With NBC struggling tremendously to get back on its feet after a fall off of the broadcast cliff, they have one bright spot on their schedule offering: "Deal or No Deal." It isn't the super blockbuster type of show, but it does bring in around 18 million viewers a show regularly.
What NBC seems to be doing with the show is to present it as some type of transitional offering to keep numbers respectable on some nights while they attempt to bring new stuff into the mix in an attempt to get some big hits.
Their problem is that they are somewhat vacillating between short-term numbers and long-term success with the show. For example, they had the show run three days a week last year and then dropped off in the summer. Yet last week they began running it three times again (it won Monday and Friday nights of last week).
They need to remember the overexposure of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" which sometimes ran 4 times a week. It ran out of juice quick when that was done.
With their bosses giving them two years to turn things around, NBC executives are having trouble straddling the line and holding back so that "Deal" can be a show that runs successfully for them over a long period of time.
"Deal" can help them get some numbers a couple of times a week, but they know that they need something else to lift the network to its previous success.
While NBC is hoping that some of their other shows will take off; they can't count on it. If they overexpose "Deal," they could lose the only prime time winner they currently have.
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