I think shows like the Tonight Show rely a lot on momentum. People watch it as much out of habit as anything else, and if they stopped watching when Conan took over and didn’t watch Leno’s new show, it doesn’t seem implausible that they’ll simply never come back.
Doesn’t matter, he shouldn’t have been a party to it, IMO.
Conan’s having some fun with it, at least: http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2010/01/19/transcript-conan-obriens-january-19-monologue/?hpt=T2
Conan just showed off his immense comedy genius
He said that while he is still on the air his bits are still funded by NBC. So instead of making characters that are funny, they’re just doing ones that are “crazy expensive”. The result? A Bugatti Veyron mouse…to the original tune of “Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones. To quote Conan “is it funny? Not really…is it expensive? Hell yes!” Total cost: 1.6 Million dollars.
That is one of the funnies things I have ever seen
Did John Oliver on the Daily Show just say that Jay Leno was shit?
Conan is so rocking.
He’s on fire.
I watch the show a day late online, so I just saw Norm Macdonald come on. That was really funny.
Exit deal done
http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/21/news/Conan_OBrien_NBC_severance_deal/index.htm?hpt=T2
Wow, Norm is looking old. (Which means I probably am too…)
If I were on the writing staff I would beg Bette Midler to come on the show Friday and sing “For the last seven months you’ve been the wind beneath my wings.” Ed Helms’ appearance might’ve been sort of their answer to that, but I think spoofing Midler’s song to Johnny Carson would be the ultimate way to go out on the Tonight Show.
That or blowing up the studio with everybody in it. 
And you won’t see it on the NBC site because they didn’t want to pay any more money for it. But here it is on YouTube.
What the hell are you talking about? Nobody watched Conan. He lost the networks so much money that they’re willing to PAY him $30 million NOT to work for them. He’s getting a golden parachute for sucking.
I have said many times that Conan just does not make me laugh. I was wrong - that was pretty funny stuff.
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.
They had little choice. NBC does not want this dragging through the courts for ages.
Yeah, they cut it out of Hulu.
Leno’s return to The Tonight Show will be a disaster, I bet. Probably decent ratings at first due to the curiosity factor, but a slow steady decline into irrelevance.
Yes, he was getting ratings with the Tonight Show back when, but things have changed dramatically. i used to watch the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. I will not this time around.
I certainly hope they find a different avenue for Smigel to be part part of a new Conan show.
I’m not saying they paid him $30 million out of the goodness of their hearts. I’m just pointing out: they decided it was the best remaining option only after he wouldn’t agree to host the show at 12:05.
Marley, I hereby request permission to post ‘Nyah, nyah’ in this thread when Conan’s next show does well and the Tonight Show continues with its horrible numbers, even though the thread will be a zombie by then.
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.