Laughing Stock

Time magazine recently called the new Jay Leno Show "The Future of Television." The show debuts tonight on the back of so much promotion from NBC that by now you've probably choked on it. The level of hype this thing has gotten from the Peacock would rival a prime time lineup that featured the return of Seinfeld alongside a new reality show starring Kelsey Grammer and Jesus.

So why is Leno the future of television? Simple: because the future of television is profit above every other consideration -- even quality.

Back in December of last year, I wrote this:

"Despite my knowledge of the way TV really works, I'd desperately like to hold on to the (now utterly outdated) notion that network programmers look for the best shows that will draw big ratings -- that a quality line-up is the best way to ensure success.

That's just not the case anymore.

The fact is that, from a strictly business standpoint, the Leno move is genius. It's an incredibly cheap show to produce and therefore will save NBC a fortune, even if it tanks in the ratings.

The Leno move also marks a somewhat dark milestone in network television: It represents a throwing in of the towel by NBC management -- a very public concession to the fact that the big four networks are in many ways dying on the vine -- and a final nail in the coffin of network TV programming as an art form rather than simply a means of making money. It isn't about winning anymore; it's about finding the sweet spot between cost and return. If network execs thought it would increase their profit margin, they'd try to get away with running color bars for 14 hours a day."

Leno saves NBC not only a truckload of money by being cheap to produce; by putting it on five nights a week, that's five hour-long prime time shows that NBC doesn't have to pay production companies for. (Think about what shows like ER, Law & Order and such have cost the network to purchase.)

It's a win-win for NBC.

For the viewer? Maybe not so much.

I guess we'll see what happens. The big experiment begins tonight.