Must See TV
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"Must See TV" is an advertising slogan used by the NBC television network to brand its primetime blocks of sitcoms during the 1990s, and most often applied to its Thursday night lineup. With shows such as Seinfeld, ER and Friends, the NBC dominated the ratings during the competitive Thursday night prime time timeslots.
[edit] Usage
In popular culture the phrase is most strongly associated with the network's entire Thursday night lineup, including both sitcoms and dramas, which dominated the ratings from the 1980s through late 1990s. Over the course of several seasons, NBC's Thursday lineup featured such popular shows as Hill Street Blues, The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court, L.A. Law, Frasier, Seinfeld, ER, Friends, and Will & Grace.
However, contrary to popular belief, "Must See TV" originally applied to sitcoms only (dramas would normally be promoted separately), and for much of the 1990s the phrase was used several nights a week as an attempt at brand extension. At one point in fall 1997, the brand was used five nights a week, with four sitcoms a night from Monday to Thursday, and two on Sunday.[1] NBC itself would later adopt the more common interpretation; the 2002 retrospective, 20 Years of Must See TV, focused on NBC's overall Thursday-night dominance from 1982 onwards, and overlooked extensions such as "Must See TV Tuesday".
[edit] Advertising
Thursday nights are coveted by advertisers due to the large proportion of young, affluent viewers who tune in. Of particular interest, movie advertisers promote their titles to this target demographic on Thursday night, in hopes of influencing what movies they see on the following night.[2]
[edit] Decline
By the early 2000s, the "Must See TV" slogan had fallen by the wayside in NBC's promotions; more importantly, NBC had gone from the top-rated network on Thursday nights to second behind CBS, and later third behind ABC. Some people have said that the reason NBC has failed in recent years on Thursdays was due to the major disappointment of the Friends spin-off, Joey, after the May 2004 departure of Friends. Another reason was due to the Donald Trump reality series The Apprentice, which broke the traditional "Must See TV" line up containing four comedies and one drama when it debuted in winter 2004. However, most of the NBC lineup still finished in the top 20 weekly shows according to Nielsen Media Research.[3]
Other networks' Thursday programming has also gotten increasingly stronger. CBS was first to break through with the Thursday-night schedule of Survivor, CSI, and later Without a Trace. ABC had success on Thursday nights with its hit reality series, Dancing with the Stars. In fall 2006, Grey's Anatomy was moved to Thursdays to counter CSI; ABC's lineup of Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy has proved successful in the 18-49-year-old demographic.
The "Must See TV" slogan reappeared briefly in early 2006 with the addition of two critically acclaimed and ratings-successful comedies, My Name Is Earl and The Office. This was an attempt to re-establish a four-sitcom block after the rise and fall of The Apprentice, which was moved to Monday nights. In November 2006, NBC rebranded the Thursday format with a new different slogan, "Comedy Night Done Right", and added Scrubs and 30 Rock to the lineup, forming an entire lineup without laugh tracks or the multiple-camera setup typical of past Must See TV comedies.[4]
[edit] NBC Thursday-night lineup history
[edit] References
- ^ Schneider, Michael. "Peacock pulls back on 'Must See' revival", Variety, May 13, 2006.
- ^ Lamonica, Paul. "NBC's Heroic Return", CNN/Money, October 16, 2006.
- ^ Crawford, Krysten. "Thursday TV: prized and in play", CNN/Money, May 18, 2005.
- ^ Gilbert, Matthew. "For sitcoms today, quality trumps quantity", The Boston Globe, January 28, 2007.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie. "NBC switches "30 Rock," "Scrubs"", Yahoo!, 2007-03-13.
- ^ "'Scrubs' Returns as NBC Remakes Thursdays", Zap2It, 2006-10-25.
