NBC Getting Cocky on 'Voice?'

[Mark Jeffries]

In announcing that they already have Cristina Aguilera for a third
season, the Peacock is indicating that they may do the next season of
the shiny floor talent reality comp in the fall when no other show in
its category does two cycles a year other than "Dancing"--considering
that only two episodes have aired of the second season, is this
premature ejaculation on NBC's part?:

http://www.thewrap.com/tv/article/voice-nbcs-midseason-hit-may-debut-3rd-season-fall-35186

[Tom Wolper]

If they weren't absolutely desperate for hour long shows that don't
fail quickly, then maybe it would be cocky. It's probably easy for NBC
to sell time for this show in the fall, and the hour that follows it,
too.

[PGage]

Exactly. It is easy to watch the NBC ship from the outside and remind them about the inevitable self-destructive spiral that comes from planting the same crop in the same field too often. But these guys are starving to death, and they have finally found something that will grow, and no doubt they want to squeeze every ounce of nutrition out of it they can - if it also helps them grow a few other successful shows along the way, then maybe its premature death will be worth the ultimate sacrifice.

[K.M. Richards]

Someone should remind NBC what happened when ABC sent "Who Wants To Be
a Millionaire" into oversaturation ten years ago.

[Steve Timko]

On Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 9:57 AM, K.M. Richards <richa...@gmail.com> wrote:

Someone should remind NBC what happened when ABC sent "Who Wants To Be
a Millionaire" into oversaturation ten years ago.

But "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" also helped pull in viewers for other shows. NBC, I'm guessing, will gladly sacrifice a successful show or two to pull in viewers for other shows. Or establish a beachhead on at least one night a week.

[Tom Wolper]

Two more differences between Millionaire and The Voice: Millionaire
ran 5 nights a week and The Voice will run 1 and maybe 2 nights a week
where there are eliminations. And Millionaire had no arc; every show
had a series of new contestants. The Voice will follow teams and
eventually a small number of singers week after week.

[K.M. Richards]

The original Millionaire did not have entirely new contestants each
show. Doesn't anyone remember that annoying foghorn-type siren that
announced they were out of time for that show?

Each show picked up where it left off with the current contestant;
they did not start from scratch at the top of each hour.

Or perhaps I am misunderstanding what Tom means by an "arc".

[Diner]

On Thursday, February 9, 2012 9:19:14 AM UTC-5, K.M. Richards wrote:

The original Millionaire did not have entirely new contestants each
show.  Doesn't anyone remember that annoying foghorn-type siren that
announced they were out of time for that show?

Each show picked up where it left off with the current contestant;
they did not start from scratch at the top of each hour.

Or perhaps I am misunderstanding what Tom means by an "arc".

 

The original show had a new round of ten "fastest finger" contestants on every episode, only one or two of whom would get to play the main game. Yes, games would continue from one show to the next so that contestants could complete their games, and to hook viewers to tuning in next time - but no contestant ever appeared on more than two episodes, and we did not follow the original ten contestants' travails throughout the season. That's very different from the continuing storyline, or arc, of "The Voice." There's a good chance that contestants introduced on the premiere of "The Voice" will still be competing on the finale.

 

-Tim

[David Lynch]

On Thu, Feb 9, 2012 at 08:19, K.M. Richards <richa...@gmail.com> wrote:
> The original Millionaire did not have entirely new contestants each
> show.  Doesn't anyone remember that annoying foghorn-type siren that
> announced they were out of time for that show?
>
> Each show picked up where it left off with the current contestant;
> they did not start from scratch at the top of each hour.
>
> Or perhaps I am misunderstanding what Tom means by an "arc".

I think you're misunderstanding. "Millionaire" gives you one chance at
Fastest Fingers, one chance in the hot seat. There weren't the same
people appearing over multiple episodes becoming better known due to
their longevity and/or the producers turning them into "characters"
through creative editing. No multiple-day champions (e.g.,
"Jeopardy"), no eliminating contestants one by one until the last one
standing is the winner of the whole season (e.g., "Survivor", "The
Amazing Race", "American Idol", "The X-Factor", "Top Chef", "Project
Runway", etc., etc.)

--
David J. Lynch
djl...@gmail.com

[Tom Wolper]

Tim and David did a good job of explaining what I meant by "arc." To
expand a little, I mean a transformation over a season. A lot of
unscripted shows are about the transformation of contestants over a
season. The Biggest Loser is the most obvious example, but the singing
and dancing competitions are also about finding raw talent and
coaching it over a season, thus giving an audience a reason to keep up
with shows all season. Compared to that, Who Wants to be a Millionaire
was a revolving door and running it 5 times a week eventually burned
the audience out.