NBC: ‘The Golden Globes show will go on’
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NBC is not about to let the Golden Globe Awards broadcast go. ‘We are prepared to move forward with the telecast on Jan. 13,’ said Rebecca Marks, NBC spokeswoman.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. was planning to announce that it would have a ‘private’ Golden Globes party without television cameras to avoid a potentially ugly spectacle: an empty red carpet as celebrities refuse to cross the Writers Guild of America’s planned picket line.
But the HFPA, along with Dick Clark Productions, is contractually bound to provide the Golden Globes event to NBC for a national televised broadcast, according to two top NBC executives who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation.
And as of this afternoon, NBC insisted it was going forward, despite widespread rumors to the contrary.
The show is very lucrative for NBC, which pays $5 million a year in license fees for the right to air the show. The network makes millions of dollars in profit from ad revenue from the event. NBC this afternoon is in negotiations with the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. and Dick Clark Productions to come up with alternatives, including pushing the date of the show back several weeks, said one NBC source.
Advertisers look forward to the event, which provides a bit of a Hollywood halo effect for their products. The ongoing WGA strike is bad for business, said one top advertising buyer.
‘This strike is, to a degree, devastating to our industry,’ said Andy Donchin, a top advertising buyer for Carat USA, which represents such clients as Adidas, Alberto Culver and Papa John’s Pizza. ‘Despite all of its issues, television still provides us with unparalleled reach, and advertisers need that to tell consumers about our products.’
‘It would be a shame if they have to cancel the Golden Globes,’ Donchin said. ‘It’s a highly rated program that is very engaging, and viewers and advertisers look forward to it.’
--Meg James
