Could Donald Trump’s ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ ratings comments have further implications?
Earlier today, we saw something that was for the most part expected: President-elect Donald Trump going on Twitter to make his thoughts clear on “The Celebrity Apprentice” not getting the same ratings that his iteration did. If there’s something that this guy loves seemingly more than anything, it’s winning.
The question that we have now beyond his comments (and the response from current host / boardroom guru Arnold Schwarzenegger) is what sort of further implications these comments could have on the franchise as a whole.
First thing to remember: Trump still makes money off the show
Could his comments create a rift behind the scenes with the series, in particular when it comes to the production company? It’s certainly far from the first time that we’ve seen someone, while still technically employed on the show, complain about their job publicly. Yet, at the same time Trump is one of the most high-profile people in the world right now, so for him to bash a product he’s technically involved with (even if it’s just an executive producer credit) could turn heads and lead to some hurt feelings.
While we don’t see Trump’s credit going away in recent weeks, it wouldn’t surprise us to see some people associated with the show either distance themselves further from him or start to be downright adversarial.
Second thing: NBC and him aren’t exactly buddy-buddy right now
Is there a larger reason for Trump to go after the network? It’s possible. He’s expressed displeasure recently with their news division receiving classified intelligence information before he did, and he also had several legal battles with them recently over his Miss USA Pageant going off the air there. While he did host “Saturday Night Live” (in a most controversial fashion) during the fall of 2015, at the same time he has repeatedly called for the show’s end ever since Alec Baldwin started up his impersonation. We don’t exactly think a network would keep a show on the air or promote it out of spite, but we could see them getting even more aggressive with the show as a result of this.
Third thing: NBC could easily still renew this
What would it look like in the event “The Celebrity Apprentice” comes back? We’re eager to find out, given that Trump acts as though receiving a 1.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic these days is horrible when it’s not. This rating for the show tops many other NBC programs’ averages so far this season, including such highly-promoted shows like “Blindspot” and “The Blacklist.” It’s about even with “Timeless” and “Chicago Med,” and only slightly below “Chicago PD.” You have to think that this show, even with the celebrities involved, doesn’t cost any more than some of these shows. “The Celebrity Apprentice” is the perfect fill-in series for the early part of the year, and even though we think not airing against “The Bachelor” would help it, it can survive for some time even with that competition.
Do you think that Trump’s remarks could hold some sort of larger ramifications? Let us know in the comments below! We’ll of course have more on this and other stories as they break moving forward. If you want to see exactly what Donald Trump and Arnold Schwarzenegger twitter exchange was then head on over to the link here. (Photo: NBC.)