Affiliates Weigh Jay

摘要

Affiliates seem split down the middle as to what NBC's move of Jay Leno to the nightly 10 p.m. slot means for their crucial late news ratings. While station chiefs were pleased to see NBC Universal President/CEO Jeff Zucker find a way to keep Leno in the family, some are concerned that the program will never see major ratings, and will lose substantial viewers toward the end of the hour. If that happens, their 11 p.m. newscasts will suffer. "My [immediate] reaction is that no one's saying Leno will be a great program-everyone's saying how much expense NBC has saved," says Belo Executive VP Peter Diaz, who oversees four NBC affiliates. "We have a wait-and-see attitude, but I'm certainly concerned about late news." The NBC affiliates board met in New York last week, and chairman Michael Fiorile described the affiliates as "cautiously optimistic" regarding the primetime overhaul. The primary concern is that last half-hour dropoff that's already documented on Leno's Tonight Show.