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...Days at NBC Declining ratings and weakening demographics could spell trouble for network czar Jeff Zucker...
This early in the season, as Zucker and his minions argue, it may be premature to sound the alarms. After all, following the lead of pioneers like Fox and HBO, Zucker recently pronounced the end of the traditional September-May viewing calendar, and he has a slew of new shows ready to roll out, including an American takeoff on the BBC hit The Office and a boxing reality show, The Contender. To help ensure some much needed stability in such an unpredictable business, Zucker has re-signed Law & Order creator Dick Wolf through 2008 (a fourth edition...
Defeat is something Zucker--who was a high-ranked junior tennis player and has twice beaten colon cancer--isn't used to. Ever since he embraced hard news and used stunts like outdoor concerts to turn Today into NBC's gold mine, Zucker has been the network's golden boy. From the time he got his start, doing advance research for NBC's coverage of the 1988 Seoul Olympics, "Jeff was tireless and energetic," says his boss Bob Wright. "In his kind of work, you have to anticipate everything and be willing to change on a dime. Jeff has that...
Despite having no background in prime-time entertainment, Zucker was dispatched in late 2000 to Burbank, Calif., to help re-energize the network, which had failed to recognize the explosive appeal of reality TV. Within a short time, Zucker was doing what many observers say he does best: putting a new spin on a proven concept and promoting the heck out of it. He generated two hits in the gross-out fest Fear Factor and The Apprentice. "NBC thought reality TV was beneath them," says Steve Friedman, Zucker's producing predecessor at Today. "[He knew] that you can never...
...that has hamstrung NBC; it's also arrogance. "NBC's [successful] shows masked their weaker spots, which are now more obvious," says Stacey Lynn Koerner, an executive vice president at ad buyer Initiative Media. "[The Apprentice] made executives more confident, and they didn't address the problem." Now if Zucker can work his magic one more time, he'll really have something to brag about. --Reported by Simon Crittle/New York and Jeanne McDowell/Los Angeles...