NBC Network TV

In September, 2010 an Wunderlich Securities analyst Matthew Harrigan valued NBC at negative $600 million, and other NBC Universal channels like USA channel at $11.7 billion, $6.3 billion for Syfy, $3.9 billion for CNBC, $2.8 billion for MSNBC and $2.6 billion for Bravo.

Since then, some cuts an improved ratings have increased the value of the broadcast network. Jay Leno took a cut from $25m to $15m a year, and he may be retired soon. The top actors at NBC, like Mariska Hargitay (13 seasons on L&O SVU) earned over $20 million per year, as did Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin their final year.

Although the cable and broadcast have similar revenues, the operating cash flow difference is striking. It is simply vastly more profitable to collect fees on cable in addition to advertising revenue, then to just have advertising revenue.

NBCUniversal
Revenue ($ in millions) Full Year 2012
Cable Networks $8,773
Broadcast Television $8,154

Operating Cash Flow ($ in millions) Full Year 2012
Cable Networks $3,292 (37.5%)
Broadcast Television $369 (4.5%)

For a quick comparison Las Vegas Sands has Revenue of $11,131 million and operating income of $2,311 million.

Why doesn't Comcast just say screw it and put their modest hits on cable channels, cancel the marginal shows, and put football on cable ?

The Dramas (with exception of Smash) are all renewable, but sitcoms are a ratings disaster (with the exception of P&R). On a normal network all of the sitcoms would probably be canceled (with the exception of P&R).

canceled
Do No Harm - Drama
Animal Practice - Sitcom

Sitcoms
Up All Night
The New Normal
1600 Penn
Guys With Kids
Whitney
Go On
Community
Parks & Recreation

Dramas
Smash
Deception
Parenthood*
Law & Order: SVU
Chicago Fire
Grimm (F)
Revolution

30 Rock* final season complete
The Office final season

I never understood the long term value of moving to cable or PPV for sports just because it limits the audience and the future base. I do understand it increases immediate gains for some time though. The harder sports are to find on cable being on higher stations the less likely I am to view it too. If the base drops significantly, they could always return to broadcast but they will never get money from broadcast like cable.

I haven't been watching cable for a couple years due to being on the computer and do watch streams for all shows and newly released movies I do want to watch. It's easy to see broadcast and cable hurting with lower numbers. I do tune in for the Office, but it has been so bad without the Michael Scott character. Most of these sitcoms I just don't find funny, but 1600 Penn has me interested a bit.

Quote: 1nickelmiracle

I never understood the long term value of moving to cable or PPV for sports just because it limits the audience and the future base. I do understand it increases immediate gains for some time though. The harder sports are to find on cable being on higher stations the less likely I am to view it too. If the base drops significantly, they could always return to broadcast but they will never get money from broadcast like cable.

The business model is strange.

When Disney bought Capital Cities in 1996, most of the news articles were about Disney finally owning ABC where it started broadcast the Wondeful World of Disney in 1954. Those articles were about nostalgia because 14 years later ESPN was valued at $40 billion, and ABC network was valued at $1.7 billion by the independent analyst.

Your reasoning is simple and traditional, make sports available to everyone (broadcast, stream them on the internet), and advertisers will pay top dollar since they are reaching so many people. But in the super bowl 2013 advertisers were paying $4 million for a 30 second ad to reach up to 108 million viewers. Normally, they don't want to pay much less than a dime per person. So there is a limited amount of payback to reaching the widest possible audience.

ESPN's secret is that the cable providers will pay roughly $6 per household month to put the channel on basic cable. That gives ESPN a revenue of over $6 billion per year, almost as high as broadcast TV. However, the profit margin is many times higher.

Now NBC, CBS, and FOX are trying to scramble to get in on the sports-cable action, but basic cable can't support paying 4 companies those kind of fees. They will have trouble resisting the calls to make SPORTS a premiumcan channel like HBO.

NBC agreed to pay $4 million per episode for the new drama Smash which was billed as Glee for grownups. Viewership has dropped to 2.7 million viewers. Meanwhile on American Movie Classics they are getting as high as 12 million viewers for the Walking Dead. Surprisingly they fired the executive producer, because the network wanted the zombies not to talk (paid less), and they wanted half the shows to be indoors. If you actually watch the show, it seems like zombies are on for just a few minutes each show, and the rest of the show is bunch of people talking about their feelings and how much better life was before the zombie apocalypse.

Sometimes it seems like Comcast should just sell the broadcast network NBC to Jay Leno, Lorne Michaels (SNL producer), and Mariska Hargitay (CSI). Then they can fill the entire network with shows starring Saturday Night Live alumni and Jay Leno shows about motorcycles and cars.

Quote: Pacomartin

NBC agreed to pay $4 million per episode for the new drama Smash which was billed as Glee for grownups.

If you ignore the songs, it's a pretty good show. Katharine McPhee is very well-suited to play the innocent, sweet girl who wants to be on Broadway.

Quote:

Sometimes it seems like Comcast should just sell the broadcast network NBC to Jay Leno, Lorne Michaels (SNL producer), and Mariska Hargitay (CSI).

I'm pretty sure she's never been on CSI. But she was on Seinfeld once.

Quote: Nareed

I'm pretty sure she's never been on CSI. But she was on Seinfeld once.

I meant Law & Order: SVU . CSI is on CBS. I stopped watching the procedure dramas, and I get them confused,

Quote: Pacomartin

I meant Law & Order: SVU . CSI is on CBS. I stopped watching the procedure dramas, and I get them confused,

They're not easy to confuse. One is all about drama and hard choices. The other's all about science and cool visuals of trauma inside the body.

Quote: Nareed

They're not easy to confuse. One is all about drama and hard choices. The other's all about science and cool visuals of trauma inside the body.

I don't confuse the stories, I just don't remember which actors are on which shows. I haven't seen one in years.

There are over 700 CSI episodes and almost 1000 L&O episodes. Almost enough to be a cable channel by themselves.

Do people really watch that stuff anymore?

Most new and successful shows seem to have been born in CableLand somewhere usually by HBO where sex is easier than in Broadcast TV.
The new shows all seem to have real time tie ins and so are on the internet within 24 hours of Broadcast TV.
There seems to be an internet derived following for shows even before the first broadcast: bloggers and actor profiles.

The Good Wife gets ad revenue from broadcast tv but it also gets ad revenue from Internet re-plays and Internet fans.

Quote: Fleastiff

Do people really watch that stuff anymore? Most new and successful shows seem to have been born in CableLand somewhere usually by HBO where sex is easier than in Broadcast TV.

While the huge audiences of well over 100 million people who saw the finale of Cheers are non-existent for scripted TV, the cable shows can't yet bring in the high numbers of the top broadcast shows. The Big Bang Theory had 20 million people watch one episode. I don't think a cable scripted episode has come any higher than 12 million.

But the highest rated cable shows are now higher than the majority of broadcast shows.

Quote: Fleastiff

Do people really watch that stuff anymore? Most new and successful shows seem to have been born in CableLand somewhere usually by HBO where sex is easier than in Broadcast TV.

While the huge audiences of well over 100 million people who saw the finale of Cheers are non-existent for scripted TV, the cable shows can't yet bring in the high numbers of the top broadcast shows. The Big Bang Theory had 20 million people watch one episode. I don't think a cable scripted episode has come any higher than 12 million.

But the highest rated cable shows are now higher than the majority of broadcast shows.