CompleteCoverage: TCA Summer Press Tour 2012
Los Angeles - NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt said
he is confident that the Today show will rebound from its recent ratings
vulnerability and high-profile and rocky anchor transition.
"Shows go through transitions and they're always difficult,"
Greenblatt said during NBC's executive session at the TCA press tour here
Tuesday.
While noting that he has little to no involvement in the
news division's daytime programming, he stood by NBC's handling of the
transition from Ann Curry to Savannah Guthrie.
"I think everybody inside the news division from what I
could tell took as much care as they could possibly as they could to make this
transition happen," Greenblatt said. "Things leak and you try to do things
respectfully and then you have to go out and announce something you weren't
ready to announce. My heart goes out to all those people including Ann and
everybody who went through that transition."
As he did with NBC's fall lineup, Greenblatt touted the
promotional platform of the Olympics in helping to boost Today's
fortunes.
"I have no doubt that it will rebound and regain the spot
that it's had for all these years," he said. "I think everybody is really
bullish on the future of it."
Greenblatt also addressed the network's newsmagazine Rock
Center with Brian Williams and defended its controversial move of
scheduling it on Thursday at 10 p.m., the slot historically occupied by
legendary dramas like ER.
"You can't do everything in a season. Thursday is a
challenge that we're going to continue to work on over the season," he said.
"We felt that show, like anything, deserved more time and a 10 p.m. time period
and there aren't that many available and Thursday seemed to be a place to try
it. As the season unfolds we will look at it and see what happens and hopefully
not make too many adjustments and changes to the time period."
