This is a fun read! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/12/nbc-ratings-lowest-ever_n_2862714.html?utm_hp_ref=tv Their highest rated program was the the Nightly News, then SNL, then Celebrity Dumbasses, then Grimm. This is the total viewers and not the all important demo, but still this is just sad. NBC might as well just call itself football and The Voice channel because otherwise they are doomed. Just look at "Go On". People claimed it was great and that's why people watched it. It was on after The Voice and people just stuck around. I don't know why The Voice hasn't already come back. This is what happens when you cancel Star Trek.
Anyway, despite its blandola beginnings Grimm has turned into something pretty kickass and I'm definitely looking forward to Revolution coming back. So no, NBC definitely doesn't suck.
Better with The Voice. It hasn't been on recently. My point isn't that all of NBC's shows are garbage (they are, but that's relative) it's their ratings suck with no football or The Voice, and that's just sad.
NBC is reaping what they've sown. Haven't watched NBC in years. It started with the Leno/Team Coco debacle. The only show I cared about after that was Law and Order, so when they cancelled that, I cancelled my watching their Nothing But Crap network. They made me so angry with their London Olympic coverage, I really don't think I'll ever watch them again... Never say never though--I might give their new show Hannibal a looksie. Interesting actors in that.
Other than watching random episodes from the Law & Order franchise when I was channel surfing and bored, I haven't really watched NBC regularly. The last time I watched NBC regularly, was back when tv shows like Miami Vice, The A-Team, Knight Rider, etc ... were still on in their first runs.
The only show I currently make time for, Parks and Recreation, airs on NBC. Its ratings may not be wonderful either but they are by the current standards of NBC, which means it will likely be around for a while longer. That's the extent of my rooting interest in all of network TV at the moment.
And CBS as I understand has by far the most, so I won't argue the numbers. But I know which network has more interest to me, thus doesn't suck. And I certainly wouldn't ascribe their failure to 50-year-old voodoo.
They have been in the weeds a lot longer then 5 years, one could make the argument that since Friends left the air 9 years ago that the network has produced nothing but crap and critical darlings that not enough people care about. (Hi Thursday night!)
Looking through the historical prime time tv schedules over the last 30+ years, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_United_States_network_television_schedules I just came to the realization that I hardly recognize any of the NBC shows over the last 25 years. (Other than Law & Order). Though for that matter, I hardly recognize any of the shows on ABC over the last 25 years (other than MacGyver), and I don't recognize many of the CBS shows from the late 1980's through to the early 2000's. (I didn't really pay much attention to FOX and other networks back in the 80's and 90's, due to not always having cable or crappy ota reception of other channels).
A year ago I read an article that talked about how only ~5 shows lived past season 2 in the last several, mostly under the rule of Jeff Tucker the Dumbfucker. They were Parenthood, Chuck, Heroes and some others, but none lived longer than 5 seasons. They are in serious trouble and showing ads on The Weather Channel and NBC isn't going to help. No one watches either one to get word out, even if the new shows are decent. The next one to have this problem with be Fox, then ABC, then CBS will crash down too after they have two nights of NCIS, and their aging sitcoms die. It's just amazing to watch History getting the best ratings ever with Bible and Vikings and cable kicking ass while the networks just completely fall apart. And no one can blame the lame rating system because the same is used for cable.
What would be the consequences of NBC Falling? An actual fall. Not a controlled shutdown and sell off after an extended bankruptcy, but POOF! They suck. They deserve to die. But could all television survive the sucking wound?