Following the success of last week’s premieres of Southland and Parks and Recreation comes even more good news for NBC wunderkind (and Vulture hero) Ben Silverman: The USA Network, owned by NBC Universal, was watched by more people in prime time during the first quarter of 2009 than any other cable network in history. More important, USA and the SCI FI Channel together earned NBCU more than $1 billion last year (better than regular NBC!). Also, hilariously, of the six new shows that have debuted on USA chief Bonnie Hammer’s watch over these past five years, only two have been canceled, which certainly beats you know who’s track record. But buck up, Ben Silverman! This means the pressure’s off! And surely Jeff Zucker will allow a little of that $1 billion to help pay for white-tiger rental at next week’s much-anticipated NBCU Earth Day bacchanal.
These are great times for the USA (cable network) [AP]
NBC’s Embarrassing Gold Mine [Gawker]