NBC Considers Abandoning 10 P.M. Primetime Hour for Local Programming

NBC is considering handing over its 10 p.m. primetime programming hour to local stations, Variety has confirmed.

Insiders say that this conversation has happened multiple times over the past 10 years, and emphasize this is not the first time this option of ceding time to affiliates has been discussed at the broadcaster, this is just the most recent in an ongoing conversation and it could lead to no changes at all.

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Additionally, sources say NBCU is not mulling this as a cost-cutting move that would lead to less programming, but one that might be made to best utilize the broadcast brand and relationship with affiliates vs. its streaming and cable options.

It’s important to note that new speculation surrounding a 10 p.m. hour change, which comes just ahead of NBC launching its fall lineup Sept. 19, is not putting any new and returning series airing during that time period in danger of being bumped for local content at this time. The earliest NBC would consider implementing a shift that would hand over the 10 o’clock hour to affiliates would be fall 2023. At that point, decisions would need to be made regarding what stays, what goes, what shifts to an earlier slot or another night, and what could be a better fit on NBCU’s streamer Peacock.

At the moment, NBC has the new “Quantum Leap” reboot, new seasons of “New Amsterdam,” “Chicago P.D.” and “Law & Order: Organized Crime” all airing as 10 p.m. shows.

There will also be no changes made for late-night programming, including “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” which air at 11:35 p.m. and 12:35 p.m., respectively. However, there is a chance NBC could consider shifting start times for those talkers if the 10 p.m. hour is handed over to affiliates.

“While NBC is the number one network, we are always looking at strategies to ensure that our broadcast business remains as strong as possible,” an NBC spokesperson said in a statement to Variety Friday. “As a company, our advantage lies in our ability to provide audiences with the content they love across broadcast, cable and streaming.”

NBC declined further comment.

NBC wouldn’t be the first broadcaster to leave the 10 p.m. hour to local stations, something Fox and the CW Network have been doing for years. Currently, NBC, ABC and CBS are the only English-language broadcast networks that air shows at 10 p.m., usually dramas.

Each of the broadcasters have experienced primetime ratings declines in over the past decide, as cord-cutting continues and their parent companies — and their parent companies’ competitors — experiment with streaming options that lead to increased competition for eyeballs.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the news.