Baltimore may be called Charm City, but for WBAL -- the local television station that carries NBC's "The Jay Leno Show" -- there isn't much to smile about lately.
Usually, WBAL is in a neck-and-neck race for viewers against arch rival WJZ. But since NBC debuted "The Jay Leno Show" in prime time five weeks ago, the station's 11 p.m. newscast -- where silver-haired Rod Daniels' 25-year run as anchor is the longest in Baltimore history -- has been shellacked in the ratings. Now WBAL is a distant second.
Call it the Leno effect. NBC's controversial decision to shift the late-night talk show host to 10 p.m. has been billed as a savvy business move that enabled NBC to substitute a low-cost talk show for expensive scripted dramas. But now it's playing havoc with many of NBC's more than 200 affiliates, where Leno's weaker "lead-in" is undermining audiences of 11 p.m. newscasts. News programs are crucial for local stations, which draw upon them for a third of their revenue.
Leno's new show averaged about 5.6 million viewers through the first four days of last week, less than half the audience it attracted when it premiered and more than a third less than the audience that NBC drew last season with its longtime schedule of drama shows. The network says the declines are in line with expectations and cautions patience as viewers discover the new time slot for the talk show king.
Local stations, whose goodwill the network depends upon to keep Leno's show on in every market, could soon grow antsy. Already hit by the recession, which has dried up advertising by such onetime mainstays as auto dealerships, retailers and mortgage companies, NBC affiliates may not be able to tolerate the financial pain that Leno is causing to their late-night news programs -- and may be forced to consider their own program alternative for the 10 p.m. hour.
The Leno conundrum comes at a delicate time for NBC. The network's parent company, General Electric Co., has been in negotiations with Comcast Corp. to sell GE's controlling stake in NBC Universal. On a conference call with analysts Friday to discuss the industrial conglomerate's third-quarter results, GE Chief Financial Officer Keith Sherin said, "Four weeks in, 'The Jay Leno Show' is exceeding our ratings estimates, as are Conan [O'Brien] and [Jimmy] Fallon. So we are happy with the 10 o'clock and late-night performance."
