Leno going back to Tonight Show

This was being discussed on radio this morning and were reporting that he slipped into 3rd place behind The Late Show and Night Line and was also down 2 million viewers from Leno. I don't know where they got their info.

That's messed up shit there. I love Conan! He's a funny mother effer!

Was Leno ever funny?

tvismyfriend wrote:

Supposedly if this happens NBC has to pay Conan 45 million.

I think that was when Leno was still at 11:35 and if he decided he didn't want to leave. But since he left the time slot. I don't know if that's still the case.

norm wrote:

Enkidu wrote:

Was Leno ever funny?

yeah i think he was back in the 70's and 80's...when he would guest on the late show he and dave were hilarious together

turns out he was, and is, a big douchebag

Yes, I have heard tales of his douchebag-ness.

This really sucks for Conan. Not even one year into the show and he's getting screwed over. Why can't Leno just retire?

I am happy that 5 hours of prime time will give some new shows a shot! My clients need to work!

Well apparently Conan isn't getting the ratings and NBC affiliates aren't happy because the local newscast ratings have dropped. So NBC has to make a decision. He was handed a number 1 rated show and it has dropped to 3 in less than a year. Maybe if all the people I hear saying Conan is so much funnier than Leno he would still be number 1.

conan should not go for this. he should jump to fox if he can and save face. leno's ratings are poor at 10pm also. plus you have to consider that conan's humor needs to grow on people. it took years for his late night show pick up in the ratings. doesn't nbc remember that? this is the same network right? :roll:

Day 2, NBC's late-night held hostage

Conan o'brien On Thursday, the industry was abuzz about Jay Leno and the fate of his primetime talk show.

But on Friday, the focus shifted to another NBC host -- Conan O'Brien -- and speculation that he may jump to another network due to NBC's rollback effort reneging on his "Tonight Show" agreement.

If NBC gets its wish, the network could be in a strong position moving into next season. Scheduling a half-hour version of "The Jay Leno Show" at 11:35 p.m. and then an hourlong "Tonight" with O'Brien just after midnight would not only free up 10 p.m. for scripted programming but also fire two barrels onto CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman." Letterman's hour would, in effect, face both Leno and O'Brien. Between the two, it isn't hard to predict that NBC would easily reclaim its title of late-night leader.

Leno is apparently up for the change. But O'Brien hasn't signed on. If O'Brien skips to a rival network, the late-night landscape will be in for a whole new competitive makeover.

A source at ABC denied interest in O'Brien, expressing confidence in the network's current late-night figurehead, Jimmy Kimmel, whose show has posted gains this season. But a Fox source sent a clear signal of interest.

"We've always been interested in late-night, and we’re always looking to bring great new talent to Fox," the well-placed source said. "While Conan would be a great fit for Fox, he’s still under contract with NBC, so we’ll just see how all of this plays out."

Forget Simon Cowell -- it's O'Brien who may be Fox's biggest X-factor.

Another way to read the comment is that Fox is merely mucking with a competitor. Remember, Fox's overtures toward O'Brien years ago helped push NBC into locking down the former "Simpsons" writer by promising him "The Tonight Show" in 2009, a agreement whose implications are still being played out. Even if O'Brien stays at NBC, another network expressing interest puts pressure on a rival.

There are also a couple contractual wrinkles that discourage a O'Brien changing networks. One is that O'Brien's contract includes a $40 million penalty fee if NBC takes away the "Tonight Show." The network seems confident that by keeping the program's name unchanged -- even if the time period moves -- that it doesn't violate his contract. Another is that O'Brien's contract may not allow him to change networks, at least not right away, though one report suggested that NBC wouldn't block him.

In the meantime, the clock is ticking.

NBC would love to have a positive resolution to its current debacle to announce at its press tour session Sunday. And with affiliates getting antsy, the network prefers to make a change shortly after its Winter Olympics coverage.

People close to O'Brien say the host has received overtures from "several places" and that he will likely not make a decision before March 1.

Though even if Leno and O'Brien get sorted, there's always the possibility of more news stemming from other changes in NBC's late-night lineup.

"Nobody is talking about Jimmy Fallon," marveled an NBC insider.

Or Carson Daly.

"Yeah, or Carson Daly."