Having found himself in the unenviable position of having his peacock messiah, Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, grabbed by its feathered neck and thrown into a Burbank back alley for a proposed cockfight with ABC's unstoppable Grey's Anatomy, NBC president Kevin Reilly has finally succumbed to the deadly game of network programming chicken, moving 60 from the Thursday at 9 p.m. slot to the more poultry-friendly waters of Mondays at 10 p.m.:

Now NBC is scheduling that time slot with its game show "Deal or No Deal," which was a surprise midseason hit for the network.

"We are countering the 'Grey's'/'CSI' combo," said Kevin Reilly, president of NBC Entertainment, during a conference call with reporters Thursday. "It is a genuine alternative to the very tough drama competition."

We have to assume this concession must have been a difficult one for Reilly, who came out of the upfronts gates swinging this year, touting a bold rebirth for the fourth place network. Not only must he face the emasculating prospects of having forfeited an unofficial TV honcho manhood-measuring contest, but the reality is probably quickly setting in that the cornerstone slot of NBC's once "Must See TV" empire is now in the hands of a bald, obsessive compulsive Canadian, and his small army of Samsonite-toting robo-models.

• NBC Rejiggers Fall Schedule [TVWeek.com]