NBC was hoping a 30 Rock reunion would draw big numbers on Thursday night, but it lost its time slot to mini-golf competition Holey Moley. While the allure of the golfing game show can't be denied, the mediocre viewership was almost certainly a result of NBC affiliates looking out for what they believed to be their best interests.
As Vulture reported, Gray Television, Hearst, Nexstar, Tegna, and Sinclair Broadcast Group all declared they would pre-empt the broadcast, effectively preventing half the country from seeing it in real time. According to inside sources, the affiliates felt the reunion was too much of an ad for NBC's new streaming service, Peacock. Given that the special was produced by NBC Universal's ad sales division, those sources may just be on to something.
The rebellion isn't quite as dramatic as it sounds. Individual stations pre-empt programming all the time, though it's usually for sports or regional news. In this case, however, it's a matter of self-preservation. NBC affiliates have to be concerned that Peacock, which offers next-day viewing of current programming, will cut into their ratings. Remember, ad rates are determined by ratings. It's bad for broadcast TV business if shows find their audiences have been halved by viewers moving to streaming services.
Savvy Game Rant readers will wonder if boycotting the 30 Rock special wasn't a bad move for the NBC affiliates, given that networks only earn ad revenue if the ads are broadcast. And those readers would be right had the 30 Rock reunion shown any normal commercials, but it didn't. The entire thing was a nonstop ad for NBC programming. Those readers may then counter with the theory that denying TV viewers access to content may end up driving them to use Peacock instead, and....well, that's just a very good point.
As of today, the 30 Rock reunion is available on NBC.com, NBC Universal cable channels like SyFy and Bravo, and, of course, on Peacock.
Source: Variety