Nbc

NBC, which has surprised the TV industry — including its own executives — by jumping from fourth place to first in the ratings this fall, on Tuesday unveiled its post-football plans to stay there. Headlining Tuesday's announcement was that the network will replace ratings-behemoth football on Sundays with dating "reality" series "Ready for Love" once the NFL's regular season is over. But the new show won't premiere until March 31, airing 8 to 10 p.m. each Sunday. (FYI, ABC's "The Bachelor" typically...

NEW YORK — As "The Office" airs its series finale after eight years on NBC, the time feels right to salute the show that spawned it. I'm talking, of course, about the BBC-produced, British version of "The Office," starring a previously unknown scamp named Ricky Gervais, who also served as its co-creator, -writer and -director. For viewers who stumbled on that scruffy, off-kilter little comedy way back in 2001, "The Office" was a sensation and its doughy leading man someone...

Bob Ryan, Channel 4's popular weather forecaster, will retire from the station after 30 years, a move that may free him to join rival WJLA (Channel 7). Ryan has no agreement with WJLA yet, but the station has talked to the veteran weatherman recently about taking over its late-news forecasts and sharing airtime with its chief meteorologist, Doug Hill, a longtime friend. His last broadcast on Channel 4 will be Friday night, or more likely early Saturday, following NBC's prime-time broadcast of the Olympics.

NEW YORK — Seth Meyers is moving from his "Weekend Update" desk to his own late night show on NBC. The network said Sunday that the 12-year "Saturday Night Live" cast member will replace Jimmy Fallon at the 12:35 a.m. "Late Night" show next year. Fallon is moving up an hour as Jay Leno's replacement on the "Tonight" show. Meyers was considered the lead candidate for the "Late Night" job ever since Fallon's promotion was announced. The announcement solidifies Lorne Michaels as...

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The first three days of NBC's London Games coverage clocked about 36 million viewers on average — the biggest crowd through the first weekend of any Summer Olympics in history. And by "in history," we mean since the 1960 Games in Rome, which was the first televised Olympics. Obviously, the Games have gone on a lot longer than that. An average of about 41 million viewers in the United States watched the Opening Ceremonies. And Sunday's NBC audience of 36 million is higher than any night from the 2008 Beijing,...

Back in the late 20th century, when people were getting sick of stories about David Letterman's mistreatment by NBC -- instead of getting sick of stories about Conan O'Brien's mistreatment by NBC -- I managed to get an NBC executive on the phone, which wasn't easy in those days, and he proceeded to give me what he said was the real story about the whole mess. A creepy sort of guy, who was later one of the NBC executives depicted in the HBO movie "Late Shift," he said the real story, ignored by the media, was that the...

The NFL further solidified its status as the nation's most prosperous sport by completing a lucrative set of extensions of its national television contracts with Fox, CBS and NBC. The nine-year extensions run through the 2022 season, the league announced Wednesday. Industry sources said the new deals will be worth an average of about $1 billion apiece to the NFL over the length of the contracts. That total of approximately $3 billion annually for the three deals is up from...

Where there's mire, there's muck, and NBC is just the place to find both. It's long been a kooky little tradition that when TV columnists and critics write about which of the four major broadcast networks is doing worst in the ratings, they say it is "mired in fourth place" or "mired" in third. The practice seems to be phasing out, but then, networks seem to be phasing out, too. None is phasing faster than NBC, the once-proud-as-a-peacock establishment that is now mired in fourth, behind Fox, behind everybody.

"30 Rock" is NBC's critically acclaimed prime-time comedy starring Tina Fey, who plays the head writer for a fictionalized NBC late-night comedy show, and Alec Baldwin, the vice president for East Coast television and microwave programming, sent in from corporate headquarters to boost ratings by pandering to viewers' worst instincts. At its heart, "30 Rock" is a satire on corporate culture and the conventions of American business. But as self-parody, it can't hold a candle to the tragicomedy now playing out at the...

Alec Baldwin had fans hyper-ventilating Wednesday when he again hinted that he might leave NBC, home of "30 Rock," the comedy series in which he stars. Once again, it's all wrapped up in high Baldwin drama. This time, it involves a struggling Canadian actress named Genevieve Sabourin, with whom Baldwin may have had dinner a couple of times and who has been busted for allegedly stalking him after news got out that he'd gotten engaged to a yoga instructor. What gave fans the vapors Wednesday was a series of tweets ...

Some highlights of NBC's moves in its schedule for next season. WHAT'S NEW: A lot. The long-struggling network invested heavily in new programming and has ordered 17 new series for next season. John Malkovich as Blackbeard. James Spader as a wanted fugitive. Dracula brought to life. A cops drama from the guy who made "Law & Order. " More supernatural stuff from J.J. Abrams. A cooking show. A quiz show. A home renovation show. If a couple of these make an impression on viewers, NBC will be thrilled.

NBC has confirmed that "Saturday Night Live" long-timer Seth Meyers will take over as host of the network's "Late Night" next year, when Jimmy Fallon takes "The Tonight Show" from Jay Leno. NBC waited until Sunday afternoon — just a few hours before releasing its new prime-time schedule to the news media — to confirm months of speculation about Meyers. With the announcement, the network hoped Monday's chatter would be about late-night TV — which NBC still dominates — rather...

NEW YORK — NBC will try to awaken the ghosts of past dominance on Thursday night by making it a "family night" of television bolstered by the additions of Sean Hayes and Michael J. Fox. NBC on Sunday became the first of the major broadcasters to announce its plans for next season, and its executives said they had ordered a staggering 17 new series. Only six of them are on fall's schedule, however, with another six to join in midseason when NBC hopes to get a burst of attention...

NBC's prime-time schedule for the fall: Monday 8 p.m. — "The Voice" 10 p.m. — "The Blacklist" Tuesday 8 p.m. — "The Biggest Loser" 9 p.m. — "The Voice" 10 p.m. — "Chicago Fire" Wednesday 8 p.m. — "Revolution" 9 p.m. — "Law & Order: SVU" 10 p.m. — "Ironside" Thursday 8 p.m. — "Parks and Recreation" 8:30 p.m. — "Welcome to the Family" 9 p.m. — "Sean Saves the World" ...

NEW YORK — NBC is giving the public more than just a new slate of programming. There are prizes to be had, too. The network said Sunday that it's holding a Twitter-based sweepstakes linked to its fall schedule presentation to advertisers — a social-media twist on the annual TV rite occurring this week. One of the prizes is a trip to Los Angeles to attend a final taping of Jay Leno's "Tonight Show. " The other is a New York visit to see one of the first...

NEW YORK — NBC is ordering up a new comedy for next season from "Scrubs" creator Bill Lawrence and an updating of the ‘70s cop drama "Ironside. " And in a surprise move, the network is bringing back "Community" for a fifth season. This quirky college comedy has struggled in the ratings but enjoys a devoted cult following. The revived "Ironside" will star Blair Underwood as the paralyzed lawman who uses a wheelchair. That memorable character was...

ROSEMONT, Ill. Aug. 19 -- The NFL has extended its television rights deal with NBC by two seasons, the league and network announced Wednesday. The NFL's franchise owners approved the extension, which runs through the 2013 season, during a one-day meeting at an O'Hare airport hotel. NBC will continue to televise the league's package of Sunday night games and will continue to have a flexible scheduling plan enabling it to choose the most attractive matchups possible for its broadcasts late in the season, according to the announcement.

Susan Boyle, the frumpy spinster singing sensation who forced the president of the United States to reschedule a prime-time news conference, made her American prime-time appearance Wednesday. Sadly, it was in the form of "Susan Boyle: Daring to Dream: A Meredith Vieira Exclusive" interview, when what we really wanted was a performance. "I caught up with Susan Boyle in London," co-host Meredith Vieira told viewers at the start of the taped interview -- Boyle's first since she shockingly came in second this spring on the U.K. reality series...