NBC Affiliates Unhappy with Leno Lead-In

The LA Times is reporting that NBC affiliates across the country are starting to complain about what the media has coined "The Leno Effect". The 11 PM news is key for NBC affiliates, bringing in about a third of their revenue, but since The Jay Leno Show premiered in September it has provided a weaker lead-in for that crucial nightly news. NBC believes that ratings are in line with what the network expected and "cautions patience as viewers discover the new time slot". But how long are affiliates expected to wait?

As NBC continues to cut costs and tighten its belt in preparation for its potential sale to Comcast, affiliates will continue to lose money and may ultimately decide to find new programming for the 10 o'clock slot. Back in April the NBC affiliate in Boston originally refused to air The Jay Leno Show but after a swift threat from NBC about losing its affiliate status the network backed down. What will happen when more and more affiliates threaten to simply stop airing the show? I've said it once and I'll say it again, The Jay Leno Show is a short term fix for a long term problem. Aside from their Thursday night comedy block NBC has a ton of costly low-quality dramas that audiences, for the most part, aren't interested in watching. Adding another talk-show to their repertoire that people have shown they don't want to watch isn't the solution. NBC made the mistake of committing to Leno's show for two years but if ratings continue to slide it doesn't look like their affiliates will be willing to actually keep the show on the air for that long.

Here is a news clip form April on the NBC Boston affiliate's attempt to not air The Jay Leno Show. It's a bit outdated but it brings up some really interesting issues that have popped up again in the past couple of weeks.