Gawker
Ben Silverman is NBC's wunderkind programming chief, close friend to the daughter of News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch and, based on a keynote interview he just gave at an industry event, an even bigger corporate whore than fictional network exec Jack Donaghy on NBC's 30 Rock. Silverman outlined plans to leave viewers of some new shows, including Kath and Kim, hanging at close of the broadcast, forced to log on to NBC's website to see how the program ends. The plan would screw viewers even more severely than the time Silverman scheduled the explicit MILF Island episode of 30 Rock during the heart of his new "family night." But, fine, whatever, as a network executive Silverman is pretty much contractually obligated to come up with awful ideas that will never go anywhere. But why did Silverman have to drag Tina Fey into his keynote disaster, and claim she revels in 30 Rock's marketing deals?
When asked about the reputation he has developed in his short time on the job as an entertainment chief who works closely with marketers, he said that’s due to the new generation of showrunners who are “friends” of advertisers.
That includes Tim Kring and Tina Fey, who head up popular NBC shows Heroes and 30 Rock, respectively, Mr. Silverman said.
“Tina Fey loves American Express. They have been inside 30 Rock, in the show. They have supported her through the Tribeca Film Festival,” he said. “Tim Kring enjoys his relationships with Nissan. He felt Nissan helped empower the growth of that show.”
It's not that anyone would really mind if Tina Fey was "friends" with her sponsors and "loved" them. 30 Rock itself has poked fun at the idea of artistic integrity in the world of TV comedy. And the excellent show has to pay the bills if it is going to survive.
It's just that Silverman statements about Fey and her sponsors are so clearly and aggressively exaggerated. Snarky Tina Fey super excited and pumped to "sacrifice some dignity" to support her show, as one commenter put it? Really? Sure she works with sponsors, but that doesn't mean she is thrilled about it.
Even if that were, somehow, true, Ben Silverman would be far wiser to keep it quiet, running, as it does, sharply counter to Fey's bankable image as something of an arch social commentator, at least as far as comic writers go.
[TV Week via TV Decoder]
Comments
"snarky Tina Fey super excited and pumped to "sacrifice some dignity" to support her show, as one commenter put it? Really?"
d00d that supposes some kind of inherent internal conflict between wanting to be on tv and wanting to have sponsors and make them happy
it's not clear to me there is any such conflict
which, of course, could be your point
but
Wait, are you trying to say the creator, director, writer and star of a hit show wants the network that airs along with the advertisers who sponsor the show to be happy enough to keep said show on the air?
What a snarky sellout.
@richardmarxhatesmyhair: whoa
What happened to the good old days when "marketing" meant pulling on your support hose, trundling down to the neighborhood grocery store and grouchily sniffing cantaloupes?
@if_i_only_had_a_heart: @richardmarxhatesmyhair: There's a huge gulf between being willing, even very wiling, and being in "love" with and "friends" with your sponsors, i.e. being super pumped. Which I thought I said pretty clearly, but I just added another line to be safe.
@lawyergay: hear hear. and stocking up on cat litter
@Ryan Tate: i hear u, but to me tv is such an utterly craptastic and commercial thing anyway that what's the point of being "pure"
ever since isaac mizrahi went to design for target, you know
@Ryan Tate: I feel you, don't get me wrong. Silverman is a yahoo, but I think Fey,et al. are contractually obliged to take part in the horse & pony show.
@richardmarxhatesmyhair: sell sell sell ... yes i do believe that's part of the deal for being rich and famous
Whatevs
What impresses me is I saw that episode being filmed @ JFK on April 4th.
There is a difference between having sponsorship relationships and letting them run your show, which is what he is intimating.
"American Express has been inside 30 Rock"? Yes, pimping is the correct word.
@lawyergay: I think that could be called peformance art now. and eligible for a grant.
@richardmarxhatesmyhair: No doubt at all. Look, the folks at your local grocery store have to keep their Coke in a Coke fridge, which means they have to buy Fanta too, and whatever water Coke markets in your area, so that means a Pepsi fridge too (because their customers want Pepsi, and Coke will sue the store if Pepsi is in a Coke fridge). I imagine at higher levels it has even stricter requirements.
Not to point out the obvious, but...
if you feel that Nissan helps empower the growth of your show...
you really don't have a lot of confidence in your show.
Busted.
Ah, yes. Pos-mens.
So Tina Fey is being Liz-Lemoned? As long as 30Rock doesn't get as bad as TGS.
@CrankYank: as if tv means something ...
@SarahHeartburn: all about the cross pollination, sadly, yes
@92BuickLeSabre: i'd say au contraire; i'd say it means u intend to ride it for every cent u can get
in this post modern xtreme capitalism age in which we find ourselves
@if_i_only_had_a_heart: My apologies. For a moment there my earnest past experiences with words like "empowers" and "growth" overtook my jaded cynical present and future self.
Of course, you are right, and I have reread it as: "caaaaash money!!!"
@92BuickLeSabre: well allrighty then; not selling out, cashing in
sigh
it was probably always like this and we just didn't know it then
@if_i_only_had_a_heart: They came for my sitcoms and I said nothing. Then they came for my one-hour drama, and again I said nothing. Then they wanted to pimp out my news, and there was no precedent to defend it. And my TV became one long infomercial.
@CrankYank: And then I watched the Today Show and realized it already is. Fuck it.
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