WKYC's 'Matlock' Pre-Emption an Inventory Play

Cleveland NBC affiliate says Andy Griffith is hot in Cleveland

By Michael Malone -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/1/2013 3:29:44 PM

WKYC Cleveland pre-empted NBC's Feb. 28 primetime lineup for a two-hour Matlock movie, which Brooke Spectorsky, president and general manager of WKYC, said was purely about maximizing station inventory. Pre-empted were reruns of The Office and Law & Order: SVU, along with a new episode of 1600 Penn, though Spectorsky says the station was under the impression that the latter was to be a repeat.

NBC's primetime has reverted to a slump after its high-flying fall, but Spectorsky took pains to stress that the pre-emption had nothing to do with the network's primetime performance. He said the station typically runs a Matlock special, where it gets all the inventory, in the first quarter.

"We made a local decision," he said. "We've done it the last 10 years and usually do quite well. Older folks appreciate Matlock."

Station affiliates have a certain degree of leeway when it comes to pre-empting network programming.

An NBC rep declined comment.

WKYC shifted the prime shows to a 1 a.m. start. The preemption was previously reported on ShowBuzzDaily.com.

Spectorsky said Matlock: The Legacy, a '92 film starring Andy Griffith, did a 2 household rating/3.3 share, rating a little less than a typical Thursday night of reruns on NBC, while beating repeats of Scandal and a Jimmy Kimmel Oscar special on ABC in men 25-54.

A legal drama, Matlock ran on NBC from 1986 to 1992, then through 1995 on ABC.

Spectorsky quipped that WKYC is considering an all Matlock dot-two channel.