NBC suit
An NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) suit, also called a chemsuit or chem suit or chemical suit is a type of military personal protective equipment. NBC suits are designed to provide protection against direct contact with and contamination by radioactive, biological or chemical substances, and provides protection from contamination with radioactive materials and some types of radiation, depending on the design. It is generally designed to be worn for extended periods to allow the wearer to fight (or generally function) while under threat of or under actual nuclear, biological, or chemical attack. The civilian equivalent is the Hazmat suit. The term NBC has been replaced by CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear), with the addition of a new threat, radiological, meaning radiological weapon.
NBC
NBC's broadcast of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, in February of that year, generated a ratings increase of 21% over its broadcast of the 2006 Winter Games in Torino. The network was criticized for repeatedly showing footage of a crash occurring during practice for an Olympic luge competition that killed Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili. NBC News president Steve Capus ordered the footage not to be shown without his permission and Olympics prime time host Bob Costas promised on-air that the video would not be shown again during the Games. NBC Universal was on track to lose $250 million in advertising revenue on that year's Winter Olympics, failing to make up the $820 million it paid for the U.S. television rights. Even so, with its continuing position in fourth place (although it virtually tied with ABC in many demographics on the strength of NBC's sports broadcasts that year), the 2009–10 season ended with only two scripted shows – "Community" and "Parenthood", as well as three unscripted shows – "The Marriage Ref", "Who Do You Think You Are?" and "Minute to Win It" – being renewed for second seasons, while other series such as "Heroes" and veteran crime drama "Law & Order" (the latter of which ended after 20 seasons, tying it with "Gunsmoke" as the longest-running prime time drama in U.S. television history) were cancelled.
After Conan O'Brien succeeded Jay Leno as host of "The Tonight Show" in 2009, the network gave Leno a new prime time talk show, committing to air it every weeknight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific as an inexpensive comedic alternative to the police procedurals and other hour-long dramas typically aired in that time slot. In doing so, NBC became the first major U.S. broadcast network in decades, if ever, to broadcast the same program in a weekdaily prime time strip. Its executives called the decision "a transformational moment in the history of broadcasting" and "in effect, launching five shows." Conversely, industry executives criticized the network for abandoning a history of airing quality dramas in the 10:00 hour, and expressed concern that it would hurt NBC by undermining a reputation built on successful scripted series. Citing complaints from many affiliates, which saw their late-evening newscasts drop significantly in the local ratings during "The Jay Leno Show"s run, NBC announced on January 10, 2010 that it would drop Leno's show from the 10:00 p.m. slot – with Zucker announcing plans to shift the program (which would have been reduced to a half-hour) into the 11:35 p.m. slot and shift its existing late night lineup (including "The Tonight Show") by 30 minutes. The removal of "The Jay Leno Show" from its prime time schedule had almost no impact on the network's ratings. The increases NBC experienced in the 2010–11 season compared to 2009–10 were almost entirely attributable to the rising viewership of "NBC Sunday Night Football". By 2012, the shows that occupied the 10:00 p.m. time slot drew lower numbers than "The Jay Leno Show" did when it aired in that hour two years before. In the spring of 2010, cable provider and multimedia firm Comcast announced it would acquire a majority interest in NBC Universal from General Electric, which would retain a minority stake in the company in the interim.