NBC’s Zucker: ‘We have to do better’

NBC Universal Television Group President Jeff Zucker said Wednesday that he will not attempt to gloss over the network’s prime-time woes when he addresses advertising buyers during next week’s presentation of fall programming.

“I will acknowledge up top the reality of the situation,” Zucker told reporters at a breakfast at Rockefeller Plaza that marked the one-year anniversary of the NBC-Universal merger. “We’re not going to run from that. We’re not going to hide from that. We’re not going to let the elephant sit in the room. I’ll handle the fact it was a tough year.

“Let’s be honest. We have to do better this fall than we’re doing now.”

The network that coined “must-see TV” has recently seen its standing among the crucial 18- to 49-year-old audience tumble. After holding the title of top network for most of the last decade, NBC has slipped from first to fourth place among those viewers this year.

“We did not have a very good year,” Zucker acknowledged. “We lost ‘Friends’ and didn’t replenish the schedule with newer, fresher hits.”

NBC must now convince advertisers who paid a premium for spots on the No. 1 network that it will regain its footing with new shows this fall. All six broadcast networks will present their upcoming programming during a series of glitzy events in New York next week.

NBC is scheduled to go first, with a presentation Monday at Radio City Music Hall.

Zucker noted that NBC still leads among affluent viewers and that the broadcast networks are currently separated by just a fraction of a rating point in the key 18-to-49 demographic group.

“There’s complete network parity right now,” he said. “But having said that, there’s something psychological about being No. 1.”

Zucker is hoping for a change of fortune not only in prime-time but also on “Today,” the network’s morning show juggernaut, which has lost ground to ABC’s “Good Morning, America.”

The NBC program, which had a 3-million-viewer advantage six years ago, was ahead of ABC by an average of just 494,000 viewers during the last two months, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Last month, Zucker and NBC News President Neal Shapiro fired “Today” Executive Producer Tom Touchet because of the slippage in the ratings, replacing him with veteran sports producer Jim Bell.

“We haven’t really innovated at the ‘Today’ show in the last three or four years,” Zucker said, adding that the same team of anchors has been in place for nearly a decade.

“You need a sense of freshness, and I don’t think we’ve given that,” he added.

But he said he’s happy with “Today” show hosts Katie Couric and Matt Lauer. “I don’t think there’s an issue with the talent,” Zucker said. “I think it’s the way you produce them; the way you program the show; the situations you put your people in.”