In a somewhat unexpected move, Conan O’Brien has told NBC that he will not agree to moving “The Tonight Show” to after midnight to get the network out of the hash they created by moving Jay Leno to prime time.
In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.
But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.
Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.
So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.
There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.
While I’ve got no dog in this fight — I’ve seldom seen O’Brien’s show (old or new), haven’t watched Leno’s new show, and won’t watch “Tonight” regardless of who’s hosting it or when it’s aired — I’ve come around to O’Brien’s way of thinking.
NBC made a bad choice six years ago when it kicked the can down the road and set Leno’s premature retirement into motion. It compounded that error by putting Leno up against the other network’s prime time dramas, not only screwing the network’s affiliates but also seriously hampering O’Brien’s chances to succeed in the franchise he waited so long to inherit. One can certainly understand, then, O’Brien’s not wanting to be relegated back to the midnight slot and screw over Fallon in the process.
One presumes, then, that NBC will figure some way to buy him out of his contract and that O’Brien will do what David Letterman did in a similar situation years ago: Move to another network and compete against “Tonight.” Fox has already issued a statement saying they’d love to have him.
Apparently, if Jay Leno were a sinking ship, then NBC would be the captain going down with him. The network tried movie the chinned one to the 10PM time slot, but it wasn’t working out.
Once vacated, the 11:30PM time slot was given to Conan O’Brien. Now that NBC is catering to Jay and moving him back to his original time slot, where does that leave Conan and his huge following?
Hopefully, if they’re smart, they’ll give the boot to Jimmy Fallon give his slot to Conan. Let’s hope that after they announced their decision, that they’re listening to the public and have no plans to oust Conan. His fans will follow him and Jay’s show will be left to go down with the ship.
What are your thoughts?
Update: After NBC has given Leno back his time slot, that leaves Conan out in the cold a bit. Sources say that if Conan doesn’t want to go on the air for a half hour, that he could make NBC pay out his contract, worth $80 million, and then relax on the beach some.
Either that, or he could take the time slot and not give Leno any competition and keep his NBC job. The third option would be to go to FOX and get paid $15 million a year, with NBC forking over another $5 million per year to makeup for his lost wages.
source: NBC Shakeup — Jay Leno Comes Out on Top – [tmz]
As you will no doubt recall, Monday night’s debut of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon included a pre-filmed bit called “Target Demographics,” which is essentially a comedic take on the customer-segmentation research tool known as PRIZM.
However, when Current TV’s Sarah Haskins saw the execution, she immediately accused Fallon of idea-thievery via the ubiquitous social media time-waster Twitter. Just how accurate is her accusation?
We’ve got video and, as you’ve come to expect, probing analysis. Here’s an example of Sarah’s “Target Women” bit that she thinks Jimmy Fallon ripped off:
MEGAN MULLALLY
“I’m not going to go, but I’m definitely going to watch. Are you kidding me? It’s history. I feel really hopeful about the whole thing. I just feel like, it’s hard to say it without sounding like a big gigantic cliché, but don’t you feel like there’s change? I feel very hopeful about everything. I think it’s really great the way he’s built his cabinet and the diversity. It feels very new.”
CONAN O’BRIEN
“I’m like that guy that the test is tomorrow and it’s 10 p.m. the night before.”
AMY POEHLER
“I’ll be watching, definitely watching. Just celebrating, celebrating, celebrating.”
DEMI LOVATO
On performing at the Disney Channel’s Kids’ Inaugural: We Are the Future concert: “It’’s not just another president. What’s great about having the Disney Channel at the inauguration is now kids can be able to realize what a great experience this will be … I’m ridiculously nervous to a point where I don’t know what I’ll be able to do with myself. And I really hope I don’t fall.”
PORTIA DE ROSSI
“Don’t we all have so many hopes for that poor man?”
KIEFER SUTHERLAND
“I’m going to watch it on the telly like most other people.”
NICK JONAS
“It’s absolutely an honor to be able to perform. We’ve always talked about a future in the White House one day, so to be able to go back should be fun. What we’re doing is all for the children and families of the military … We know that Sasha and Malia [Obama] are fans of ‘Burnin’ Up’ which is probably what we’ll playing.”
JENNIFER BEALS
“I’ll be there. I started working for the campaign during the primaries. Then I went to Ohio to speak. I went to Pennsylvania twice, knocked on doors, phone banks, talked to five, 10, 500 people, just did as much as I could. He means the change that you want to see in yourself. The economy is first and foremost, obviously.”
PAULA ABDUL
“I’m going to be in Tampa on Home Shopping. I’m going to watch with my friends.”
JASON BATEMAN
“I”m excited … we’re putting a new face on the leadership of this country, somebody representing all of us Americans that is a bit more appealing to the rest of the world, somebody who comes from a bit more of a common-sense position. That’s been lost for the last eight years. In fact, I’m going to be shooting a PSA for him, a pledge — you’re trying to pledge what you plan on doing to sort of better the country. Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, a bunch of people [are going] to make it. We’re going to deliver it to Obama, I think, on Inauguration Day.”
DENIS LEARY
“We’re going to be watching at work. Larenz [Tate] is going so my plan is to call him on his cell phone as often as I can that day and see if he’s finagled himself into the White House or not. We’re just looking for ashtrays and souvenirs that he can steal and bring back on set because he has to be back at work the next morning.”
AMBER TAMBLYN
“It’s going to be amazing. I have friends flying to New York tomorrow, who are going to take the train down to D.C. They’re coming from L.A. to go to it. Everyone is doing something for it.”
EDIE FALCO
“I was invited. I’d give my right arm but we’re in the middle of production, so we’re going to watch it on set.”
JIMMY FALLON
“I’m doing Ellen on Tuesday and then after that I guess I’m just going to watch it. I guess I’ll just watch it on TV but I’m excited about it. Change is good.”
SCOTT FOLEY
“I hope to watch it if I’m not working. I don’t have any plans specifically for the inauguration aside from the same kind of plans I had during the election, turn the TV on and be a part of history that way.”
SHIRLEY MANSON
“Hell, yeah, of course. I’ve got my Obama T-shirt ready. I’m going to wear it the whole way through. Like most of my friends and people that I know, I’m really excited about his possibilities and potential.”
SETH MacFARLANE
” It’s going to be a clusterf–k, but I’ll be watching. We all fought hard to make this happen. Here’s my theory: It’s going to take one term just to undo everything that George Bush has f–ked up. And by the way, not just George Bush but Reagan. too … So I think, step one, we have to admit to ourselves we have to give Obama two terms, and we have to let the Democrats continue to undo everything that’s gone wrong since the ‘80s. My fear is that eight years will roll by, assuming he gets elected a second term, and they’ll go, ‘Why didn’t he fix everything completely?’ And they’ll elect Sarah Palin, who will completely take the country to s–t, and if that happens, we do not deserve to be the dominant power any longer.”
