NBC Wants Its Old Favorite Night Back

The significance of winning Thursday night is all about money. It is, by far, the biggest night for television advertising because many advertisers who need to do big weekend business - starting with movie companies, but also including car companies and fast food restaurants - will pay a premium to reach viewers on Thursday night, the last big night of television before the weekend starts. Leslie Moonves, the CBS chief executive, said last spring that taking control of Thursday would mean hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenues for his network. Yesterday he said that strategy had paid off with CBS adding about $400 million more in revenues this year.