"The Apprentice," the new NBC reality program celebrating the corporate wisdom of Donald J. Trump, is a "total game changer," in the words of Jeff Zucker, the president of NBC Entertainment. Averaging 20 million viewers a week and pulling in more high-income viewers than any other series, it has saved NBC's once-invincible Thursday night lineup, turned around its season and added millions in profit - with the promise of more millions to come.
The story of how ABC missed out on "The Apprentice" is being pointed to by television industry executives and producers like Mr. Burnett as an example of how the network has been hamstrung creatively and financially by the top-down management style of ABC's parent, the Walt Disney Company, and its chief executive, Michael D. Eisner.
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