Jumping the gun on its broadcast rivals, NBC unveiled its fall schedule on Wednesday. Among the highlights:

– In what could have diaster written all over it, “The Office” will spawn a spin-off series (Remember NBC’s success with “Joey”?). The show doesn’t have a tile yet, or a totally fleshed-out concept, or a cast, but the network plans to give it the coveted post-Super Bowl slot in 2009. NBC chief Ben Silverman says he won’t put the show on the air unless it “in no way harms the mothership.” Um, we’ll see. Read the rest of this entry »

I expect to see plenty more where this came from as we plow deeper into the realm of user-generated content. In today’s San Jose Mercury News, there’s a report that Viacom is asking Bay Area-based YouTube to remove more than 100,000 unauthorized videoclips from its site.

Viacom is the behemoth that owns CBS, as well as MTV, VH1, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. It says the clips were posted on YouTube without permission and that YouTube continues to drag its heels when it comes to filtering out such clips and/or compensating the originators.

I don’t know how this tussle will turn out, but stories such as these only rekindle my ire toward Internet-based doomsayers who claim that YouTube and similar sites will eventually render broadcast television extinct. Isn’t it obvious to everybody that these sites suck off and depend on television for their very existence?

You can talk LonelyGirl all you want. And you can talk about blurry videos with dweeby dudes kicking each other in the nuts. But some of the main draws on these sites are pegged to TV. Or have you already forgotten “Saturday Night Live”’s “D— in a Box”? And whether you’re a fan of the TV fat cats or not, they deserve an even playing field.

Another thing: It’s not like Viacom isn’t willing to provide free content on the Internet. You can see “The Daily Show,” for example, on the Comedy Central site. They have a right to control their own stuff.

To check out the Mercury News story, click here.

The L.A. Times is reporting that “Saturday Night Live” will undergo a major makeover this season.

Obviously, we already knew that Tina Fey is leaving to do her new “30 Rock” sitcom and taking Rachel Dratch with her. But now a source says longtime cast members Chris Parnell, Horatio Sanz and Kenan Thompson will likely exit the late-night comedy show.

Cast changes had been rumored since the summer press tour, when executive producer Lorne Michaels told reporters “SNL” was facing massive budget cuts dictated by NBC. Just earlier today, I e-mailed castmember and Lafayette native Will Forte to see if he avoided the ax (one Internet site speculated that he would be departing) and he responded by saying that he was, indeed, coming back.