I meant to post this three days ago, before my internet went down. Of course, soon after, Conan did this:
http://news-briefs.ew.com/2010/01/12/conan-obrien-nbc-tonight-show/
Now, word on the street is Conan's last show may be as early as Jan. 22, and NBC may keep him off the air for the remainder of his contract.
************************************************************
NBC continues to shoot itself in the foot.
Per the rumors circulating last weekend, the network has officially benched its failed experiment
The Jay Leno Show. The show will be kicked off the primetime lineup Feb. 11, just in time for the Olympics.
Although the show supposedly met NBC's expectations in its early timeslot, the network noted its own affiliates cried foul over Leno's weak lead-in to the local newscasts, many of which had plummeted in the ratings.
The network was surprisingly candid about its dream plan before any deals are even in place. According to NBC Universal TV chief Jeff Gaspin, Leno will move back to his old late-night slot at 10:35 p.m. CST starting March 1, after the Olympics are over. If O'Brien agrees to the switch, his
Tonight Show would start a half-hour later at 11:05 (after midnight on the East Coast), bumping Jimmy Fallon's
Late Night back to 12:05.
Last Call With Carson Daly would go bye-bye, but he'd remain on contract with the network.
O'Brien has been mum about his plans, but he could opt out because of the network's contract breach. Fox is said to be interested in using him to launch a late night lineup of its own, but jumping ship would mean O'Brien would be abandoning the late night throne only a few months after inheriting it. If he does indeed bolt, Leno would re-take
Tonight and pretend nothing ever happened.
O'Brien's tenure on
Tonight has been bumpy, of course, since the host has lost nearly half the audience Leno pulled in a year ago, and is consistently trounced by David Letterman's
Late Show in the ratings. On the other hand, Leno, who never even wanted to leave Tonight in the first place, gets to share credit with NBC for dragging it down even further into fourth place.
In its scramble to reboot, the network will likely launch more reality fare in the 9 o'clock hour, as well as air re-runs of shows it owns that run on other networks, such as
Friday Night Lights (DirecTV) and
Law & Order: Criminal Intent (USA). The network is also said to be drastically ramping up its development slate for Fall 2010. It will be interesting to see if its full late night team will still be around come September.
