Sunday, October 22, 2006

A little bit of network television irony

NBC has caved to religious leaders and network affiliates and will be censoring an upcoming concert special which included scenes of Madonna on a cross.

It's a rather pathetic decision, given NBC's persistence in outbidding CBS in a near-record licensing fee to obtain the rights to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip this season, a show which lambasts TV networks for caving to the pressure of the religious right. The show features "NBS", a TV network which institutes a policy of charging a 20% "cowardice fee" to advertisers who left under boycott pressure from the Christian right but then returned after the boycotted shows turned out to be successful (more on wikipedia).

I guess NBC is no NBS, and HBO will remain the place to be for content that may risk irking the Christian right.

And shame on Madonna for going along with the decision.. doesn't seem like something she would've done 15 years ago...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sadly, only in fantasy-land can a major network go head-to-head with the religious right. If only Jordan McDeere was in charge of NBC and not make-believe NBS. And while we're at it, if only Jed Bartlett was President! The world would be a much better place.

Speaking of Studio 60, I read today that it's been losing viewers (well I already knew that) but that it could be in part because they all talk so fast. I think it may also have to do with the highbrow cultural references, many of which I don't even get. Being smart TV didn't help Arrested Development stay on the air. They need to be careful.