# Jay Leno Moves To NBC Prime Time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 9, 2008, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341 "2008-12-09T02:24:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ichini\_Sanshigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d9b06d/32.png) [@Ichini\_Sanshigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichini_Sanshigo)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341/41 "2008-12-09T17:57:49Z")
I was just wondering the same thing. I could care less about most of the shows on NBC, but I love’s me some _Law & Order_. And whatever happened to _Medium_? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341/42 "2008-12-09T18:19:59Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > Sorry for the hijack, but do DVRs allow for taping the entire show? I see a lot of people complaining on here about their Tivo cutting off the last few minutes of shows that run overtime. The usual way to set the timer for a program is with a computerized listing. You scroll through the guide, select the program, select to record it (and you can also select to record future episodes). The problem is that, for example, Fox says “House” runs from 8-9 but actually runs until 9:02. But the computer doesn’t know this and so you miss 2 minutes of “House”. (They also do it on the other end with “The Simpsons” frequently.) As mentioned, you can set the schedule to record a little extra. I add 2 minutes for “House.” But this is a problem if you are also recording something else at 9. (If you have a single tuner, or 2 things at 9 with dual tuners. DVR people luv to record.) And yes, the networks deliberately do this. They hate DVRs. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341/43 "2008-12-09T18:54:53Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > The big issue is with both shows in LA who gets the first crack at guests? I assume Leno but there may be cases where they both want a guest the same night. Do we know for sure that Conan would move to L.A.? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341/44 "2008-12-09T19:00:54Z")
Yes, Conan is moving to LA next year when he goes to 11:30. I assume NBC wants the show in LA where it has been since Carson moved it there from NY around 1970 and Conan was not given a choice. Jimmy Fallon will replace Conan at 12:30 from NYC. In case anyone is wondering the networks dislike DVRs because people use them to skip commericials. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341/45 "2008-12-09T19:18:50Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Law & Order is really past its prime and very expensive. My guess is that they think they will earn more from Leno than from it. Sure, I got _that_, but will this cost-saving measure force the various dramas to get all pussified (not that they were especially gutsy, but there were moments) because of the earlier timeslot? Will there be a rise in complaints from watchdog groups who see portrayals or descriptions of fictional rapes/murders and wail “think of the children!” Will NBC have to soften its material and increase the gap between itself and HBO? If Leno is a success, will ABC/CBS/Fox abandon serious attempts at 10 p.m. drama and go for cheaper celebrity/reality vehicles? Basically, is this the beginning of the end of adult-oriented major-network fare? ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341/46 "2008-12-09T19:34:53Z")
I’ve had DVR for two years. I just switched to another cable company and in so doing found out that it costs just $18 more a month for a DVR, so if you watch a lot of TV you should look into it. I haven’t seen a commercial since Feb 07! Oh, and Conan’s move to LA and the earlier time slot is going to ruin his show for me. I can just feel it. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341/47 "2008-12-09T19:42:37Z")
A lot of people watch HBO or Showtime for dramas now since they can get away with much more stuff like bad language, nudity and violence. They might tone things down for NBC shows that move to 9 PM but then again they need ratings so they might just keep shows the same. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341/48 "2008-12-09T19:43:29Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That may be true, although I can’t understand the assumption. And since they’ve kept both him and Conan, they may have been successful in that regard. But it wasn’t handled very smoothly. The piece of the puzzle you’re missing is that Conan was (justifiably) itching for the earlier time slot. It’s not that NBC made an isolated decision that Leno would lose his popularity by now. They decided that by around now, Conan would be ready to jump ship for another network if NBC didn’t offer him the earlier time. Conan is only 45 to Leno’s 58. I think this decision is brilliant because they keep both and I hate staying up late. But if you had to pick between the two I think it made sense to promise Conan the 11:30 slot if he waited a few years (i.e. until now). ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341/49 "2008-12-09T20:59:54Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I didn’t read the book on which it was based, but the HBO movie “The Late Shift” (about the battle between Letterman and Leno for the Tonight Show) said that Leno pulled ahead after Hugh Grant appeared on his show to apologize for the prostitute incident. I still don’t get that. I could understand him getting better ratings for one night, but did he pull in enough new viewers (seriously, who the hell EVER cared about Hugh Grant?) who said “wow, I should watch this show EVERY night!” and are still on board? I haven’t seen him perform myself, but I hear that Leno is awesome at stand up. He also seemed like a really cool guy on the commentary he recorded for the Simpsons episode he was on. However, his late night show is just LACKING. I mean, he STILL does (Bill) Clinton & OJ jokes in 2008. This deal I really see more as NBC admitting that they can’t continue to provide 3 hours a night of original programming (aside from 30 Rock & The Office, and occasionally an episode of Law & Order…although not so much now that Casey Novak is gone, there isn’t anything I even watch on that network), and this is a good way to kill 2 birds with one stone. FOX has never done 3 hours of programming a night, but their excuse was that they wanted to corner the 10pm news slot, which actually seems to be working, since they have by far the best nightly news program of the NYC networks. Now it’s going to be a 2 way battle between CBS & ABC (I’m pretty sure the CW does 10pm news too?) about which program can get better ratings at 10pm. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341/50 "2008-12-09T21:10:04Z")
I seem strangely out of sync with current events. I thought Leno had announced he was retiring around 2010 and NBC was desperate to find a suitable replacement, settling on Conan as the only choice available. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341/51 "2008-12-09T21:31:19Z")
I saw Leno do standup live in 1990. He was very , very good. He interacted with the crowd a good bit. He would ask someone in the crowd a question and would make jokes about their answer. This was in a theater with about 2000 people. His act was 100% clean. BTW, I don’t mind R rated comics but some guys go too far and it makes them look dumb when they use too many 4 letter words What’s wrong with Clinton and OJ jokes? They are both in the news now. It’s not like he is doing Nixon or Carter jokes. ---
**Author:** ![TJVM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b38774/32.png) [@TJVM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJVM)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341/52 "2008-12-09T21:48:00Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > This is a weird situation. I mean, in effect, very little is changing, except that both Leno and Conan air their respective shows an hour earlier than before…so, this almost sort of undermines Conan’s move to the Tonight Show. I was thinking the same thing – I’d be nervous about this if I was Conan. It sounds like Leno will be hosting essentially the same show he has now, except that it’ll have a different name and be on earlier (still before Conan). Presumably they’ll be competing for the same guests. That may work out fine when you have an established pecking order (Leno \> Conan \> Carson Daly), but in this case it may be unclear who is the “top show,” setting up a power struggle. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341/53 "2008-12-09T21:54:46Z")
I assume Leno’s show would still be considered the #1 talk show at NBC unless the ratings are not good. I read somewhere Leno could make up to $50 mil a year from this show compared to around $15 mil he makes now. Conan is not going to make that kid of money, not sure he will even get $10 mil. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341/54 "2008-12-09T22:09:34Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > The piece of the puzzle you’re missing is that Conan was (justifiably) itching for the earlier time slot. It’s not that NBC made an isolated decision that Leno would lose his popularity by now. They decided that by around now, Conan would be ready to jump ship for another network if NBC didn’t offer him the earlier time. That makes some sense - but if they had Leno, why worry so much about losing Conan? > [@](#): > > Conan is only 45 to Leno’s 58. Yeah, there’s that, but I thought the consensus is that Leno’s the “never wants to retire” type. We’ll see. I like Conan, but even if he’s on at 11 I can’t pick him over the Daily Show and Colbert - in fact there’s also a Simpsons rerun at that hour, so we’ll see if I even end up TiVoing him. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341/55 "2008-12-09T22:16:13Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Conan is not going to make that kid of money, not sure he will even get $10 mil. My God, that won’t even keep him in freakishly long pants! ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341/56 "2008-12-09T22:17:11Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I like Conan, but even if he’s on at 11 I can’t pick him over the Daily Show and Colbert - in fact there’s also a Simpsons rerun at that hour, so we’ll see if I even end up TiVoing him. 11:30. Local news is on between 11-11:30. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341/57 "2008-12-09T22:30:09Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > I assume Leno’s show would still be considered the #1 talk show at NBC unless the ratings are not good. I read somewhere Leno could make up to $50 mil a year from this show compared to around $15 mil he makes now. Conan is not going to make that kid of money, not sure he will even get $10 mil. You’re probably right, but I think that a decision like that will be hard to justify to Conan. If a power struggle does end up happening, I wouldn’t blame him if he left. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341/58 "2008-12-09T22:51:56Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > During 95 Leno did a lot of stuff on the OJ trial such as the Dancing Itos and that was when he got better ratings than Letterman. 1995 was also the year that Letterman had his completely disastrous gig hosting the Oscars. It was a full-scale debacle (“Oprah…Uma. Uma…Oprah”) with a ton of negative publicity and his ratings plummeted soon afterwards (never to rebound back to the #1 spot). ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341/59 "2008-12-10T02:08:25Z")
Talk shows are cheap. Static sets, staff of salaried writers, and the guest do it for scale. Celebrities want to be on to promote there movies or projects. Conan was appealing to a younger audience, using a theme different from Leno. Leno basically carried over Carson’s show and modified it a bit to his liking. O’Brien is more similar to Letterman and than Leno and those two shows will go head to toe. Fallon may just fall out all together or get replaced. I think NBC wanted O’Brien in LA as not to compete with Letterman. Now they may let O’Brien stay in NYC ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341/60 "2008-12-10T05:03:05Z")
What was the joke on the evening news with Brian Williams? I missed the first part and just saw Leno kind of explaining what was going on. I couldn’t tell if he was joking or what and his hair was totally messed up. At the end of the clip, Williams made some reference to the hair and that was it. What did I miss? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jay-leno-moves-to-nbc-prime-time/476341.md?page=2)