Whatever the ultimate outcome, I have to give NBC credit for thinking outside the box. They knew it was a risky move, with minimal chance of success, yet they went for it to see what would happen. It’s not very often that you see that kind of ballsy move in the big-bucks entertainment industry.
The fact that it didn’t work doesn’t detract from the courage it took to try it. They knew all along it was a long-shot.
I say good for Conan to walk. He doesn’t deserve this treatment. NBC hasn’t had his back at all (they seemed only concerned with making the 10PM Jay Leno show work, and to hell with Conan & Fallon) and I’m sure he would be getting better treatment and promotion at FOX. Since FOX has the edge on the 10PM 1 hour news show, putting Conan on at 11PM would probably be GREAT for ratings too.
As for Leno, well, he’s now at least partially responsible for having 3 other talk show hosts leave NBC. The honorable thing for Leno to do would be to walk away as well. He’s essentially been “cancelled” by NBC, and I don’t think he has any kind of contract that would force him to take back the 11:35 Tonight Show, and now everyone knows that there will be blood on the stage if he goes back there. He’s a guy who TRIES to give across the impression that he’s all about the humor, and doesn’t care about being on TV, so now is the perfect time for him to prove it, by walking away too, and then leaving NBC with nobody but Fallon & Daly.
Not that this’ll happen anytime in the next million years.
BTW - Letterman’s show last night was AWESOME. 50 minutes of him pulling all the jabs at NBC, and 10 minutes of a drunken Jennifer Connolly interview.
(3.) They were getting their asses kicked in the ratings and were struggling to get something on the air. They really didn’t have a ratings winning 10pm show, especially with ER gone. And Leno @10 was cheap, very, very cheap. Being at 3rd or 4th place with a cheap show is a much better business decision than being at 3rd or 4th place with an expensive show.
Their problem was that the people watching Leno didn’t stick around for news.
I thought that the problem with the news was more that people watching ABC or CBS’s 10pm show had no incentive to change channels back to NBC for the 11pm news, since more or less they’re all the same (especially when, like in NYC, all of the networks’ news shows are reporting on the same locale)
Leno made 3 talk show hosts leave NBC? Back in 1992 was he supposed to turn down the Tonight show offer so that Letterman could have the job? Are you saying Carson is the 3rd guy he made leave? If not , who is #3?
Prime time wasn’t broken, so there was nothing to “fix”. They simply wanted to save $$$ and they thought keeping Jay and bumping 5 dramas/news shows would be the way to do it.
Oh well, NBC is still going to get screwed for messing with Conan’s contract. Wherever he goes, he’ll benefit. Oh, and what the hell is wrong with Jay Leno? He wants to “retire”, instead does a 1-hour comedy show a little earlier that fails, and now it appears he’ll go back to the show? I hope people boycott his unfunny ass on premise.
They were #4 in the ratings and they still are. That’s broken to me. And they did want to save money.
You know, there are so many rabid Conan fans here I don’t see how it’s possible that Conan’s viewership was only half of Leno’s. Surely intensity should count twice as much. 
Johnny Carson - was pushed into retirement so that Leno could have his show
David Letterman - left NBC so that he could get his own 11:30 show after Leno took the timeslot that he was supposed to inherit
Conan O’Brien - will apparently be walking away from his show (and probably NBC) rather than let them push him around even more in order to cater to Leno
and Carson Daly could fall into this category too, depend on how things swing.
I thought Carson retired on his own terms. He wanted Letterman to replace him, but his retirement was his choice.
Wasn’t it?
Yes and no. Carson decided to step up and retire on his own terms because he knew he was about to get thrown under the train by NBC, who wanted Leno in NOW before they lost him. Leno’s manager supposedly was really trying to push Carson out the door with one hand while pulling Jay in with her other, and he didn’t want to give her the satisfaction. It’s almost 20 years later and NBC is STILL kissing his ass. I just don’t get what they think the big deal with him is…
A preview from tonight’s Letterman episode. Man, I love this - if there’s one tv personality you don’t want to piss off, it’s David Letterman, and he’s totally calling out NBC AND Leno for the sleezeballs they are, while looking out for his Late Show children.
Hell, I’m amazed that the idea of a lead-in still works and exists. I have this amazing invention called a remote and it allows me to select any channel I want.
I also don’t understand why anyone would willingly watch local news. It’s all completely useless.
I know. I thought this as a kid before the internet. With the web, we can get every news item we need almost immediately.
Don’t underestimate how ridiculously fucking lazy people are. Changing the channel requires effort. Reading news online instead of having it carefully selected and read to you by some douchebag also requires effort.
Letterman calling people sleazeballs? Now that is funny. How many interns did he sleep with?
Thanks for asking. Several reasons, actually.
Last week, when NBC announced they were canceling Leno, they specifically said "“We remain committed to keeping Conan O’Brien on NBC. He is a valued part of our late-night lineup, as he has been for more than 16 years and is one of the most respected entertainers on television.” Despite all the flopping around, the network hasn’t said they “remain committed” to keeping Leno.
Demographics. While Conan’s Tonight Show hasn’t been getting the ratings Leno did at that time, O’Brien’s audience is younger, and more attractive to advertisers.
Collateral damage. NBC already has to come up with five new hours of programming to replace Leno. A Leno half-hour would be essentially the current Leno show with less padding. However, a Leno Tonight Show would require weeks or months of reassembling a team, hiring additional staff, booking talent, etc. It’s likely that A-list guests would bypass Leno in favor of Letterman, at least for awhile. That would hurt Leno-Tonight in the ratings, and ratings are the only reason for keeping Leno.
Fox. They’d probably be happy with either Leno or Conan hosting a late-night show, but there’s no doubt Conan fits better with Fox, and it’s likely an easier sell to Fox affiliates. The more affiliates carrying the show, the more potential damage to NBC.
Affiliate revolt. There are more than a few ABC affiliates out there that would love to replace Nightline with a rerun or syndicated show, but can’t because of their contract with ABC. Should NBC somehow manage to force an 11:35 Leno half-hour, I’d bet there are more than a few affiliates who would simply take that half hour for their own show, and then go back to NBC for the “real Tonight Show.”
Granted, except for #1 no one has said or done anything to confirm my hunch. But I still think if it comes down to NBC having to choose between Leno or Conan hosting the Tonight Show at 11:35, they’ll stay with Conan.
After Conan tells NBC today “Go F*** yourself” they are still going to keep him?
I think it’s hard to come out of this experience crediting NBC with anything. Anything positive, anyway.
I think HBO is gearing up for The Late Shift 2: Late Shiftier.
They might, really. In the long run, Conan could outlast Jay and draw an equal audience.
Foolish move if they keep Jay, really.