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NBC recently canceled Southland because it’s content was too dark for 9pm. With Jay in at 10pm every night, there was no timeslot in which to a show with Southland’s “dark tone.” (That raises the question will NBC ever air really heavy drama again, but I digress.) The problem with Jay’s slot, however, is that comedy isn’t what people want or expect at 10pm. People want and expect a story and/or suspense. There’s no “What happens next?” with the Jay Leno show. We know what happens next – star comes out, makes small talk, sets up a clip, shakes Jay’s hand, leaves, top ten at ten, humorous bit, toss to the news. That’s great for 11:30, not so much for 10pm. On top of it all, the local news programs are losing their audiences because people aren’t watching Jay. Problems all around. Luckily, I have a solution.

It starts by cutting the time of Jay’s show. Not from 60 mins to 30 mins. Instead, cut it from 60 mins to 48 mins. Essentially, Jay loses one of his bits – not too bad. Now, keeping in mind that people like snack-sized content today, create a new 12-minute scripted show and air it between Jay and the news with one commercial break. Make it dark, edgy and easily digestible in 12-minute bites. If the ‘lonelygirl15’ crew can make something compelling in 2-3 minute installments, there’s little reason why NBC can’t do so in 12 minutes. Do not take an hour show and cut it into 12-minute slices. An alternative to the scripted show could be a fast-paced, edge of your seat 12-15 minute game show where the winners of each time compete on Friday for a super prize. One really great thing about the short show is that it works really well on the web and mobile devices.

Do it right and you kill a few birds with one stone – Jay’s ratings go up, local news audience goes back up and, best of all, NBC is seen as an innovator. If it doesn’t work, you’re stuck having to figure out what to do with Jay and as things are you’d be in that position anyway.

Naturally, Fox would prefer that their shows only show up on fox.com or on Myspace. Perhaps my brain isn’t working since it’s just about 1am, but it seems to me that Fox needs follow this person/group’s lead. Like I said yesterday, it’s okay to let go a little. I’m not advocating having the public upload every episode of The Simpsons, but isn’t a measured effort to get The Simpsons content on YouTube a potential marketing bonanza for Fox? I mean the show has been on forever and still people are so passionate about it that they want to share it.

We all need to let go a little and stop being so closed-minded. Opportunity is out there for those of us who are willing to take advantage of the new flat world.

When I was growing up, all of the good shows were on NBC (channel 4 in the NYC area) — The Cosby Show, Cheers, Family Ties, etc… To this day, when I turn on the TV I turn to channel 4 first. It feels like my channel in spite of the fact that since they got rid of the West Wing it rarely seems worth my time. Anyhow, yesterday somehow I came across these 2-minute replays that NBC has for 30 Rock (and other shows). I’ve never seen 30 Rock and to be honest, I’m not sure how I ended up on the site. Anyway, I took a look. It’s a funny show and I just might set my Tivo to record and episode or two. Apparently, NBC has a few interesting shows — 30 Rock, Heroes, Studio 60 and they’re using video on the Internet to market them.

I must admit that I was a little surprised to find 30 Rock clips on YouTube, but then we know that certain CBS shows experienced not insignificant ratings bumps as a result of CBS’ YouTube channel. CBS let go of their content a little and saw results. NBC had to follow suit.

Letting should mean more, though. To encourage viewers to develop a relationship with their brands, content providers have to foster more interaction with their brands. From allowing people to create their own 2-minute 30 Rock episodes (sort of like the mediocre Chevy Apprentice idea, but smarter) to allowing people to link directly to the content on NBC.com and e-mail it to their friends or put it on their Myspace pages. Don’t get me wrong, it’s important that content providers protect their content, but if they want their content to find an audience in this world of 800 channel cable boxes, YouTubes and Myspaces then it’s time that they start being a little creative. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. Content providers have started miserably, but if they use their brains and begin to let go just a little, we may find that they finish up pretty well. I guess I’ll go prep my Tivo.

Postscript:  Saw this MediaWeek article a few of days after the original posting.