefs in Esquire, he went on to cement his reputation as a shake‘em’up, wild’n’crazy, new kid out to remake the industry.
Buyers got a glimpse of this radical new vision at Monday’s NBC Universal Experience at 30 Rockefeller Center. NBCU took a completely different tack than the typical Upfront presentation. It was the kitchen sink approach with the volume turned up. Way up.
440 televisions blasted NBC programming. Electronic tickers pulsated. Cell phones playing NBC shows hung from the ceiling. ‘Deal or No Deal’ gals thrust gadgets into palms. Telemundo anchors broadcast in Spanish. Meredith Viera and Ann Curry interviewed buyers while two muscle boys from ‘American Gladiators’ beat each other wit pugli sticks.
And everywhere, there were stars. Everyone the network could scrounge up: Molly Shannon, Brooke Shields, Tina Fey, Christian Slater, Selma Blair, Janice Dickinson, Coolio, Kyle Chandler, Deion Sanders, Jimmy Fallon, Kathy Griffin, and Tim Russert. ‘SNL’s’ Seth Meyers, Darell Hammond, Amy Poehler, Bill Hader and Fred Armisen. Even KITT the talking car.
It was, Conan O’Brien told the crowd during the cocktail party that capped off the evening, “As we like to call it here at NBC, the epilepsy hut.”
The sneakiest thing about the over-the-top event is that NBC already unveiled its new line up weeks earlier at a significantly more low key, perhaps boring, “Infront” presentation. As in “in front” of the competition. Competing networks are said to be following suit this week with scaled-down upfronts. Then NBC goes completely the opposite direction with this trade show/amusement park hybrid.
“What we’re trying to do is reinforce the idea that it’s more than the English-language broadcast network,” said NBCU Chief Executive Jeff Zucker. “We know it’s very overwhelming. It’s a lot –- because there’s a lot here.”
Maybe. Or perhaps this is what a network does when it doesn’t have faith in its schedule. Or when it doesn’t want its wacky new programming chief saying who-knows-what in front of its advertisers.
