Jeff Zucker wouldn’t have raised any eyebrows at NBC’s upfront presentation if he had merely assured advertisers that the network would survive on Thursday nights without “Friends.” The idea of the upfronts, after all, is to sell advertisers on the idea that your schedule is solid.
Zucker, president of NBC Universal’s Television Group, went beyond that, however, predicting that NBC’s ratings among adults 18-49–will improve on Thursday nights next year.
“Next season’s Thursday night is even stronger than this year’s,” Zucker says.
His reasoning lies largely in the fact that NBC will have a full year of “The Apprentice,” this season’s top new show in the 18-49 demographic, to fill the 8 p.m. slot in 2004-05. Two cycles of the Donald Trump-fronted unscripted show will run for 34 weeks, breaking only for a couple of weeks during the holiday season.
In addition, “Friends” spinoff “Joey” is set for 24 episodes, Zucker says, six more than “Friends” produced in its final season. NBC believes in the series enough to show the full pilot to advertisers Monday, a step it hasn’t taken since it unveiled “The Golden Girls” in 1985.
More Top Picks Best Focus Timers For Adhd
———-
Edited by Cara DiPasquale ([email protected]) and Victoria Rodriguez ([email protected])