# Leno/Conan Shakeup at NBC **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 7, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073 "2010-01-07T21:31:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/241 "2010-01-13T17:47:20Z")
No idea how reliable the source is, but supposedly Jay is considering walking from the network all together: [http://entertainment.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/01/13/jay-leno-may-follow-conan-obrien-nbc-quit/](http://entertainment.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/01/13/jay-leno-may-follow-conan-obrien-nbc-quit/) ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/242 "2010-01-13T17:53:34Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > No idea how reliable the source is, but supposedly Jay is considering walking from the network all together: > > [http://entertainment.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/01/13/jay-leno-may-follow-conan-obrien-nbc-quit/](http://entertainment.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/01/13/jay-leno-may-follow-conan-obrien-nbc-quit/) Man, this fuck just keeps getting clusterier. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/243 "2010-01-13T17:58:20Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > No idea how reliable the source is, but supposedly Jay is considering walking from the network all together: > > [http://entertainment.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/01/13/jay-leno-may-follow-conan-obrien-nbc-quit/](http://entertainment.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/01/13/jay-leno-may-follow-conan-obrien-nbc-quit/) Wow, those are some great photos of Leno and Conan they chose. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/244 "2010-01-13T17:58:35Z")
At least the Hollywood lawyers will be happy about this. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/245 "2010-01-13T17:58:54Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Is Conan angling that there’s some sort of legal reason they can’t push him back to 12:05? I think Conan’s just arguing it’s a stupid thing to do to the brand, and he’ll have no part of it. I don’t think (I haven’t read everything, though) he’s planning to stop NBC from moving it because of a threatened lawsuit. > > I understand you see everything through the eyes of a legal-savant, and I respect that. I don’t think most people are viewing it that way, though. From post 215: > [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > [Conan's Royal Screw Up](http://www.tmz.com/2010/01/13/conan-obrien-jay-leno-the-tonight-show-nbc-contract-time-period/) > > Conan’s agent or lawyer is trying to argue that his deal “implies” he is guaranteed 11:35. Doesn’t sound like that argument will work. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/246 "2010-01-13T18:10:08Z")
> [@BMada](#): > > I’m in the camp that dislikes Leno, prefers Conan, Letterman and anything else on. The way I see it, Conan got screwed over. . Conan has lost the network over $200 million in revenue. He should get his old slot back on his new salary for the remainder of his contract. If he doesn’t like it then he should ask for a release from his contract. He is there to generate money for the network and is failing at this. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/247 "2010-01-13T18:12:02Z")
What we’ll never know is how well Conan’s show would have done if Jay’s show was not on at 10pm, draining guests, advertisers and viewers from it. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/248 "2010-01-13T18:15:25Z")
Plus if it had gotten anything like the promotion that Leno’s show got. As they say, there are lies, damned lies, and statistics – show biz revenue figures should be added as a fourth item on that list. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/249 "2010-01-13T18:15:41Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > What we’ll never know is how well Conan’s show would have done if Jay’s show was not on at 10pm, draining guests, advertisers and viewers from it. We already know that because he followed Jay before. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/250 "2010-01-13T18:19:38Z")
All this legal wrangling and dealmaking came from NBC’s affiliates who pressured the network to put something with higher ratings on, right? If my math is right, we’ve got 4 shows competing for 2.5 hours of time: 10-12:30 divided between a high-ratings grabber, local news coverage, the Tonight Show, and Leno’s show. Maybe they need to think outside of the box. Here’s something that may work. Tell the local news to move their news to 10:30. Then air a half-hour show with higher ratings than Leno’s at 10 to lead in. Move Leno’s show to 11 and follow that with the Tonight Show. This way, the Tonight Show gets to keep itself at 11:30 and Leno gets his 30 min show, only a little later than he’s used to. The local news should be happier with this setup than Leno’s ratings killer. Conan would be happy that he got to keep his spot and his show, Leno will be closer to this old target audience. The local news doesn’t have to air at 11, our local FOX affiliate has their local news at 10. If its true that even reruns are beating Leno, then whatever NBC decides to air at 10 should be a better lead-in for the locals. This seems like it would satisfy everyone, at least for the time being. Then again maybe I’m not looking at it from a network executive’s point of view… ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/251 "2010-01-13T18:23:33Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Conan has lost the network over $200 million in revenue…He is there to generate money for the network and is failing at this. His lead-in (local news) is hurting, because the local news lead-in is hurting - Leno’s show. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/252 "2010-01-13T18:35:01Z")
Keep in mind Leno’s Tonight Show was also getting hammered in the ratings at first until Hugh Grant fell in his lap. In my opinon the only real fucktards here are the Execs at NBC. Conan is understandably upset as is Jay. But the fubar lands ultimately on the decision makers. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/253 "2010-01-13T18:37:54Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > What we’ll never know is how well Conan’s show would have done if Jay’s show was not on at 10pm, draining guests, advertisers and viewers from it. > > We already know that because he followed Jay before. That’s not at all the same thing. A much smaller number of people will stay up to watch the Late Night show at 12:35am than will watch the Tonight Show at 11:35pm. ---
**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:** [January 13, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/254 "2010-01-13T18:43:22Z")
If they both quit NBC who takes over at 11:30? Not Fallon except maybe as an interim solution. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/255 "2010-01-13T18:47:52Z")
ha ha… speaking of coco… Today’s (Wednesday’s) [woot.com](http://woot.com) posting has a reference to coco. [http://www.woot.com/](http://www.woot.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/256 "2010-01-13T18:48:01Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > If they both quit NBC who takes over at 11:30? Not Fallon except maybe as an interim solution. Jon Stewart!!! Actually that woudl suck because it would ruin the Daily Show and would make him tone down his crticisms. So scratch that idea. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/257 "2010-01-13T18:52:27Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Keep in mind Leno’s Tonight Show was also getting hammered in the ratings at first until Hugh Grant fell in his lap. > > In my opinon the only real fucktards here are the Execs at NBC. Conan is understandably upset as is Jay. But the fubar lands ultimately on the decision makers. I don’t think anyone disagrees that the fucktards are the decision makers at NBC. The problem is what are they going to do now? They jammed it into their own butts, that’s what. If either Jay Leno or NBC had a conscience this would be easily fixed. Jay needs to go away (or do a Sunday variety show, like I suggested earlier) and give Conan a chance. I predict that Conan over the next 10 years would be way more valuable that Leno. NBC only wants to put a bandage on their problems by taking Leno back. That’s a short term solution at best. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/258 "2010-01-13T19:11:55Z")
So is Leno’s “I’ll walk to” just some sort of negotiation tactic? A warning that if NBC doesn’t make a move soon and stop dicking around that they’re going to lose both of them? I can’t see it as anything else, since Leno is _thisclose_ to getting what he wants. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/259 "2010-01-13T19:13:42Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > So is Leno’s “I’ll walk to” just some sort of negotiation tactic? A warning that if NBC doesn’t make a move soon and stop dicking around that they’re going to lose both of them? I can’t see it as anything else, since Leno is _thisclose_ to getting what he wants. How do we know that’s what he “wants”? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/260 "2010-01-13T19:16:00Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > How do we know that’s what he “wants”? Now? Good point. We do know that he didn’t really want to leave the Tonight Show in the first place. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073.md?page=14)