NBC Proud Of ‘Rock Center With Brian Williams,’ Says Internal Memo
NBC News head Pat Fili-Krushel said he was “proud” of Rock Center with Brian Williams in an internal memo sent to network employees.
Fans of the anchor were shocked to learn that the news magazine had been canceled by the folks at NBC. The show’s demise is reportedly the end result of low ratings in recent months.
However, Fili-Krushel said in an internal memo that he was “proud of the hard work” Williams and his crew put into the program each and every week. Sadly, not enough viewers were tuning in to catch what the host and his team were reporting. This prompted NBC to pull the plug on the program.
“I wanted to let you know in advance of NBC Entertainment’s Upfront presentation on Monday that a decision has been made about the future of ‘Rock Center with Brian Williams.’ Unfortunately, the show will finish its run on the primetime schedule on June 21,” the NBC News Group head wrote in the recent memo.
He continued, “There have been so many notable moments — unprecedented access to the White House Situation Room, a compelling hour-long broadcast on the Boston Marathon bombings, the Emmy Award-winning exclusive with Jerry Sandusky – just to mention a few. Everyone gave their all to bring the most interesting stories to our viewers.”
Many believe that Rock Center was destined to fail since NBC couldn’t figure out where to stick the news magazine. The show bounced around the network’s schedule before finally landing on Friday night. Not surprisingly, the show didn’t find an audience in this particular time slot either.
Former Nightline anchor Ted Koppel criticized NBC’s inability to find the program a proper home. He believes this ultimately contributed to the show’s failure to find a dedicated and loyal following.
“Just when you think somebody might figure out when it’s on and want to see it the next week, they move it to another place,” Koppel explained in March. “That’s not helpful, and I think Brian deserves more support than that.”
Are you disappointed that Rock Center with Brian Williams has been canceled?
[Image via lev radin / Shutterstock.com]
