On July 1, 2009, we flipped the switch on our relationship with NBC. Seventeen years later (for the first time ever, I had to do the math — and initially got it wrong), it’s still going.
Seventeen years. Nowadays, that’s an eternity.
We currently don’t know what yesterday’s news of Comcast planning to spin off NBCU and Sky will mean to the future of the relationship. At this point, not much is known generally, or specifically, as to what will happen. For us, it’s business as usual.
Here’s the one key thing to remember. It will always be business as usual, as long as I can operate in the usual way. I’ve come to terms with the reality that I won’t retire. I’ll be doing this for as long as I physically can do it. At a certain point, the copy/paste/snarky comment (as Simms calls it) habit became as normal as breathing, eating, and sleeping. After nearly 25 years, it’s hardwired into my routine. It’s not going to end until I end.
Contrary to what many still believe, NBC doesn’t own PFT. I hold 100 percent of the equity. Under the NBC relationship, we license all content to NBC for use and distribution. So if/when the NBC connection evaporates, PFT will endure.
So, basically, you’re stuck with me — and with whoever else is part of this endeavor. For 17 years as of today, NBC has been a major part of that.
We’re grateful for that. The relationship has endured because it works very well for both sides. The problems we’ve had can be counted on one hand, with a finger or two left over. That alone is amazing to me.
Still, the world is always changing. Faster than ever. NBC will apparently be changing in some way. If it changes in a way that makes the relationship no longer make sense, we’ll deal with it and keep going.
That’s the thing about the future. No one knows what it will bring. While it’s important to have good plans for what is and could be coming, my main focus will remain on getting up every morning (as long as I can keep getting up every morning) and getting to work.
Especially because it’s not really work at this point. It’s just what I do once I roll out of bed, empty the bladder, get a cup of coffee, and sit down at my desk.
