Peacock finally seems to be on the mend

PASADENA, Calif. — That Kevin Reilly is a funny guy.

Reilly, the president of NBC Entertainment, knows how to play a room full of critics.

"First off, I want to acknowledge something that many of you have acknowledged — that 16 weeks into the season, NBC was, in fact, tied for No. 1 in the 18-49 demo," he said. "It's something that's happy for me to acknowledge. It's been a great little energizer inside the building, and that's why I want to start with my first and only announcement of the morning, which is that NBC will officially be ending our season as of yesterday."

That's why you can't help but like him. He's bragging without really bragging. And acknowledging that there's no way on Earth that NBC can maintain that position, given the return of "American Idol" on Fox and the impending Super Bowl telecast on CBS.

And if he wants to sort of gently jibe his counterparts at Fox, so much the better.

"There's precedent for this," Reilly said. "Fox pretty much disregards the fall and says baseball interrupts their flow. So at NBC we can say we're just going to disregard the spring because 'Idol' interrupts our flow.

"That's the way we're going, and that is the way it's going to be." (And, by the way, a day later CBS was already trumpeting it had moved into sole possession of first place among viewers 18-49 for the season — another reign that's destined to be short-lived given the continuing ratings appeal of "Idol.")

FEELING THE LOVE: NBC has a long way to go to climb back to the top of the ratings heap, but the network finally appears to have bottomed out in prime time and is on the upward climb.

"I feel it. I hear it," Reilly said. "I mean, I do think we brought the love back this year to the network."

Last season, he said he would bump into friends and relatives and get "mealy-mouthed compliments like, 'Oh, yeah, you know, you guys are — yeah, it's great, you know.' And it just kills you.

"And this year, all of us are talking about it's just great to have people coming and going, 'We never miss this,' or 'You've gotten stacked up on my TiVo and we never miss your shows,"' Reilly said.

You've got to hope that Reilly's strategy of rebuilding the schedule with quality shows works. And that the less popular, high-quality shows will gain in the ratings. "Hopefully those rising tides lift all ships, which we've seen in the past," Reilly said.

Keep your fingers crossed.