NBC orders reality series from Nash
'Pets' producer to help net fill hoops-free sked
The NBC series, expected to be ready in time for the February sweeps period, will likely be titled "World's Scariest Home Videos," sources said.
NBC West Coast president Don Ohlmeyer has been the industry's most vocal critic of Fox specials, labeling them "snuff TV" and telling the Los Angeles Times last year, "We would never air anything like that" because the specials are "the equivalent of auto-accident programming on network television."
Nash, who also produced Fox's "Secrets of Magic Revealed" specials, did not return phone calls seeking comment, and NBC had no comment. But one NBC source said the network is ordering the series as a backup in case the NBA lockout is not resolved. The show would air in the Sunday 7 p.m. timeslot if basketball falls through this season.
Still, the NBC deal is also an acknowledgment that Fox's reality shows are taking a serious bite out of NBC's ratings this season, particularly on its strongest night, Thursday.
Two weeks ago, Fox -- with "World's Most Shocking Moments Caught on Tape" -- defeated NBC's Thursday 9 p.m. programming among men 18-49 for the first time ever. Last week, Nash's "When Good Pets Go Bad," sent "Frasier" to NBC's lowest firstrun regular-fare rating in the Thursday 9 p.m. slot since 1992.
Largely as a result of Fox's specials, NBC leads the adults 18-49 sweeps race by a mere two-tenths of a rating point, one of the tightest races in some time.
