I didn't think the sports division as a whole was losing money. At least I don't remember reading that.
That's why when certain people said Ebersol was losing money for the network with every decision, I wasn't sure if that was correct.
Sandra
Ex-NBC Sports Employee: Dick Ebersol Is The Biggest Failure Of Them All
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I didn't think the sports division as a whole was losing money. At least I don't remember reading that.
That's why when certain people said Ebersol was losing money for the network with every decision, I wasn't sure if that was correct.
Sandra
Please elaborate as to what you think his successes were during that period.
I know they weren't:
- losing the NFL rights in 1997
- the 1992 Summer Olympics triplecast (which lost an estimated $100 million)
- the mid-90's launch of The Baseball Network
I would agree to an extent, but the accident occurred in 2004, well after most of his blunders had already taken place.
As much pain as he must be going through, John Travolta continues to work. I saw an interview where he says it helps to keep busy....
No, don't get me wrong, I'm not relating that to his job performance. As salsadancer said, if it is affecting his performance he should step down.
But when I think of Ebersol that's what comes to mind, and it's so sad.
I also agree with what Juan said, if he was losing money for the network (or too much money) he would have been relieved of his duties. Losing the NFL rights in 1997 may have actually been a good economic decision for NBC.
Sandra
The NBA when Jordan was at his prime. The Summer Olympics in Atlanta. And while TBN was a failure, NBC did get MLB games back after that and paid virtually nothing for them. Granted the telecasts themselves were dreadful with Costas, Joe Morgan and Bob Ueker, but the fact that they got to show lots of Yankees games made them successful money wise. And it was in the 90's when NBC got serious about golf. They cleaned up with US Opens and Ryder Cups.
I agree.
I remember the day when they dedicated the Teddy Ebersol's Red Sox Fields in Boston, the anguish on the elder Ebersol's face was heart wrenching!
As a father it makes me ill to think about it!
...........(BTW, I'm not blaming Ebersol's performance on this tragedy either
)
It's kinda like the lottery. I keep trying even though there's no chance in hell I'll win...LMAO!
What, you REALLY expected an answer?
I just read somewhere that the comments about losing money on the upcoming Olympics might just be posturing for when the rights for 2014-2016 are negotiated, perhaps he trying to deflate the expectations of the IOC membership who are drooling over another windfall.
What i love about this thread is that the same people(they know who they are) who praise Charlie Ergen for not carrying sports programming are trashing Dick Ebersol for standing up to those same special sports interest at the Network TV level!!!
NBC Sports (and the network as a whole) is right now (and/or has been in so for the past 10 years) in a similar position that CBS was in for most of the 1990s (when David Letterman first showed up from NBC).
Like NBC during the 2000s, CBS Sports was a shell of its former self. They had lost the National Football League/NFC package to an upstart FOX network (much like NBC lost the AFC package to CBS in 1998), they lost Major League Baseball (after overpaying for the exclusive broadcast TV package - much like NBC overpaid for the Olympics), they had no college football other than the Sun Bowl (all that NBC has right now is Notre Dame football, after carrying major bowls through the early '90s), and they had no NBA (having lost that to NBC following the 1990 Finals).
Like NBC today, all that CBS really had going for themselves (besides golf, tennis, and NASCAR) were the (Winter) Olympics. The only yearly major package that CBS had back then was the NCAA men's basketball tournament (like NBC has with Sunday Night Football). Otherwise, both networks for all intensive purposes, had to cut corners (e.g. broadcasting more boxing/made TV movies to counterprogram for CBS and Arena football and the NHL for NBC).
Also, both networks' prime time programming was nothing to crow about. CBS for most of the '90s, had the negative reputation of being "The Old Folks' Network", with shows like Murder She Wrote with Angela Lansbury, Diagnosis Murder with Dick Van Dyke, 60 Minutes with Mike Wallace and crew, etc.
NBC meanwhile, has been floundering ever since '90s hits like Seinfeld, Friends, Will and Grace, Frasier and ER closed up shop. Instead, all NBC had to show for themselves has been reality stuff like The Apprentice, Deal or No Deal and The Biggest Loser. They do also have shows like 30 Rock and The Office that while critical darlings, don't get overwhelming numbers.
Like NBC during the 2000s, CBS Sports was a shell of its former self. They had lost the National Football League/NFC package to an upstart FOX network (much like NBC lost the AFC package to CBS in 1998), they lost Major League Baseball (after overpaying for the exclusive broadcast TV package - much like NBC overpaid for the Olympics), they had no college football other than the Sun Bowl (all that NBC has right now is Notre Dame football, after carrying major bowls through the early '90s), and they had no NBA (having lost that to NBC following the 1990 Finals).
Like NBC today, all that CBS really had going for themselves (besides golf, tennis, and NASCAR) were the (Winter) Olympics. The only yearly major package that CBS had back then was the NCAA men's basketball tournament (like NBC has with Sunday Night Football). Otherwise, both networks for all intensive purposes, had to cut corners (e.g. broadcasting more boxing/made TV movies to counterprogram for CBS and Arena football and the NHL for NBC).
Also, both networks' prime time programming was nothing to crow about. CBS for most of the '90s, had the negative reputation of being "The Old Folks' Network", with shows like Murder She Wrote with Angela Lansbury, Diagnosis Murder with Dick Van Dyke, 60 Minutes with Mike Wallace and crew, etc.
NBC meanwhile, has been floundering ever since '90s hits like Seinfeld, Friends, Will and Grace, Frasier and ER closed up shop. Instead, all NBC had to show for themselves has been reality stuff like The Apprentice, Deal or No Deal and The Biggest Loser. They do also have shows like 30 Rock and The Office that while critical darlings, don't get overwhelming numbers.
Understand to what the Olympics are to the empty suits at GE/NBC. They get to dress up in the snappy blazers (or in the winter, even snappier over-stuffed winter coats designed for weather 30 degrees colder than where they are), check into the best hotels in some exotic clime and hob-nob with some Eurotrash that style themselves as barrons and dukes (mostly from countries that became republics nearly a centrury ago). They get to talk about "sport" (our betters love to talk about "sport" rather than "sports)) and "international understanding" for meeting after meeting. All culminating in the actual Olympics, where they can take the entire upper management of the company (on the stockholders', or in today's world, taxpayers', dime) to "oversee" what is going on.
All this for a collection of all-star games in sports where other networks cover the actual North American leagues, and idiotic sports and non-sport judged competitons, which no one understands or cares about. Played out for two weeks every other year.
Beats the heck out of actually covering a sport that people actually watch.
The Olympics are something no network should lose money on. You can justify a regular sport like the NFL, in that it draws views to the network every week, but the Olympics? Laughable.
NBC sports is a reflection of NBC under GE. Do the least possible, and spend what little you do on stuff that agrandizes management, rather than entertains the customer, and helps the affiliate.
All this for a collection of all-star games in sports where other networks cover the actual North American leagues, and idiotic sports and non-sport judged competitons, which no one understands or cares about. Played out for two weeks every other year.
Beats the heck out of actually covering a sport that people actually watch.
The Olympics are something no network should lose money on. You can justify a regular sport like the NFL, in that it draws views to the network every week, but the Olympics? Laughable.
NBC sports is a reflection of NBC under GE. Do the least possible, and spend what little you do on stuff that agrandizes management, rather than entertains the customer, and helps the affiliate.
It's not about the sports Sam, it's about the brand. No one may pay attention to swimming or track and field in odd-numbered years, but when you roll out those magical five rings (the most recognized brand logo in the world), people pay attention. Nobody would spend 800 million dollars on a sporting event that nobody is interested in, even if it was just so the suits could attend lavish parties as you insinuate.
I'm willing to give Dick Ebersol some benefit of the doubt (even though he was way out of line with his comments about Conan O'Brien) because GE as a whole, has seemed to be a rather penny pinching/cut corners when necessary organization. It's really no different than when Cap-Cities owned ABC during most of the '80s up until the mid-'90s, when Disney took over. I only really fault Ebersol for pouring most of the resources and publicity in a two-week event like the Olympics instead of year-round sports like the NFL, MLB and NBA.
