NBC – News Stories About NBC - Page 20

Apr 16, 2009 10:30 AM CDT

Madden Retires from Booth

(Newser) - John Madden has called his last football game, NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol announced today, with the legendary former coach deciding to retire from broadcasting. “I’m 73 years old,” Madden said in a statement. “I still love every part of it—the travel, the practices, the...

New Shows
Offer NBC
Ray of Hope

Apr 15, 2009 12:03 PM CDT

New Shows Offer NBC Ray of Hope

Southland , Parks and Recreation lead upturn

(Newser) - After years of poor ratings, NBC may be on the rebound with the help of two new series: cop show Southland and Amy Poehler’s comedy Parks and Recreation. Parks scored only 6.9 million total viewers, but it maintained 88% of The Office’s coveted young-adult audience. Southland topped...

Reality TV Show Seeks to Dump Blago in Jungle

Apr 15, 2009 7:07 AM CDT

Reality TV Show Seeks to Dump Blago in Jungle

Ex-gov offered space on NBC show if judge gives the OK

(Newser) - NBC wants to pluck Rod Blagojevich from the political wilderness and dump him in the Costa Rican jungle, the Chicago Tribune reports. The ex-Illinois governor, who pleaded not guilty to corruption charges yesterday, has been offered a spot on a new season of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of ...

Can Amy
Poehler Save
NBC's Bacon?

glossies

Apr 6, 2009 5:50 PM CDT

Can Amy Poehler Save NBC's Bacon?

(Newser) - Wallowing in a muddy fourth place among major networks, NBC is betting on Amy Poehler to clean up its ratings with Parks and Recreation, Will Leitch writes in New York magazine. A mockumentary style sitcom “from the people who bring you The Office”—as NBC ads are trumpeting—...

ER Finale Did What Show Did Best: Critics

OPINION

Apr 3, 2009 1:54 PM CDT

ER Finale Did What Show Did Best: Critics

Show ends doing what it does best

(Newser) - ER capped 15 seasons last night with a finale that satisfied many critics happy with cameos by original cast members and the series’ trademark fast pace.

Alan Sepinwall, Star-Ledger: "The finale worked hard to bring as many elements from that pilot full circle as they could, while showing that

...

Boston
Station
Won't Air
Leno at 10PM

Apr 3, 2009 8:07 AM CDT

Boston Station Won't Air Leno at 10PM

NBC execs cry breach of contract

(Newser) - NBC’s Boston affiliate is refusing to air Jay Leno’s 10pm talk show when it begins in September, the Boston Globe reports. Though the station owner claims that a “unique agreement” with NBC allows this option, a network president called the move “a flagrant violation of their...

ER Checks Out Tonight

critical roundup

Apr 2, 2009 10:54 AM CDT

ER Checks Out Tonight

Critics, fans, brace for last episode tonight

(Newser) - After 15 seasons, viewers will make their final trip to County General Hospital tonight in the series finale of ER. Critics and fans are reflecting on the groundbreaking show:

Mixing “medical triumph” with “personal angst,” ER “may have begun as a show about salvation, but it

...

Amy Goes 'Obama'
on Parks and Rec

glossies

Mar 28, 2009 5:15 PM CDT

Amy Goes 'Obama' on Parks and Rec

Poehler's new role takes her live from NY to delusional in Indiana

(Newser) - Amy Poehler, whose Hillary Clinton impression made her a household name on Saturday Night Live last fall, now embodies the yes-we-can ethos of the Obama generation on her new NBC sitcom, writes Joshua Alston in Newsweek. Parks and Recreation follows Poehler’s haplessly hopeful bureaucrat as she tries to overcome...

March Madness Sets Standard for Online Sports

ncaa tournament

Mar 19, 2009 1:42 PM CDT

March Madness Sets Standard for Online Sports

(Newser) - If you're reading this with an NCAA tournament game streaming live in another browser tab, you're in good company: In 2008, nearly 5 million people watched March Madness online, reports the Chicago Tribune. The tipping point between novelty and mainstay came 4 years ago, when CBS made access free,...

In Recession, NBC Page Gig Loses Luster

Mar 18, 2009 2:15 PM CDT

In Recession, NBC Page Gig Loses Luster

Once, $10/hour job launched careers; now, breeds bitterness

(Newser) - Stop by NBC’s Rockefeller Plaza headquarters for a tour, and you’ll be shown around by cheerful 20-somethings, cheerfully working 50-hour weeks for $10 an hour. Why? Because this is the NBC page program! Michael Eisner started as a page, as did Steve Allen, Willard Scott and others. But...

Recession Grounds
Lauer's World Tour

Mar 13, 2009 2:27 PM CDT

Recession Grounds Lauer's World Tour

(Newser) - NBC is taking globetrotting out of Today host Matt Lauer’s job description, the AP reports, shelving his “where in the world” segment for fear of looking too extravagant during the recession. Rather, the network said today, the morning show will profile affordable US vacation destinations during a week...

Clooney Returns to ER Tonight

Mar 12, 2009 2:25 PM CDT

Clooney Returns to ER Tonight

(Newser) - Set your TiVo to stunned: George Clooney will make a return appearance on ER tonight, Entertainment Tonight reports. Clooney, who left the show in 1999, will star with his onetime on-screen love interest, Julianna Margulies. “I want their story to be very fulfilling in the end,” the episode’...

Fallon's
Ratings
Good,
at Least

Mar 3, 2009 1:23 PM CST

Fallon's Ratings Good, at Least

(Newser) - Jimmy Fallon’s late-night hosting debut might not have drawn much critical buzz, but it did draw enough curious viewers to give NBC its highest ratings in the time slot in 3 years, the Hollywood Reporter notes. The 2.3 rating—equivalent to about 2.6 million households—bested Craig...

Can Fallon Twitter His Way
to Late-Night Stardom?

Mar 2, 2009 9:45 AM CST

Can Fallon Twitter His Way to Late-Night Stardom?

(Newser) - Jimmy Fallon has a daunting task before him tonight: He’s got to forge a Late Night identity that can compete with the likes of David Letterman and Conan O'Brien. But he has one major advantage: Twitter. Dispatches descend regularly from @jimmyfallon (including the announcement of first guests Robert De...

Fallon: 'Nauseous' But Ready

Interview

Feb 28, 2009 12:33 PM CST

Fallon: 'Nauseous' But Ready

New host knows he could be the 'last guy'

(Newser) - Jimmy Fallon will be following in some pretty big footsteps when he takes over Late Night on Monday, but he’s prepared. After all, he has the plastic pickle—a 3-foot-long specimen passed down from Conan, who got it from Letterman—plus an endless supply of advice from friends and...

Seinfeld Returns
to NBC With
'Marriage Ref'
Reality Show

Feb 26, 2009 4:30 AM CST

Seinfeld Returns to NBC With 'Marriage Ref' Reality Show

Comedian sees something funny about marriage

(Newser) - Jerry Seinfeld is returning to network TV after an 11-year-break with a show mining marriages for comedy gold, Variety reports. The comedian is the creator and executive producer of the upcoming NBC reality series The Marriage Ref, which will feature opinionated celebs giving lighthearted marriage advice to couples going through...

On Last
Late Night,
Conan Looks Back

Feb 21, 2009 6:25 AM CST

On Last Late Night, Conan Looks Back

Show features old clips, special guests

(Newser) - Conan O’Brien took the stage for the final episode of Late Night yesterday, reminiscing about 16 years on the air with clips and big-time guests, E! Online reports. The 2,725th episode featured John Mayer singing to Conan, Will Ferrell appearing as George W. Bush, and the first White...

Conan Trades Up to
Tonight But Can't
Shake Leno

Feb 19, 2009 12:18 PM CST

Conan Trades Up to Tonight But Can't Shake Leno

As 'Late Night' winds down, the landscape of network television moves as well

(Newser) - As Conan O'Brien gets ready to move from Late Night to the Tonight Show—tomorrow is his last post-midnight show before he decamps for LA—the value of the coveted 11pm slot has been seriously undercut. With current Tonight host Jay Leno heading not into the sunset but into the...

NBC Denies Channeling $1M to Octuplet Mom

Feb 12, 2009 10:19 AM CST

NBC Denies Channeling $1M to Octuplet Mom

NBC denies any money was exchanged

(Newser) - When octuplet mom Nadya Suleman's reps named the price for footage of the birth—$1.2 million—NBC was the only outlet to indicate interest. The network denies paying for her exclusive sit-down with Ann Curry, but an insider tells the New York Post NBC used an intermediary to deliver...

Some Stations Go
Digital Next Week

Feb 11, 2009 7:59 AM CST

Some Stations Go Digital Next Week

Hundreds of stations switch despite delay

(Newser) - Nearly 700 local TV stations across America plan to switch from analog to digital signals next week despite a new law delaying the transition deadline until June, CNET reports. Congress is worried that 20 million consumers, mostly poor, elderly, or living in rural areas, still don't have the conversion equipment...