Conan vs Leno

[Damian WayLNKe]

If option two is correct, Conan should get a contract with Fox for $1 a year.

[Lint]

Yea seriously...its a huge advantage for Conan..he can basically say "listen..you can pay me peanuts..NBC has ot make up for it"

[Guest JukeboxHero]

If option two is correct, Conan should get a contract with Fox for $1 a year.

You know, that thought had crossed my mind as well. What a better way to really slap NBC in the face than to do that? And if Conan were to beat Leno running in the same time slot with that scenario, that would be even more humorous.

[GhostMachine]

Conan should go to FOX and get a show that starts at 11pm.

I'd like to think that if Conan threatened to go to FOX and NBC still had to pay most of his salary if he did, Leno would end up out on his ass. But knowing how tv executives are, that's not likely.

[GoGo Yubari]

Conan should go to FOX and get a show that starts at 11pm.

As a Daily Show viewer I say fuck that noise.

[TheSqauredCircleMessiah]

11pm didnt work for Letterman early in his CBS stint. Honestly, I would love to see Conan sit out and collect his NBC money untill David Letterman retires and takes over the lineage he inherited from Dave and Johnny.

Edited January 11, 2010 by TheSqauredCircleMessiah

[GoGo Yubari]

Oh man, Conan is just firing on all cylinders with the NBC jokes tonight. Wonderful stuff.

[Noah]

Living in Australia, Letterman's show was the only one we got for years and I guess I'm used to him and still watch his show, when i'm in a late night state of mind.

Leno I've never really cared for and Conan is usually amusing from what I've seen of him.

Edited January 12, 2010 by The Ego II

[Lowerdeck]

Conan should go to FOX and get a show that starts at 11pm.

I'd like to think that if Conan threatened to go to FOX and NBC still had to pay most of his salary if he did, Leno would end up out on his ass. But knowing how tv executives are, that's not likely.

I can't see Conan doing 11 pm on Fox, simply cause a lot of the affiliates have 11 pm newscasts.

11:30, definitely. Right now it's like Simpsons reruns in Hartford, NYC, and Boston.

[Ananas]

Conan has thrown down the gauntlet, says he won't do the Tonight Show at 12:05:

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.

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

[MalaCloudy Black]

Good on him. Now it's just a matter of seeing what NBC says/does, I guess.

[Lj.]

Just thought I'd ask a quick question about one of the shows. I heard Bill Cosby was on Leno last night, was the episode any good and/or funny?

[sahyder1]

Just thought I'd ask a quick question about one of the shows. I heard Bill Cosby was on Leno last night, was the episode any good and/or funny?

I read excerpts of the Leno monologue and it was pretty good. Letterman's first half hour yesterday was hilarious. Heard the same about Conan (about to go watch that now). Safe to say whatever side of this you're on....tonights' Conan is must watch. NBC has already confirmed that there is a taping today.

[GoGo Yubari]

NBC Corporate is just taking a beating from every last late night host, it seems like. Even Jimmy Fallon, who ended his show with "Thank you, NBC, for announcing that Jay Leno will be moving back to 11:30. It'll be interesting to see how Jay and Conan do against Dave, and how we do against the Perfect Push-up infomercial."

I really hope 30 Rock finds a way to comment on this in a timely fashion, their shot at the existence of the Jay Leno show in their season premiere was delightful.

[tenaciousg]

At this point, I'm all for Conan jumping to Fox or ABC on a $1 contract... but thinking about it, what if this is all just a huge ratings stunt for NBC?

[Lj.]

Then it's definitely working. I can't remember the last time I watched Leno or Conan up until this past week, so they got me. for this week at least.

[Ananas]

It's not. And if it was, they'd have a affiliate mutiny on their hands. There were affiliates they had to strongarm into airing the Leno Show in the first place. Once they saw what a white flag at 10pm was doing to their news shows (the bread and butter of affiliate revenue), they put the screws to Zucker. They need to keep the affiliates happy (and more specifically quiet) in order to get the Comcast takeover done. There was no saving the Leno Show at 10pm. And if this IS a big ratings conspiracy, they're fucked for a myriad of reasons.

[MalaCloudy Black]

That was a really good episode. Was it coincidence that every guest (well, barring Cash) was affiliated with NBC? I assume not, but it could've been..

[GoGo Yubari]

Pretty sure it was. Zachary Levi was so endearingly awkward.

[Guest JukeboxHero]

Turns out maybe Conan screwed up a bit.

Apparently, he was promised that he would host 'The Tonight Show', but never had it written into his contract what time it would air.