30 Rock: Can YouTube do That?<< You Say it's Your Birthday | Main | Time Warner, Turbines and Turpentine >> Todd Chanko | October 12, 2006, 10:29 AM Much has been written this week about "GooTube." While Google's strategic goals in acquiring YouTube will continue to be debated for some time to come, what is not under question is what YouTube is not. It is not a portal for high-value video assets. Unless Google distorts YouTube's grassroots environment beyond recognition, it will never be capable of delivering what NBC delivered last night: 30 Rock. Yes, 30 Rock. I know the address well, being a veteran of one of NBC's cable properties. My former employer has taken more than a few hits lately for its seeming inability to maintain what was once an impenetrable lead - "must see TV." Last night's premiere of "30 Rock" demonstrated that with courage, Zucker can tap into the Zeitgeist. Tina Fey's romp through the sanctum sanctorum of everything from NBC's parent GE to the inanity of office politics to even race relations left me breathless. The overnights have not yet been published publicly but I hope they will provide wiggle room for the show to grow. Earlier this week the Dolan family announced its intent to take Cablevision private. The Long Island-based company's cable network assets are estimated to be worth about $2 billion. Can Google justify the $1.6 billion it paid for YouTube in light of such valuations? And, even more importantly, in light of even just one great show - 30 Rock? |
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