The trouble with NBC

TVWeek has a great article on the woes of the Peacock Network (the article may be subscription only, but subscription to the site is free).

Here are some things we learn from the article about the current state of affairs at NBC:

• NBC ordered six new episodes of "Three Wishes" and then cancelled the order days later when CBS moved "Close to Home" into the Tuesday 9PM timeslot. (yes, I need to update the Watch List with this info). "Three Wishes" isn't yet cancelled, but there is some confusion as to the state of the show.
  
• NBC's 10PM shows (which provide the lead-in to local affiliates' news programs) ratings are down 35% in the 25-54 Demo this year. Bad news for the affiliates.

Mediaweek reports today about the midseason schedules of the nets, and in particular the problems Fox is causing for everyone else. Fox is debating moving "American Idol" to Wednesday/Thursday from its current schedule of Tuesday/Wednesday. If the results show is moved to Thursday, it would definitely cause problems for CBS. NBC is mulling over moving "My Name is Earl" to Thursday nights, where it would be killed by the Idol juggernaut. So, until Fox makes a final decision on where Idol lands, NBC waits them out to decide how to program the rest of the season.

Poor NBC, can't catch a break.