NBC Affiliates: Searching for Tomorrowland

If a commercial about the annual NBC affiliates convention were to be produced, it might go something like this:

“Hey, NBC affiliate, your network has taken a beating in the last year. Your ratings have plummeted, you lost Carson, you’re losing Letterman and ‘Cheers’ and getting some guy named Conan O’something, ‘Dateline’ exploded a truck and exploded the network’s credibility. What are you going to do now?”

The affiliate beams into the camera and proclaims, “I’m going to Disney World.”

It’s impossible to gauge how much effect locating the convention in the land of Mickey Mouse and fantasies had on the mood of the 600 representatives from 208 affiliated TV stations during the two-day conference, which wrapped up Tuesday.

But it was clear from the comments and smiles on the faces of many of the attendees that they felt the bad times were over, and that there just might be a happy ending to NBC’s fall from prominence after all.

“I’ve seen some bad conventions and I’ve seen some good conventions, and this definitely was a good one,” said Jim Waterbury of KWWL-TV in Waterloo, Iowa. “This really is a whole new NBC.”

Waterbury and numerous other affiliate executives said they were confident that NBC’s recent hiring of news division president Andrew Lack and of West Coast president Don Ohlmeyer would help turn the network around. They applauded snippets from several new shows premiering this fall, calling it the best new schedule in years. They even praised the backup schedule, which featured planned new comedies with “Cheers” star George Wendt, Martin Short, Cybill Shepherd and Gene Wilder.

“They bottomed out last year, and they’ve come back 180 degrees,” said Bill Brooks, general manager of WPTV-TV in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Some likened the new familial spirit of the convention to NBC’s need to make good with the affiliates who air its programs. “When a network is on top, the relationship with the affiliates is tenuous and they don’t need us as much,” said one station president. “Now they really need that partnership.”

Network affiliates in recent years have had more say and more complaints about network programming, often threatening to pull shows if they don’t feel that high enough ratings are being generated to draw viewers to more regional programming financed by local advertisers. Strong network shows at 10 p.m. are especially valued by affiliates who want large audiences for their 11 p.m. news.

Some of NBC’s controversies of the past season had a damaging effect on some affiliates. “Our image is tied up with the network, so we get knocked in the local press when the network gets knocked,” said James Hart, general manager of WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tenn. “It has an impact on the way sponsors and viewers feel about us. We would like to feel good about the programming.”

Over the past season, NBC has given little for its affiliates to feel good about. Prime-time ratings are down 10% from a year ago. The departure to CBS of late-night show host David Letterman, bitter over being passed over for the coveted “Tonight Show” job, resulted in more bad press. Almost all of the shows introduced last season hovered near the bottom of the ratings. The highly publicized staging of a truck crash on “Dateline NBC” put a cloud over the news department. The network’s third-place status was a far cry from its dominance in the late 1980s.

Some affiliates said they got through the bad times by focusing more on their station’s good fortunes than the network’s bad fortunes. “We don’t live by the network or die by the network,” said Tony Twibill, president of KING-TV in Seattle. “We have 40 hours a week of local programming. We’re heavily focused on that.”

But Twibill said he too was caught up in the enthusiasm of the affiliates toward NBC. He said the network’s success in the May sweeps, which could result in a ninth consecutive victory in that period sweeps, was pivotal. He added that the new management team was crucial to restoring confidence.

“Last year, everyone knew we were in a turnaround,” Twibill said. “Many new things were tried, and the plug was pulled on many shows where it might not have been the best decision. It was a transition period. People feel much better about what’s happening now.”

That optimism was evident Tuesday during an impromptu address by Bill Cosby, whose “Cosby Show” was one of the mainstays of the network during its peak. Ohlmeyer persuaded Cosby to return to NBC next season to play a detective in four made-for-TV movies that will be spun off into a series in the 1994 season.

“All of you guys have to understand that through these times of bottomness, that we were trying,” Cosby said. “We were really trying, and decisions are made, and those of you who have been in the business long enough, you know that you go up and then you have to come down, and then you have to go up again. You have been on this roller coaster. Well, I’m involved with this peacock. I want to see this peacock fly again.”

The comedian added: “I think this confusion is over, the confusion of what to put on the air. I think you can tell from this particular schedule that nobody is confused about what is going to be the best ’93 season, ’94 season, and you guys are going to have plenty of support this time.”

The affiliates applauded samples of several comedies--”The John Larroquette Show,” “The Second Half,” “Frazier” and “Mommies.” A more tentative response was heard for two dramas, “Against the Grain” and Steven Spielberg’s “SeaQuest DSV,” as well as for the new Valerie Bertinelli comedy, “Cafe Americain.”

Still, the crowd cheered as Cosby predicted success: “Ladies and gentlemen, as much fun as it was when you were No. 1, did you really enjoy it? Did you really know how to taste it then? Did you know how to feel it? Because I know you miss it now, and that’s no way to treat your lover. So we’re coming back.”

He concluded: “This time, when you hit No. 1, I want you to love it. I want you to taste it, and I don’t want you to ever take that position for granted again. As much as you don’t take No. 3 for granted now. Because there is a No. 4, and right now, third out of four ain’t bad.”