After making the biggest mistake in Late Night TV Programming history by giving Jay Leno a daily talk show at 10pm, NBC decided to move The Jay Leno Show back to 11:35pm and push back The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien to 12:05am (which would be the next day). Conan O’Brien has just issued an official statement announcing that he will have no part of the Tonight Show move and will, instead, do something else … even tho he claims he has no offers from any other networks. Here is the full text of O’Brien‘s just released official statement:
People of Earth:
In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.
Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.
But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.
Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.
O’Brien‘s statement continues after the jump …
So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.
There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.
Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.
Yours,
Conan
Conan O’Brien is 100000% correct. NBC has totally and completely effed up the late night programming on their network and he is very smart to get the hell out while he can. Who knows what the eff NBC is going to do now … they barely have any viewers in the first place and now they have completely alienated a huge segment of the pittance of viewership they enjoy right now. And none of this is funny at all … except, I’m sure, to David Letterman over on CBS :) NBC is a sinking ship … Conan O’Brien is a wise man to run like hell as fast as he can. Thoughts?
[Source]
You go Conan!!!
@Erin – Nice post
NBC should have been looking for well written dramas. Too bad they couldn’t get something like Southland…. oh wait….
Team Conan!
DUMP JAY LENO. thats what they were going to do before they signed him for the jay leno show. I think Jay needs to quit and retire. he was never funny anyway
@Steph… did you actually say Jimmy Fallon is funny??? Have you ever sat there and watch his late night show? He is so lame! He was ok on SNL, but he cannot pull off a show on his own.
Team Conan! If NBC reads this blog, they should consider how many people watch Conan vs Leno. I watched the first couple Leno shows via DVR and decided not to record it any longer, because I lost interest. I hardly ever watched the Tonight show with Leno, cause to me he gawked at the women and wasn’t that funny. I would record Conan O’Brien instead cause he is hilarious! I hope that he doesn’t have to move out and of course Jimmy Fallon is my favorite!
Leno isn’t innocent here, but let’s face it. Conan just sucks as the host. Ever since Leno left, the ratings have tanked… If Conan is so great, why isn’t the ratings reflecting it?!
The only reason that this controversy has even shown up is because Conan is killing the show. Were Conan getting Leno-like numbers, NBC would have told Jay to take a hike. Simple as that. NBC is desperate. The switch from Jay to Conan has not worked, and it’s killing their what was their old reliable.
Will switching back to Jay work? Who knows, but at this point, NBC is stupid not to try. Late night shows aren’t suited for Conan-type jokes, hence why Letterman is still sitting pretty at CBS. This debacle has shown that Conan is not the successor, and now NBC should pray that the switch to Jay will work and they’ll redouble their effort to find a worthy host to the venerable brand.
@mike.
the reason Conan sucked is BECAUSE of Jay Leno. Flashback 16 years where jay leno has just taken over for Johnny Carson, an icon for over 30 years and the reining king of late night. Now imagine Johnny Carson striking a deal with NBC so he gets a show at 10pm. Who will watch Jay Leno? who will give him a chance?
now flash forward and this is exactly what nbc has done to conan. they have totally fucked him over. like he said in his letter, the success of the tonight show is dependent on both a successfull primetime lead in (ie a show that people ACTUALLY watch at 10pm) and some time for people to warm up to the show. leno got his break. he sucked at the beginning when he first got nbc and they gave him time. all this without having him compete with a weak lead in and someone that people were used to watching for years be on before him. yet with conan, after only 7 months, they are canning him??! how does that make any sense. douchebags
Do you think that Leno achieved high ratings when he first took over the “Tonight Show”? It’s a transitional period of course it takes time to find your rhythm and build/reinforce your audience. Why do you think so many great shows get cancelled? Because Network execs answer only to ratings and not actual content (Arrested Development, Family Guy and countless other shows have dealt with this).
Letterman is experiencing high ratings because of his own little sex scandal and because he has had years to build a strong fan base. If Jay Leno is such a good host and a good comedian wouldn’t he be able to make it work at any time period????…let’s ponder that.
maribella – you’re not alone! I’ve always had a bit of a thing for Conan as well. Maybe it’s the hair…
Heard that in his contract Conan gets the rights to the Tonight Show name. Wouldn’t it be great if the Tonight Show, starring Conan, was on FOX and beat the snot out of the Jay Leno Show? I used to watch Leno religiously when he was on at 11:30 but I lost all respect for him when he thoughtlessness stayed with NBC. Leno has singlehandedly destroyed NBC. His abyssmal rating have brought down ALL the other shows on NBC and with him as a lead-in the local news ratings are gone which means Conan starts off every show with the handicap of no viewers, created by Leno.
I watch neither show and even I am on Team Conan here.
Conan is making a huge stand here. NBC obviously made a mistake when they tried a Primetime comedy talk show and it fails. So now they are trying to correct it, and keeping Jay Leno on thier end. I hope the long time fans of the Tonight Show feel the same way as Conan, and boycott the whole situation. Like Conan I grew up watching Carson and the Tonight Show. When something stands the test of time as this show does, you DON’T just up and move it, you scrub the endeavor that failed and use that person for another. Good Luck Conan, I look forward to seeing you on a late show soon in the future!
Where is the “like” button for Yousarocker comment?
Kill your tv, kids. Open your eyes.
PS: Go team Conan
Bravo to Conan. Leno is an ass of incredible scale. NBC is run by idiots. Simple as that!
Another on Team Conan. I’ve never found Jay Leno even the least bit funny-he’s mean-spirited, stale and booooooooring. He’s also proven time and time again that he’s a self-serving snake.
NBC made a doofus decision to put such a stick in the mud on at an hour when people are still awake enough to see how talentless he is, and as a result neither they nor their affiliates still have anyone tuned in come 11:30. Conan has every reason in the world to just walk away, and the fact that he’s drawn a line in the sand about the start time rather than just storming away shows that he’s a lot more patient and classy than the people he’s dealing with.
The whole thing is just a debacle.
Team CoCo!!! I love Conan, and you can tell just by watching him that he LOVES what he does. He sacrificed so much, waited so long, relocated his entire family to LA to host the Tonight Show just to have this happen to him. Glad to see him release such an eloquent statement. He is definitely a class act.
I love how many people have commented!
TEAM CONAN!
Jay Leno sucks, always does… admit it.
Jay Leno is the most unfunny person to ever do comedy. If ever he had funny material, his delivery sucked all the funny out of it and made it unbearable to watch. You’d have to be a sadist to watch his show. Conan, on the other hand, is hilarious and always has been the best. I hate that he was on the Tonight Show because, though he deserved it, he wasn’t able to do a lot of his skit-based humor which I really enjoyed. I really think the best possible think for Conan would be a new network and to have free reign to do his super funny stuff again. NBC needs to stop feeling sorry for Jay Leno. Sure, he’s a washed up comedian, but seriously just let him go. He’s not funny and he has tons of money. It’s better to burn out than fade away, but Leno has done both. Cut him off now!!!
Couldn’t agree more with everything you’ve said.
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