# 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:** 31
**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 21, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/601 "2010-01-21T18:05:56Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > What exactly has changed for Leno at 11:35? > > Mainly what I can see is many people who never watched him are now yelling about how he forced Conan out. He never had the vast majority of those people to begin with. > > Assuming Conan goes to Fox that means the audience will have more options but many of the Conan fans probably didn’t watch Leno either. I just don’t know how true this is. It is as if people think there is two universes of people and never the twain shall meet. When Conan moved to 11:35 he probably lost Leno veiwers but not all , gained some of his old viewers but not all. But I wouln’t be shocked if there was a decent overlap of folks who watched both Leno’s and Conan’s Tonight Show. The question then is are just dedicated to the time slot and will watch whomever is there? Or did they actually like both of them and will now have to choose between them. In the past folks didn’t have to choose between Conan and Jay and now they will. It should be very interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/602 "2010-01-21T18:09:12Z")
I think Leno’s going to get a lot of curiosity his first week or so back. Conan did too, if I remember right. After that I see things tailing off and I don’t think he’ll match his previous performance. I wonder if Hugh Grant is seeing anybody these days. **bup** , permission to go “nyah nyah” comes from an authority higher than mine. 😉 ---
**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 21, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/603 "2010-01-21T18:13:42Z")
I think Letterman has the most to lose since both he and Conan tend to get younger viewers. I bet he is worried about this too but he may retire in a few years so it’s not a big deal to him. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/604 "2010-01-21T18:16:16Z")
Yeah, if anybody ever gave off “I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family” vibes, it’s David Letterman. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/605 "2010-01-21T18:19:12Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Exit deal done > > [http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/21/news/Conan\_OBrien\_NBC\_severance\_deal/index.htm?hpt=T2](http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/21/news/Conan_OBrien_NBC_severance_deal/index.htm?hpt=T2) > [@](#): > > “In the end, Conan was appreciative of the steps NBC made to take care of his staff and crew, and decided to supplement the severance they were getting out of his own pocket,” Gavin Polone, O’Brien’s manager, told the Wall Street Journal. Very classy of Coco. Well done. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/606 "2010-01-21T18:20:11Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > And yet they were willing to pay him $10 million a year to host a show at 12:05. They were willing to pay him $30 million to go away after he refused to do that. he had a late night audience, but not a Tonight Show audience. Since he wasn’t willing to go back to his original time slot/audience there was a parting of ways. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/607 "2010-01-21T18:21:32Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Yeah, if anybody ever gave off “I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family” vibes, it’s David Letterman. Whose family? ---
**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 21, 2010, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/608 "2010-01-21T19:15:22Z")
Letterman might stick around just to have more 25 year old girls to bang. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/609 "2010-01-21T19:19:21Z")
Great news. The masturbating bear won’t be seen again. He’s going into hibernation. 😉 > [@](#): > > The deal is also said to contain a clause that would prohibit both O’Brien and NBC from making disparaging comments about each other in public. It will also strip O’Brien of intellectual property rights to characters he created during his tenure at NBC, such as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, according to people familiar with the terms. ---
**Author:** ![BKReporter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@BKReporter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BKReporter)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/610 "2010-01-21T19:40:06Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Great news. The masturbating bear won’t be seen again. He’s going into hibernation. 😉 Why is that good news? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/611 "2010-01-21T19:45:07Z")
The bear was ok in the beginning. I got tired of him after a few years. \ Maybe other fans enjoyed him more. I’m sure Conan will invent new, and even more outrageous characters on his new show. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/612 "2010-01-21T19:50:36Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Great news. The masturbating bear won’t be seen again. He’s going into hibernation. 😉 You’re a few pages late on that. Conan did make a good joke the other night- the gist was “it’s a great country where a cigar smoking dog puppet and a bear that masturbates are considered ‘intellectual property.’” ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/613 "2010-01-21T19:58:14Z")
Well at least we got to see ol’ Wanky the Bear one last time last night. Maybe NBC wants to keep the rights to the Masturbating Bear because they’ve got plans to turn it into drama for the 10pm time slot? ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/614 "2010-01-21T20:04:59Z")
I was going to say that I’ll never watch NBC again, but then I struggled to come up with a show on NBC that I watch regularly anyway, other than Conan. Then I remembered _Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock_ and _The Office_. But other than those I’m totally not watching NBC any more! Uh, except for football. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/615 "2010-01-21T20:07:51Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Well at least we got to see ol’ Wanky the Bear one last time last night. > > Maybe NBC wants to keep the rights to the Masturbating Bear because they’ve got plans to turn it into drama for the 10pm time slot? “In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime, and masturbating bears. These are their stories.” Dun dun! Law and Order: Masturbating Bear ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/616 "2010-01-21T20:10:42Z")
I wonder what outrageous stunt Conan has planned for his last show. It’s going to be hard to top Arsenio Hall. He interviewed a naked woman. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/617 "2010-01-21T20:14:07Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Well at least we got to see ol’ Wanky the Bear one last time last night. > > Maybe NBC wants to keep the rights to the Masturbating Bear because they’ve got plans to turn it into drama for the 10pm time slot? I think they intend to have it stuffed and mounted. ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/618 "2010-01-21T20:19:06Z")
giggity ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/619 "2010-01-21T20:23:55Z")
If they stole more segments from Top Gear everything would be okay. ---
**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 21, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/620 "2010-01-21T20:26:54Z")
NBC wanted Leno to do an American Top Gear show but he said no. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073.md?page=30) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073.md?page=32)