NBC: Betting on Olympics, Voice to Launch New Hits

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Coverage: Upfronts 2013

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STRATEGY: Utilize the strength of The Voice and

the 2014 Winter Olympics to launch new hits, with a focus on family comedies

and character-based procedural dramas.

NBC will go into next fall with TVs No. 1 reality show in The Voice and

two returning rookie dramas in Revolution and Chicago Fire, but

after failing to launch a new comedy hit and a dismal midseason track record,

the network still has plenty of holes to fill. It is betting on a better 2013-14

thanks to its two golden opportunities to launch a schedule -- using Sunday

Night Football and The Voice in fall and the networks broadcast of

the Winter Olympics next February.

It was a bit of a roller-coaster year for us this year, but I think we overall

made great progress, NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt told the

upfront audience last week, while acknowledging the challenging season to come.

We have no illusions about how much work is ahead to grow our business.

A big part of that progress this season was successfully airing two cycles of The

Voice. The network will again double up in 2013-14, with the fifth cycle

bowing on Sept. 23. Since The Voice successfully launched Revolution,

NBC will use what Greenblatt called the invaluable lead-in this fall for The

Blacklist, a new drama starring James Spader as a former fugitive helping

the FBI track down a terrorist. Greenblatt crowed Blacklist tested

better than the last 125 new dramas at NBC. On Tuesdays, The Voice will

lead into Chicago Fire; NBC hopes that show can grow in its sophomore

run.

In midseason, The Voice will move up an hour to help launch new Tuesday

comedies About a Boy (from Parenthood executive producer Jason

Katims) and The Family Guide. Uplifting family comedy was the goal of

this development cycle, as the net looked for half-hours that were funny,

accessible and positive, said NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke.

That thinking will also be the cornerstone of NBCs rebuilt Thursday lineup:

Sole veteran comedy Parks and Recreation will lead off the night at 8

p.m., followed by Welcome to the Family starring Mike OMalley, the Sean

Hayes vehicle Sean Saves the World and The Michael J. Fox Show at

9:30 p.m., with family drama Parenthood capping off the night. Thirteen

episodes of Community and the new Bill Lawrence comedy Undateable remain

unscheduled for midseason.

In drama, NBC went for a real emphasis on law enforcement characters and

procedurals, which we think is a good thing as long as characters are relatable

and cases are compelling, Salke said. In addition to the FBI drama Blacklist,

Blair Underwood stars in an update of Ironside, about a tough cop

relegated to a wheelchair, airing Wednesday at 10 p.m. on a night of drama with

Revolution and Law & Order: SVU.

Friday will be a fun genre night, with a new season of Grimm leading

into the limited series Dracula (starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers) in fall

and Crossbones (with John Malkovich as the pirate Blackbeard) in

midseason.

NBC hopes it will have stronger footing in early 2014 thanks to the networks

broadcast of the Winter Olympics from Sochi, Russia. Greenblatt said the Games

will be an incomparable launch pad for the midseason offerings as well as the

networks new late-night lineup of Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, which will

debut on Feb. 24.

After Sunday Night Football ends its season in January, the night will

turn over to drama with the J.J. Abrams entry Believe and Crisis,

starring Gillian Anderson and Dermot Mulroney. New medical drama The Night

Shift and Chicago Fire spinoff Chicago PD are also on the

bench for midseason.

E-mail comments to amorabito@nbmedia.com

and follow her on Twitter: @andreamorabito

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