Networks Plot Course – WSJ.com
As the entertainment industry works to recover from the recently-ended writers' strike, the WSJ article featured a quote from a division of General Electric:
“[the networks] are hoping to maintain some of the cost-cutting benefits of the strike, such as ending costly studio deals through the use of force majeure clauses. “
We're a little bit leaner and more agile now,” says Marc Graboff, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and NBC Universal Television Studio, units of General Electric Co”
Are the buzzwords of Lean and TPS spreading that far and wide throughout GE now that the TV people are talking that talk? Or was it just the “everyday” use of the words as we often hear?
You might remember this earlier post about a funny “Six Sigma' clip from the NBC show 30 Rock. Will we see 30 Rock mentioning the Toyota Production System, whenever they finally get new shows back on the air?
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This is just the same old tired use of “leaner” meaning they can cut labor and production costs whenever the stock price needs a bump.
that video is not available any more on YouTube. You could try to find it somewhere else or just pull it entirely. I think NBC is online with Hulu.com but I’m not 100%.
Lean is the hot buzz word in the collision repair biz. A very few shops are making it work, but with collision repair shops having to deal with insurance companies, and their stall, delay and deny methohods of doing business, its diffcult to make it work. But all the trade magizines are pushing it. To bad most dont have a basic understanding of it.
To be fair to the networks, there was significant discussion of the end of the “pilot season,” wherein all pilot shows are created at once creating a run on supplies that shoots up the price artificially, into a more “pull” based system that developed pilots as they were needed throughout the year…
Never wishing to trumpet my own writings, I did write about this in mid-December. I even snuck in a batgirl reference. :)
J Thatcher – thanks for your comments. What’s the link to the post you referenced?
It does seem like an interesting idea to “level load” the release of new shows throughout the year. Part of that is a competitive response to the release of new shows in the summer by cable networks and people rebelling against reruns?