Perhaps it's just a case of an executive thinking aloud, but it would be interesting to see a major network put some of the content it creates (but doesn't currently monetize) into a medium like the web, that doesn't carry an opportunity cost for reaching an audience.
At a recent conference, NBC Universal chief digital officer George Kliavkoff mused that perhaps the company will webcast Friday night rehearsals of Saturday Night Live. This is a pretty sharp idea, as it's easy to imagine people wanting to watch something like this, for the same reason that people buy DVDs for their extra content. Depending on your view of the current state of SNL, it could easily be more entertaining than the show itself.
For NBC to put the stuff it has in its vault on TV, they'd have to remove something else from the schedule (although the way NBC's ratings are going, they might do better to replace some of their primetime programming with old eps of "Knight Rider.") By putting it on the web, or even the iTunes Store, NBC can satisfy an audience and make money, without messing around with their most precious real-estate: the 8pm-11pm weeknight block.
Tags: NBC, SNL, online video