Thank you, Mr. Silverman, may we have another (five hours a week of safe, middlebrow near-humor)?
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Man oh man, is there anything more abject than the sound of a TV executive being disingenuous? As it turns out, there is: The sound of a local TV executive being disingenuous. The management of NBC affiliate WHDH Boston has caved, apparently exhausted by the enormous strain of standing up to NBC Universal for, like, a whole two weeks, and announced that — Heh! Funny story! — they’ll air Jay Leno’s 10 pm talk show after all. Ed Ansin, owner of WHDH’s parent company, announced that “Upon further consideration, we have decided to telecast Jay Leno at 10 p.m. starting in September,” adding miserably: “Jay is from Andover where I went to school. I enjoy his humor. We hope the new show is a big success.” Ansin is also apparently hoping that everyone in the universe will develop amnesia about the station’s tough talk in announcing, and again, it was TWO WHOLE WEEKS AGO, that its obvious self-interest lay in stripping an hour of local news at 10:00 rather than Leno’s nightly rehash of “Jaywalking,” “It’s Funny How Stupid People Are,” “What’s The Deal With People Being So Stupid” and other hilarious bits from The Tonight Show.
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“I enjoy his humor.” Fresh from the re-education camp.
I also thought it was nice when he said “Ben Silverman is the bravest, kindest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known.”
TV Executive. What is that again?
You know: They’re the guys who decide which reality shows you’re going to have the choice of watching.
Ohh, like Chad Hurley. I get it.
Does anyone else think this whole situation was a little too convenient? Like when Spike Lee threatened to sue TNN as it became Spike TV? The PR dimensions of this story are just a little too well-timed.
I don’t know. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that there’s real nervousness among the affiliates about the Leno show. And on paper at least, the economics of stripping a local hour are a lot more in the stations’ favor.