Prather: NBC Smart to 'Cut Losses' on 'Leno'

Most NBC affiliates seem to think the new proposals regarding Jay Leno we see around the media are good for the network–and for their stations. Count Gray TV boss Bob Prather among them.

“I think they’re doing the right thing,” says Prather, who had harsh words for NBC and its Leno strategy on a conference call recently. “The experiment didn’t work. The sooner you cut your losses on it, the better off we’ll all be.”

Gray is one of the bigger owners of NBC affiliates with 10, including WSAZ Charleston-Huntington (WV) and WILX Lansing.

Through all his struggles at 10 p.m. this fall, you don’t seem to find anyone who blames Jay Leno’s disappointing performance on its namesake–Prather included. “Jay Leno is a great performer,” says the Gray boss. “He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”