NBC Trying to Screw Conan and the Tonight Show

[Bunty]

What do you think? I love Conan and sorry he's being put thru this:

from MSN Entertainment
Conan O'Brien will not be returning to the "The Tonight Show" if it starts airing at 12:05 a.m. instead of 11:35 p.m. O'Brien released the statement below on Tuesday afternoon.

Conan's 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.
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

[rcjunkie]

NBC knows what their doing, moving Conan to make room for Len is a no brainier. I've watched Conan 2--3 times, in my opinion, it's a wonder he's still on.

1. Leno
2. Letterman
3. Conan

[onthestrip]

NBC knows what their doing,

Not really sure about that, because if they did they wouldnt be in this position to begin with.

That said, I think Conan is getting screwed a bit. I just cant stand Leno, on top of not being funny, he just seems like phony. But that letter from Conan was great.

[Bunty]

NBC knows what their doing, moving Conan to make room for Len is a no brainier. I've watched Conan 2--3 times, in my opinion, it's a wonder he's still on.

1. Leno
2. Letterman
3. Conan

I finally discovered and caught on to how good Conan was several years ago and loved his juvenile adult strangeness so much that I made it a point to DVR his show ever since. I'll concede he may not be as good as he was while back in New York at 11:35. Just like people miss seeing Leno chatting behind a desk, I bet a lot of people must miss the motions that Conan went thru to start his show while in New York. I wish Triumph, the insult comic dog, would be on his show more often. Maybe NBC should just let Leno go and he can just go do a nightly show in Las Vegas as a new has been. But then I guess NBC would rather keep Leno since Conan can't beat Letterman in the ratings. But the same was said of Leno when he was just starting out.

I like Leno and Letternman, too. I guess Letterman is just gonna fade away with age and finally retire.

[Dustin]

NBC knows what their doing, moving Conan to make room for Len is a no brainier. I've watched Conan 2--3 times, in my opinion, it's a wonder he's still on.

1. Leno
2. Letterman
3. Conan

Conan is Frea-Kin Hil-Ar-I-Ous!!! Are you kidding me!?!? C'mon now!

[rcjunkie]

Conan is Frea-Kin Hil-Ar-I-Ous!!! Are you kidding me!?!? C'mon now!

Maybe, if you lack a sense of humor.

[OKCisOK4me]

Ok, here's a no brainer...post whether you like or dislike Conan & then please post your age right afterward. Conan is a younger generation show host. Admit it! You don't like him cause he's too bouncy....

I've changed my Facebook page profile pic to "I'm With Coco" (a kinda Presidential poster art pic) and I will be boycotting NBC if they move Conan. I'm sure the fogies (not you guys but your parents) remember back when Leno first replaced Carson. He wasn't all that great & he had at least three years to prove himself which then turned into 15+ years! Is our society so instant or is it just the baby boomers not getting their fix off of Conan? Personally, I think if you don't like him you should just go to bed, lol.

Anyway, if he moves to another network, then I'll be following him. There's not one show that I watch on NBC anymore so the boycott should be quite smooth. Yeah, I'll still watch KFOR-HD news because, well, its HD. Plus, that's an affiliate--not National Broadcasting Company.

BTW, I'm 31 & Coco Rox!!

[jstanthrnme]

Conan is awesome.

Age: 29

[decepticobra]

moving the tonight show that late will decrease its viewership, thus decrease its ratings. people have jobs and no one is going to stay up that late to watch it and jeopardize their sleep hours only to watch the tonight show and feel groggy the next day at work.

this means, no matter what, conan will prevail eventually ratings-wise just because he will occupy the earlier time slot.

no ones really gonna tivo the tonight show religiously to watch it the next day after they arrive home from work.

[mugofbeer]

I'd be pretty ticked if I were Conan though I haven't really decided if I like him any better than Leno. I think he'll be a lot better off if he can land on another network. I'm not sure NBC is going to make it.

[LindsayRenee459]

Conan is amazing. And for the record, I definitely remember when Leno replaced Carson.

Conan rocks.

Age: 26

[gmwise]

I miss Carson, and no, Leno or Conan can hold their own.
I rather watch water drip then either of them.

[Richard at Remax]

I love Conan and what made him great is what he had to cut out of his program when he moved time slots. I just don't what he does appears to an older crowd and thats why the transition was taking so long. I say he moves to Fox at 10:30.

Age: 26

[jstanthrnme]

While I think a move to Fox is most likely, I wouldn't mind seeing him at 11 pm on Comedy Central following The Daily Show and Colbert Report.

[OKCisOK4me]

While I think a move to Fox is most likely, I wouldn't mind seeing him at 11 pm on Comedy Central following The Daily Show and Colbert Report.

I'm anti cable so a pray not...

[duckman]

Team COCO
Age 23

[jstanthrnme]

So the affiliates are upset because Leno is a bad lead in to their newscast, and poor news ratings make for poor tonight show ratings. NBC knew it was a gamble when they gave Leno the new timeslot, and they lost. Now they're chasing their losses which is something a gambler should never do.

They oughta just cut Leno's show to one night a week, and change the format to an american version of Top Gear.

[bluedogok]

So the affiliates are upset because Leno is a bad lead in to their newscast, and poor news ratings make for poor tonight show ratings. NBC knew it was a gamble when they gave Leno the new timeslot, and they lost. Now they're chasing their losses which is something a gambler should never do.

They oughta just cut Leno's show to one night a week, and change the format to an american version of Top Gear.

There was an announcement of an Top Gear USA show a year or so ago with Adam Carolla as one of the hosts. Here is an article about it: Popular Mechanics - First Adam Carolla Top Gear Q&A: Exclusive Specs on NBC Show. Now that they have the original Top Gear on BBC America, I will watch it, the new season starts this month.

I don't like Conan's show, never have but I don't blame him for telling them to stick it, I do think that the show changed too much when it moved time slots and cities, it seems to me to have lost the "edge" that he had in the later NYC time slot.

This is majority the fault of NBC brass, they screwed Leno over first with the original deadline for the Conan transition that they used to entice Conan to not jump ship to some other network. Then NBC panicked when the baby was due, I think there was a huge termination clause on Conan's contract if he didn't get the Tonight Show gig and they were afraid of Jay jumping to ABC and kicking their rear in ratings (not that it would have happened, just what they were afraid of) and advertisers following Jay to ABC. I have read some stuff about it and it seems that Zucker prefers the "easy solution" every time and will just deal will the fallout later. NBC screwed up the original transition when Carson wanted Letterman to replace him, screwed Jay over when they gave Conan a deadline and screwed Conan over in this latest debacle....seems the only constant is NBC screwing someone over.

We grew up on Carson (I am 46, my wife is 44), he is still the de facto standard for that type of show. We have always switched between Leno/Letterman so when it happened we just moved to Letterman, I still think Craig Ferguson is better than all of them.

Daily Finance - How Conan Pays the Price for NBC Chief's Lack of Vision

[OKCisOK4me]

I think Jimmy Fallon is funny as hell--especially when he writes his Thank You notes, lol. He hasn't said anything about Leno or Conan so I think he's content with whatever time slot he receives...

[Bunty]

I think Jimmy Fallon is funny as hell--especially when he writes his Thank You notes, lol. He hasn't said anything about Leno or Conan so I think he's content with whatever time slot he receives...

I have my hands full trying to keep up with Leno, Letterman and Conan on DVR than to try to find out what Ferguson and Fallon are about and then there is Carson Daly and so on.

[oneforone]

I have my hands full trying to keep up with Leno, Letterman and Conan on DVR than to try to find out what Ferguson and Fallon are about and then there is Carson Daly and so on.

Carson's the guy that is on when you wake up after falling asleep during Jimmy Fallon. You then ask yourself, is that the guy from TRL...... Wow... I need to get bed

[Dustin]

I think Jimmy Fallon is funny as hell

Does he write his own monologue? If not, he needs new writers because I dont find him funny at all.

[FormerFloridian]

COCO!

Age: 24

Honestly, I never had a preference because I didn't watch either show. I have tried to watch Leno, and honestly, I don't find him the least bit funny. But I actually used to DVR Conan so I could watch the next day. He is hilarious. Yes, I agree, he is a younger-generation's host, but what's wrong with that? Why change a legacy? Just because Leno got his panties in a twist doesn't mean NBC has to give in to his every whim.

[TaoMaas]

I used to like the irreverent Conan from his earlier days. This watered-down Tonight Show version?....eh, not so much. But then, I used to like Letterman better back when he had The Late Show, too. age 56

[drumsncode]

I watched coverage of the Leno/Conan fiasco on Inside Edition this afternoon. It's getting really ugly in there! I believe a partial quote was "Astonishing Failure", referring to Conan's show, and he's pissed off the NBC execs enough now that they are firing back with their own barbs.

One of the big NBC execs made some really hostile remark about Conan and Letterman being chicken-hearted little cowards, something along those lines, and said they were just bitter because they couldn't beat Leno in the ratings.

I tell you what, if you paid me millions of dollars a year to stand around and make jokes, I'd swallow my pride and you could put me on in any stinking time slot you wanted.

The world has too many divas these days.