No. 1: Early pickups, with three shows already earning season orders. Other things to keep an eye on: Lead-ins still matter, the NFL ratings losses, fewer bombs and more.
What the new shows are averaging, which had the biggest debut, which had the smallest debut, how much of a lift DVRs are giving returning shows and more, two weeks into the 2014-15 season.
NBCUniversal boss Steve Burke, who for years has complained to Wall Street that NBCU was shortchanged when it came to retransmission fees and other revenue, told a conference last week that the media giant’s gap with rivals could be as much as $1 billion. While his pitch in the past fell on deaf ears — in no small part because an NBC turn-around has been as elusive as unicorns — the first week of the current season shows the Peacock Network off to a flying start with its primetime ratings up 41% in the first four days of the new season.
