Network Influence Quotes

Networks decide who will have a chance to do shows, but it is the viewers who make the final decision of who stays and who goes. I am very fortunate, in that the television viewers of our country have decided that Bob Barker can stay.

When there is a conflict between a [network] corporation and the needs of it’s news division, the corporate interest will win out.

It's really difficult to have a challenging male-driven show, and certain networks take off because they have their own mandate about what they want to do.

It's quite common for a television show to start off as one thing and end up as something completely different. There are so many cooks in the kitchen - the network, the studio.

You have to fight to get your show not only on the air but then to keep it what it is and make sure that it doesn't get manipulated into something else.

The network told me to get rid of Number One, the woman first lieutenant, and also get rid of 'that Martian fellow'... meaning, of course, Spock. I knew I couldn't keep both, so I gave the stoicism of the female officer to Spock, and married the actress who played Number One. Thank God it wasn't the other way around. I mean Leonard's cute, but...

Doing 'Veronica Mars,' Rob Thomas is a genius. He's one of my best friends. I had this feeling like I couldn't write anything other than my stuff in Jersey and what we were talking about, like that little world, like if I can throw my Aunt Janice into it, I'm cool, but otherwise I'm screwed.

I found myself in network always trying to play catch up because once things get going there's no time to fix this and that. And also the writing, it was more inclined to be by committee in network which drowns out the purity and the voice of the show.

With this show [Stand-Up Revolution ], I loved the idea that I would be picking the talent that goes on, not the network. It was me handpicking people who might not have gotten the chance to be on TV. So, I thought it was real cool that I was putting people up there.

The major networks, the cable networks, they're being prosecutors. They're judges and jurors and executioners. Well, c'mon, that's ridiculous. But they're doing it.

I've avoided doing a network comedy, because I wouldn't get my own way. Even though it would get more viewers, it wouldn't be mine.

I feel like I've grown up, not only at NBC, but also at 'Today.'

I doubted Black-ish , and I'll tell you why. Because it doesn't matter if a writer wrote it for you. He could've written it with you in mind. But TV is a collaborative art. It involves producers, networks, studios, and many people signing off on you. And a lot of times there are deals in place - actors with studios that they're looking for shows for.

With network shows, writers can be so protective of every syllable.

Your executives liking your show makes all the difference in the world. It's the difference between happiness and misery.

I guess working on 'Mad Men' turned me onto AMC and really got me watching the network, and so with that I got a good idea of the type of show they like to produce.

I've been in rooms where the creator has sold a show and then felt like the network didn't buy the show they wanted. They bought a show they thought they could craft into the show they wanted.

Joe Barbera's s always complaining that he can't get humor into cartoons anymore. Just do it. You've got your money. Why do they let the networks run their lives?

When I did 'Nikki and Sara Live,' I think a lot of the comedy got lost because we were always so worried about how we looked, and so was the network.

Don't be deluded into believing that the titular heads of the networks control what appears on their networks. They all have better taste.