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Broadcast Schedule’s New Paradigm: How 8 PM Became “The Best Time Period On TV For Live Viewing” As 10 PM Hangs In (For Now)
How 8 PM has emerged as the most lucrative time slot on broadcast television for the major networks except Fox. Meanwhile, 10 PM remains in danger.
During NBC’s Saturday pre-upfront press call, Jeff Bader, President, Program Planning Strategy, NBCUniversal Entertainment, spoke about the power of the 8 PM slot when discussing the scheduling of the new unscripted series On Brand with Jimmy Fallon. Recalling how his long-ago predecessor David Barrett, “first raised this in the late-’90s with ABC,” Hearst Television President Mike Hayes said last October that discussions with the networks about 10 PM have continued ever since, insisting, “We see it as a win-win.” Stations have long argued that they could do better in the hour with local programming. Of the three broadcast networks that air three hours of primetime Monday-Friday, CBS is the one that appears most committed to 10 PM dramas, having the genre on the fall schedule five nights a week with CIA, NCIS: Sydney, Elsbeth, Boston Blue as well as encores on Sunday, to be replaced by Watson in January.
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