NBC said Tuesday it plans to expand episodes of "Friends" and air live skits by the cast of "Saturday Night Live" to fight CBS' "Survivor" on Thursday nights beginning Feb. 1.
New NBC entertainment president Jeff Zucker met with the "Friends" cast last week to suggest expanding the episodes and include guest appearances by Susan Sarandon and Jason Alexander, USA Today reported Tuesday.
The episodes may run about 10 minutes longer than the usual half-hour, the network said.
NBC is focusing on blunting the impact of the hourlong "Survivor," which is scheduled to run for 14 weeks, during the February sweeps period when stations set ad rates for the next few months.
The "Saturday Night Live" skits are planned for the first two weeks of February, NBC said Tuesday. Plans for the second half of the month have yet to be determined, but could include using "Friends" highlights from previous shows from 8:40 p.m. to 9 p.m. EST.<
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