NBC's position is that a big increase will mean huge losses for any network that decides to pay that price.
The 34-minute blackout would have been a big challenge for any network, no matter the level of preparation.
Yet, it's also true that this is an increasingly difficult era for any network TV show to make a lasting mark.
It is extremely rare for any network to have six new shows that are seen as having a fair chance at surviving a first season.
Now, for the first time, she is in charge of a one-hour drama, but it is not for any network she envisioned earlier in her career.
Instead the show drew an average of about 12.6 million viewers — a success for any network, but a failure for Mr. Cowell.
NBC's winning margin in the 18-49 casegofyesterdayyesterday a 5.1 rating to a 4.2 for ABC, was the biggest for any network in November in six years.
(A quick note for any Network operatives reading: if you have to ask a question like, "Should we call security?" then you probably should think about another line of work).
Stu Bloomberg, the co-chairman of ABC Entertainment, noted that ABC had actually climbed from third place to the dominant position, a first for any network in one season.
When you make a phone call, your voice is sampled maybe 50 times a second, and then reconstituted at the receiving end, with a minuscule delay to account for any network failings.
For any network that shows soccer, one large financial oddity exists: there are no commercial breaks during the games — except for advertisers' names and logos that poke out of the corner score boxes during play.
