Editor’s Note: the original publication where this article was posted has since been eradicated, so we brought this post over to The Sports Bank before it got deleted. It originally ran in August 2013.ย
30 Rock and the Black Rock are just a few blocks away from each other. However, my experiences at each of them were worlds apart. I recently flew to New York City to attend NFL on CBS Media Day. After my meetings, I stayed an extra day in Mid-Town Manhattan to turn my business trip into a vacation; at least for a day. So I took in the NBC Studio Tour at 30 Rockefeller Plaza or โ30 Rock.โ
I really loved that sitcom with Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey. I think itโs one of the best written shows ever to grace network televisionโs airwaves. Itโs also how I learned that the NBC Studio Tour existed.
Taking the NBC Studio Tour at 30 Rockefeller Place is as awful and painful as the show “30 Rock” was witty and enjoyable.
First, letโs back track to CBS.
This day was not just a highlight of the summer for me; it was a highlight of my sports media career. I had lunch with Dan Marino and Dan Fouts. Shannon Sharpe regaled me with some excellent insights about being on television and the career arc of Jay Cutler.
Jim Nantz gave me an exclusive on how he single-handedly saved โOne Shining Momentโ (the March Madness highlight music video that culminates the Final Four on CBS). Greg Gumbel was rather candid about his days of youthful partying when he lived in Chicago.
And then there was Phil Simms, who owned the room.
All of us reporters were mesmerized by his hilarious personality as he does a fantastic, dead-on impersonation of Bill Parcells. All in all, this was right up there with covering the 2010 Final Four and the 2012 Rose Bowl. Then I took the NBC Studio Tour; which was right up there with setting up an online bill pay account and going to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
First off, by the time you pay all the fees, one adult ticket for the NBC Studio Tour costs $33. Hereโs where I would review what you get for that money; and tell you about the experience.
However, I was so taken aback by their bizarre, Draconian rules that Iโm not interested in reviewing the sites and sounds. Iโm going to tell you about their paranoia and rigid edicts, so that you know what youโre getting into, should you consider signing up for this.
In the Facist spirit of the tour, I will write the rules in ALL CAPS!
1. YOU WILL NOT GET ANY BATHROOM BREAKS DURING THE TWO HOUR TOUR.
If you have to go to the bathroom, your tour ends right there and then.
No refunds.
No partial refunds.
And you canโt just go to the bathroom; you must wait for someone to escort you off the tour. They radio to get someone in, and it takes awhile. So your body better be able to โhold it inโ for some time. Knowing this rule, I utilized it to be dismissed from the NBC Studio Tour early. I didnโt have to go.
I just wanted out. At CBS, I saw a sign that said โStudio 19,โ one conference room and a Charles Schwab brokerage in the lobby of the building. Those sites were much more interesting and exciting than what I saw on the NBC Studio Tour.
2. YOU WILL NOT USE YOUR PHONE. AT ALL. EVEN IN AIRPLANE MODE
They claim this rule is in place because your signal will disrupt their broadcast.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHT.
Because the flagship station of a major network has technology so primitive that your blackberry will damage it; and throw it into utter chaos. Iโve talked with airplane pilots who have told me the airline rule is just as much b.s. as NBC is here on this one.
3. YOU WILL NOT TAKE ANY PICTURES. PERIOD.
This one is very strange to me because youโre not looking at centuries old masterworks of art that could be damaged by a flash. Youโre looking at studio sets. And wait, youโre catering to tourists byโฆโฆโฆโฆ.NOT LETTING THEM TAKE PICTURES???? Last time I checked if youโre marketing a product to tourists, you should let them do what tourists do. And thatโs take pictures.
Even odder, there are no postcards of anything on the NBC Studio Tour in the gift shop for sale. So taking pics isnโt cutting into their profit margins.
4. YOU WILL NOT WRITE IN YOUR NOTEBOOK DURING THE TOUR
I know, you think Iโm making this up. Sadly Iโm not. And this one was told to the entire group mid-tour; but I was the only one taking notes. Therefore, it was directed at me. This was the last straw. Even if the NBC Studio Tour was free, Iโd want my money back. Let’s recap:
No phones, no social media, no internet, no texting, no picture taking, no bathroom breaks, and no writing anything down in your notebook.
I think we can all see where this is going.
SUMMATION
Just a hunch, but I’m guessing The Peacock is paranoid that their tours will be populated with spies from other networks. Their Draconian rubbish is in place because they believe someone from a rival will acquire inside information provided on the tour.ย To that I say
1.) Why even offer these tours then? Itโs not like New York City is a place hurting for entertainment options
2.) What do they honestly think weโll see? And what will we relay to others that could destroy them?
The NBC Studio Tour does not include sitting in on a shareholders meeting. There is no stop on the tour taking you inside the programming directorโs office.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor ofย The Sports Bank.ย Heโs also theย author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ andย โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
He currently contributes toย Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMGโs NFL Wire Networkย and theย Internet Baseball Writers Association of America.ย His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated,ย Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times.ย You can follow himย onย Linked Inย andย Twitter.
