NBC Suits Worried BriWi Could Go to Another Network

While some outlets covered the fact that Brian Williams went out and walked the dog (No...really they did), the Washington Post reports that NBC's decision on Williams future may soon be made. 

Williams is currently on a suspension for telling lies about his coverage in Iraq. But, the bigger decision, does the suspension become a firing?

The Post writes that the decision is likely to come soon. Starting next month, NBC and other TV networks will begin negotiating with advertising buyers over the price of commercial airtime for next season’s TV shows. The annual sales period, which involves billions of dollars of ad buys, kicks off with the networks’ “upfront” presentations, a series of razzle-dazzle meetings in which the networks attempt to woo advertisers by touting their fall schedules and trotting out some of their best-known personalities. NBC’s upfront is May 11.

People on both sides of the negotiations, including some at NBC, say it is unlikely that Lack and NBC will go into the upfronts without resolving Williams’s status beforehand.

So? Will BriLie stay or go?

At the moment, the betting seems to be against Williams’s return.

“From a ratings point of view, there is no pressure” on NBC to put Williams back on the air, said Catherine Warburton, the chief investment officer at Assembly, a New York-based ad-buying company. “Lester Holt has been doing well. So the advertisers are happy. . . . My personal opinion is, I’d be wary of bringing [Williams] back.”

There is also the fear that Williams could pop up on another network.

“We have an enormous talent here,” said the NBC executive, speaking of Williams. “He has skills no one else has. Can we really get rid of him? The next question is, if we do, what if he shows up elsewhere” on a rival network?

Stay tuned....