Downturn creates drama at NBC

General Electric plans to announce this week that it will merge its two programming groups -- one at the NBC network and the other at its television production studio -- into one unit. The restructuring, which could save the company millions of dollars a year in overhead, comes as the TV industry braces for advertisers to dramatically scale back their purchase of commercial time next year, pressuring revenues and eroding profit margins. NBC's move could signal a shift in how television shows, which underpin the Hollywood economy, are bought and sold. NBC, one of the largest producers of programs for all the networks, could decide to retrench by producing shows only for one of the channels the company already owns -- leading to fewer jobs for actors, writers and scores of people who work "below the line" making TV programs. It is not unusual in the TV industry for rivals to team up and produce shows, in effect helping a competitor make money. Although a particular show may not fit well on one network's schedule, it can often prosper on another, which generates income for both.