Leno Moving Back to 11:30
 

http://www.tmz.com/2010/01/07/jay-le...-tonight-show/

Jay Leno is going back to his 11:30 PM time slot, and it's looking like Conan O'Brien is the odd man out ... sources tell TMZ.

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We've learned Jay's 10:00 PM show will go on hiatus February 1. After the Olympics, Jay will take back his 11:30 PM time slot. What has not been decided -- whether Jay's show will be a half hour, followed by Conan, or whether Jay's show will be an hour and NBC says sayonara to Mr. O'Brien.

<iframe src="http://webcenter.polls.aol.com/modular.jsp?template=1098&view=182447&pollId=182739&channel=tmz.com" border="0" style="margin: 5px; float: right;" width="175" frameborder="0" height="120" scrolling="no"></iframe>We're told Jay and Conan have both been told of the changes. As for Jay, interestingly, he'll get what he always wanted -- his 11:30 PM time slot.






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Holy shit this better not be true. Leno is maybe the worst on screen personality on TV right now. If they get rid of Conan I will "flip a bitch"

Conan has to go to FOX or something if he gets the boot.

LOL. there's seriously team Conan and team Leno?

Fuck Leno. He's an unfunny shit, and has always been an unfunny shit.

And if NBC does get rid of Conan, than fuck them too.

I doubt it's performing exactly as they expected. Somebody on NPR said that affiliates are considering not airing Leno and just putting on syndicated shows in that time slot and that would be a better lead for the local news.

wtf

Would be real fucked for Conan and Fallon.

Conan has been awful anyway though. Tried watching a few eps for the first month or so but it was kinda terrible.

NBC could have had 5 good shows on that 10 o'clock timeslot everyday. Doing that was stupid in the first place.

But, how good of a job has Fallon done filling O'Brien's shoes?

I think Fallon's been pretty solid

:rofl::rofl:

So apparently the plan now is...

Have Leno on from 11:30 - 12:00
Conan from 12 - 1
Fallon from 1- 2

That is goddamn retarded.

Leno is terrible

Also I feel like a big charm of Conan's was that it was so low budget and so late at night. Putting him on the tonight show kind of took away from that.

But I still luv conan

They should just go back to the way it was, with Leno at 10:35CST and Conan on right after that.

Actually they should just get rid of Leno altogether.

I didn't know The Jay Leno Show was doing as terribly as it was. I don't think timeslot really effects that. The dude is way past it (if he ever had it). Conan isn't performing well with the older viewers, but he apparently dominates the 18-49 demographic, which advertisers love.

Buzzkill is right in saying that a lot of Conan's charm came from the cheaper show, but NBC should really stand behind Conan a bit here. I mean, eventually Letterman will die or something, and then it will be all Conan.

Yeah, don't let the pre-Leno Show ratings of the Tonight Show stop you from thinking that, either.

Also, Conan wouldn't be an issue at all of the 18-34 demographic was still strong.

Just saw breaking news and a statement from Conan. He said he won't do midnight and he's leaving NBC I believe.
I don't blame him.

His statement was hilarious too. At the end he apologized for his hair

Here's the supposed statement.

Great statement, who can blame him?

Shouldn't Leno be the odd man out here? He's the awful one

NBC is still operating under the assumption that Leno is their moneymaker. All they need is to have one interview show at to put it back at 11:30. Apparently they need another six months of being in last place to figure this out.

I have a feeling Jay Leno is gonna come out of this looking like a huge douche.

Crazy.

Really glad Conan stood up to this though.

Feel so bad for Conan in this. How long has he wanted the Tonight Show only to basically be told "fuck you" after less than a year. Fuck NBC.

This is so ridiculous. I couldn't be more happy at the replies in this thread.

You can't just make a conclusion about a show so soon in its development. And I am also glad he does not want to push back Fallon. He respects his show as well as Fallons, which I agree to.

Fuck Leno.

As my sister would say... Le-NO THANKS.

Honestly, this is the fucking Late Shift all over again.

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lol

I'm surprised Letterman didn't put himself in that open...

It's starting to look like it. For example, Leno denying that he has any knowledge of what is going on, despite allegedly being heavily involved in the negotiations. Conan's not the sort of guy who will role over, though. If NBC fucks him over, I think he'll be more than happy to push back, and leave for another network. I could see this ending up as just being Leno and Fallon -- which would absolutely suck, say, opposed to a Letterman/Conan duo.

NBC fucks good things over. They have fumble so many of their sitcoms, their dramas, and they've really earned the fall from grace they have received. I can understand they want to beat Letterman, but if they lose Conan in the process? They're going to lose their best talk show personality to another network, which will just strengthen the forces against NBC.

What network is Letterman on? CBS? With Conan chasing some of Leno's audience back to Letterman (predominantly "old people,") a lot of them might not go back to Leno out of a new habit. Fallon has got no chance against Conan. When it comes to the zany, often senseless college humour, nobody in late night does it better than Coco. If Letterman can beat Leno, and Conan can beat Fallon, what does NBC have?

Besides, Conan is an acquired taste. NBC should know this through their experiences with Late Night. Not only did Conan have to get used to working on a talk show, but talk show audiences and viewers had to get used to the style and overall less-processed honesty Conan brought to the interviewer's chair. This awkwardness eventually grew into charm, but obviously a shift to a much wider audience would cause need for a re-introductory process.

A lot of people have been saying that ratings have fallen off because the wider audience is still adjusting to Conan's humor. I don't buy that. Ratings are falling off because people don't want to watch Leno at 10. In that slot he's a ratings killer. People switch to a different network, watch a different local news, and NBC have probably lost a good amount of people who just stayed over on Letterman and never even gave Conan a shot all because they wanted to see a regular show at ten. If Leno were so popular with his audience, you would think he would have retained them in the 10 spot.

It doesn't really matter if it's Jay or Conan on NBC doing late night. They just need a primetime show at primetime and they will get their audience back.

What were Conan's ratings like before Jay Leno started his show?

NBC is going to be surprised when Leno's 11:30 ratings suck just as bad AND Conan moves to fox and beats the snot out of Leno head to head (eventually). CBS wont be interested (I dont think) because they've got a perfectly good 2nd host in Ferguson and I dont see Letterman going anywhere in the near future.

LOL @ Conan tonight with Howie Mandel lol

Conan is freaking tall.

Conan is laying into NBC pretty hard.

crap, I missed it.

I don't know if he'd beat Leno head to head... The bigger issue though, is that Conan is liked by younger people, and the audience will grow with him. If Conan leaves, WHEN Leno finally does retire, they won't have anyone for the spot... Conan would destroy Fallon

One solution I heard is that NBC could pay Conan to sit out for a bit, and not go to work for another network. Then, when Leno retires, Conan would take over The Tonight Show then. That doesn't sound right to me, because if that were the case, then all NBC would be doing is making Jay Leno comfortable. It's not that they don't like Conan; it's just that Leno still wants to work, so NBC has to make room for him. From his comments, you've gotten the sense that Leno really didn't want to retire, and he was sort of forced out by Conan. The guy knows how to play the game, that's for sure.

Conan vs. Leno would certainly be interesting. I think Leno would win, simply because he is more of the "establishment" at this point in time, but I think WWKD hit the nail on the head. Conan will only make himself more and more comfortable, and Fallon wouldn't stand a chance. Nor would anyone else NBC put up against Conan, I don't think.

It'll be interesting to see how Conan's ratings go with all this noise surrounding him, Leno and NBC. There is no doubt that Conan was struggling in the ratings (as was Leno). Maybe this is (partially) a move to generate interest and tension around NBC, to get people to start watching. It wouldn't be the first time Conan has been involved in something like that (the "tension" with Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart that became more and more apparent was a joke), and NBC pretty much commissioned a show that poked fun of NBC's politics (30 Rock).

Regardless, I think it is better Conan makes a stink about this than not, because it gets his name out there more.

I think I heard on my local news today that Conan is quitting.

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ROFL at Conan going over his options, "Leave television altogether, and work in a classier business with better people, like hard core porn."

Burn?

You just know Conan's got the equipment for hardcore porn. I've also heard that he is quitting, but that it seems likely FOX will give him a show at 11, which will step on Jay's feet by a good half-hour. Hopefully Conan does his opening monologue, a comedy bit, has a guest, and then does another big comedy bit, or has a huge second guest to keep Jay on his toes.

CoCo doesn't quite have the sticking power that Leno has just yet, but starting earlier would give him a good advantage, won't it? Now NBC really doesn't have anyone they can replace Leno with. I hope we see the walls start to crumble on them. Even if they aren't big winners, Conan and Letterman can have a good laugh about it.

Yes but the majority of people right now are baby-boomers who enjoy Leno.

I like Conan O'Brien, and I don't blame him for being mad. I would to. NBC really screwed up here.

Conan still has to change up his act. Just watching last night there was no way older people like my parents would be able to watch that.

Well unlike Jay I think Conan can do something other than talk shows if he has to or chooses to. He was involved with SNL and The Simpsons before his talk show career.

Fucking weakest shit I've ever heard in my life, ever

Glad to see Conan is giving it to NBC and is standing up for himself

lol "My name is Conan O'Brien, and I may soon be available for children's parties"

Leno apparently is also considering leaving, which would fuck over NBC completely.

"Its the Tonight Show...with Jimmy Fallon!"

eh..dont think so

I want someone to do an "Im with the Chin" poster

Conan and whoever handles his negoations are really dumb for not getting 11:35 in his contract.

Think they're pretty right about the "implied guarantee" though. Seriously, if the show has been in the same spot for the last 30 or so years, wouldn't you figure it'd stay there?

Leno's show was a new one so his timeslot guarantee was a bigger deal.

Conan has been laying it in harshly tonight.

"Remember kids, you can do anything you want to do in life, unless Jay Leno wants to do it too."

"NBC spent more time building this studio then they did using it."

"Much like Conan O'Brien, most of his staff and crew also uprooted and moved from New York...:

LOL, Classic Tonight Show Moment.

You always get it writing.

This is ridiculous. His contract guaruntees him salary. They can do what they want with the programming, they just have to honor their financial obligations. If they were to let him go they'd eat the salary and value their decision as more valuable.
You can't expect a contract to be ironclad as to being on the air. A network is going to have to arrange their schedule as they see fit. They'll just have to pay the price for it.
A contract won't and can't have a clause that guaruntees being on the air when you want. If 0 people were watching and he was eating babies they wouldn't be able to take him off TV because he's got it in writing? Yea, that's not how it works.

The reason 11:35 wasn't in writing is because, per the contract, they can start it as late as 12:05. That was in place because sometimes sports games push everything back.

Air on the side of the caution and get it in there.

It's the same reason a baseball player doesn't get it in their contract to bat cleanup in every game regardless of production or other players.
The money's guarunteed though. He just should have gotten Jay Leno insurance.

Seriously, Leno needs to take a hike. I've always liked his show, but sliming something like this back is a lesson he should have learned in preschool. You just don't do it. It's Conan's now and that was the plan.

Thats what I'm saying. It's not going to be in there. It's just an outrageous demand.

Too late to save face, Mr. Leno

He's probably getting feelers from the outside. Obviously he's proven he's enough of a snake to bail out for a bigger contract from Fox or something, even after causing this.

If they were to both walk, and Leno signed with Fox, and Conan just didn't go anywhere...wow

The irony is, if Leno leaves, Conan doesn't have to.

but if Conan already has, and doesn't come back, NBC gets the shaft. Unfortunately, then Conan does too. Unless he swallows his pride and goes back to NBC, which I wouldn't.

Conan hasn't left NBC yet, or said he's going to.

All Conan has said is that he won't host the Tonight Show at 12:05. Technically, the ball is back in NBC's court.

Conan should go to Comedy Central and have an awesome 2 hour block of funny with his Tonight Show, The Daily Show, and the Colbert Report

Apparently NBC has said that they hope to resolve this issue before the Winter Olympics start

They say they plan to resolve it, but Conan apparently wasn't even in on discussions about the Leno move. He's been left out of the loop, and I think that is a huge part of the reason he is pissed, and understandably so. It's a horrible thing to not be given the same chance as the guy who replaced you, only to be replaced by him again; but it's even worse when they don't tell you about it until the last minute. Conan's got a family, and I think it hits everyone involved in the show pretty hard, too -- as they were all pretty much Conan's New York Late Night crew. Conan personally looks like a massive jackass because he brings them and their families over to Los Angeles, and then has to tell them "Sorry, you're jobless."

I'm glad he's not backing down. I think NBC will be watching to see how Conan's ratings do through this scandal. It apparently took Leno two years to beat Letterman, so if Conan can get some "angry momentum" on his side, who knows? I don't know if Leno's move is just to save public image -- but Conan has ensured that Leno and NBC look like assholes. If Conan leaves NBC, then the stigma of Leno and NBC being jerks is going to be there.

Another thing that NBC has to think about, is that they don't really have anybody besides Conan to carry on The Tonight Show when Jay retires (not that he probably plans to). If they're just trying to save Leno, then they might be better off cutting him free, so that HE can go to FOX, and then they can look like "nice guys" for taking Conan's side. I mean, Leno and his fan-base are eventually going to die. They should really start warming people up to his successor now. It's not going to be Jimmy Fallon. Well, it shouldn't be.

I'm still curious to see how this turns out. I can honestly see momentum starting to shift sides. Partially because Conan has not taken the hit like NBC probably expected him to.

Conan should go back to writing The Simpsons

If Conan returns to FOX, doing something with The Simpsons and/or one of the Seth MacFarlane shows would be an excellent way to publicise himself.

That would be a big step back IMO and I don't think he needs to do that.

I agree that full-time writing would be a step back. Writing an episode of The Simpsons, ala Ricky Gervais, could be a great way to remind people how funny Conan O'Brien can be via a different medium.

Appearing on the shows as a voice actor also wouldn't hurt. Certainly not internationally, anyway. I'm disappointed by how many Australians I've met actually don't have a clue who Conan O'Brien is. And yes, I am aware that Conan has played himself on The Simpsons before.

Jay Leno is back on at 11:35. I think he starts back on the 25th.

So I guess Conan is going to be out.

Yeah, apparently the new deal has been reached with Leno. Jeff Zucker is apparently pissed off that Conan has been as out-spoken as he has been, and that his ratings have gone up, and is trying to keep him off the air for three years (probably something similar to one of the WWE's no-compete clauses), so that he isn't a threat when he moves. Conan has apparently trying to make sure NBC looks after the staff that uprooted from New York to move to California.

Pretty intense stuff. I feel so sorry for Conan, but he is way too honest a person to be hosting a gig like that. He's been part of the greatetst talk show institution of all-time, so now he can hopefully create his own.

Obviously TPWW is not in the Jay Leno demographic. Here are what some Jay Leno fans have to say (from the Jay Leno Community at http://boards.nbc.com/nbc/index.php?showforum=366

MY HUSBAND AND I LOVED JAY AT 11:35. LOVED HEADLINES, LOVED JAY WALKING, LOVED MONOLOGUE. Now at 10 it's AWFUL Hate the format...hate seeing Jay look so uncomfortable sitting without a desk next to the guest. The whole thing is awkward. And even though we'd outgrown the Letterman show, we went back to it because we HATE CONAN. He's annoying...NOT FUNNY...just awful. He has a "niche" group, but the ratings are clear. ALL DEMOGRAPHICS prefer Jay to Conan. They wanted the 18-49 set? You lost them with Conan! But putting Jay back for 1/2 an hour will AGAIN mess w/ what was right before. JAY, DON'T TAKE THIS FROM NBC. They screwed you by taking your #1 show off and moving you to 10 to make room for Conan. Now, they NEED YOU. Don't agree to 1/2 hour. It's all or nothing! Unless you're going to eliminate guests and just do a monologue, Jay walking, headlines and go...it's not going to work if you try to cut those things and get guests in. The stations around the country are insisting you come back, you have the ball. Don't allow them to continue to pamper Conan and screw you. STAY FIRM. YOU'RE IN THE DRIVER SEAT!!

Jay has proven himself as the ratings leader against Letterman, who is one boring dude. He had the best combination of format & writers on the Tonight show. Now it is obvious that he should hold the Tonight show spot. I like Conan, but he gets too silly. Jay had the right formula, but it was taken from him in Prime time. He is the closest performer to Jonny Carson. Letterman can't compete. I followed Jerry Lester, Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, and Jay Leno. He belongs back on the Tonight Show.Give Conan to Fox. You won't be sorry. Let the red necks have him. For you people who want change, we'll bring back Soupy Sales to throw pies at people. You probably would have changed Johnny Carson!

Dude. I'm 31... now I don't know if you consider that "old" but I find it odd that you're calling someone who's been busting his ass as a comedian longer than either of us has been alive 'unfunny'. Have you ever seen Jay do actual standup? He's a master at it; try looking beyond your percieved coolness and check it out sometime. He wouldn't have gotten where he is if he weren't funny. Conan is funny but his type of humor just isn't working in that timeslot, and the ratings prove it.

My wife and I happen to like the current lineup just the way it is. Jay's show is different, and it should be! Conan and Jimmy are doing just fine.
In my opinion, the local affilliates are clueless as to how to present a local newscast that actually invites viewers. Blame the national network for their own shortcomings.

NBC would be best served by yanking Conan off The Tonight Show and reinstating Jay. Conan has clearly shown he isn't up to the job, and certainly isn't the same caliber as all the previous Tonight Show hosts, all of whom appealed to all age groups. With Conan appealing mainly to the 18-49 demographic, he isn't capable of pulling in the viewers and ratings that Jay is at that hour.

If Conan objects, pay off his contract and let him walk. His fans can then find him on a channel where his juvenile humor is more suitable, with the listing of fill-in host of The Tonight Show as part of his resume. When his humor matures to the point where he can appeal across demographic lines, he may then be ready for the major leagues. As of now, he isn't.

I always watched Jay at 11:35. I thought I was going to like Jay at 10 pm, but somehow I never got in the habit of regularly watching it. The interviews on couches, not from behind a desk, felt wierd and lots of times the humor fell flat.
I'll be happy to see Jay back at late night, because I do not like Conan's monologues and skits. I;ve been watching Letterman, but he's not the same. Jay's monologues, headlines, and Jay walking, things found at discount stores - those are great. But it really should be an hour show, if not he won't be able to have any guests, especially musical guests.

Wow. Apparently Jeff Zucker is threatening to keep Conan off the air all together for the next 3.5 years until his contract runs out.

What a fucking narcissistic asshole

Guess who has two thumbs and will never...EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVER watch an NBC program again?

THIS GUY!

Yeah, I'm hating NBC and Leno more and more.

It's like NBC can't catch a break. They become the number 4 network or something and now this.

NY Times article from 1992 when Leno was first starting at the Tonight Show and NBC was possibly going to replace him with Letterman...

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/23/ar...l?pagewanted=1

Really?? You really don't know where it's coming from??

would that preclude him from writing stuff or is that included too?

It depends what his contract covers. Basically, if NBC ices him for 3.5 years, Conan would be bound by his contract.

It would suck if he got blocked from working elsewhere. It's just entirely unfair that they can bump him off the air for Leno to take his spot back, send him packing, and not even have to worry about him going to Fox.
But contracts are contracts so we'll see how that all works. NBC sucks for this already, but if this whole thing causes there to be no Conan on TV for any lengthy period of time, I'm going to be really pissed

For the record, NBC isn't bumping Conan off the air... Conan did decide not to go to 12:05.

Yea but they're still responsible. They bumped him off of his timeslot, but it's also a calculate move and a slap in the face. True, Conan doesn't have to leave, but he has some pride.

http://tv.gawker.com/5448615/

Jimmy Kimmel on the Jay Leno Show. Pretty great.

I saw that earlier on TV. Probably the funniest thing on the Jay Leno Show since its inception.

I always liked Jimmy Kimmel -- but now I love him.

Even Jay Leno fans think he is awful. The dude can buy himself a desk if it looks awkward.

Fucking OUCH. Can't believe anyone at NBC thought interviewing him on Leno's show would be a good idea. It's not like he was pro-Leno or neutral in the days before. Putting pretty much anyone pro-Conan on his show from now on will be a mistake, especially if they have even half the balls Kimmel has

Lately, some of Leno's seagments are so uneventful that it seems like a talkshow, rather than a comedy.

Conan and Fallon are good.

Steven Colbert = greatness

Yeah, I seriously have a new respect for Kimmel.

You gotta love how Kimmel invited Leno into his yard, and Leno declined. That is pretty much Leno admitting he can't go blow-for-blow with Kimmel, who was owning Leno that entire segment. I don't know why the powers that be allowed that to happen, but whoever it was does not have a good sense of Leno's abilities.

Leno's status might be good for immediate ratings, or whatever. I think a lot of that is routine, a fanbase that Leno had established over 17 years, and a myriad of other reasons -- but Leno is taking so many hits in this war. On his own show, too. There is a good chance he will come out of this looking like complete crap, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: The Sequel might really suffer because of it. Then they are stuck with Leno, because Fallon is nowhere near ready, and they chased off their heir in Conan.

They still have Carson Daly! lol

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I actually have no idea what Carson Daly even looks like. Truthfully, is he any good? He didn't get Conan's Late Night spot, so it makes you wonder...

Carson Daly is bad. But since they reformatted his show he seems much more comfortable.