Conan O'Brien odd man out?

[scottie]

http://www.tmz.com/2010/01/07/jay-leno-nbc-conan-obrien-tonight-show/

Jay Leno is going back to his 11:30 PM time slot, and it's looking like Conan O'Brien is the odd man out ... sources tell TMZ.

We've learned Jay's 10:00 PM show will go on hiatus February 1. After the Olympics, Jay will take back his 11:30 PM time slot. What has not been decided -- whether Jay's show will be a half hour, followed by Conan, or whether Jay's show will be an hour and NBC says sayonara to Mr. O'Brien.

We're told Jay and Conan have both been told of the changes. As for Jay, interestingly, he'll get what he always wanted -- his 11:30 PM time slot.

[Indy Coug]

I have watched about 15 total minutes of Jay Leno in his 10PM slot.

[SteelBlue]

That Leno show is terrible. I feel bad for Conan.

[Flystripper]

http://www.tmz.com/2010/01/07/jay-le...-tonight-show/

weird I thought Conan was doing well in the most valuable demographic. I guess not.

[Guest]

Where have you gone Ted Koppel? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

[Drunk Tank]

I would watch Leno by default, as it was on after the 11 o'clock news. I have never watched him at his new 10pm time slot and I wouldn't waste the effort to look for him at any other times either. His show is boring and his skits are lame. I like Conan, but I hardly watch TV other than ESPN and a few shows on the Golf channel and Food network.

[MarkGrace]

[YOUTUBE]<script src="http://player.ooyala.com/player.js?width=450&embedCode=NrZjU1MTrjlc0mrV4YBe I0OHi52Kaou-&height=253"></script>[/YOUTUBE]

[MarkGrace]

Well that didn't work.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Conan is getting royally screwed by NBC. Of course, no one is holding a gun to his head telling him to stay, but NBC is marginalizing his show to the point where they're counting on him to quit so they don't have to pay that $50 million to him.

If Conan wanted to go out on his own to Fox or ABC, NBC should have just let him. Leno was handily beating Letterman year after year. As it turns out, Conan kind of had to tone down his show when he moved back to the 11:30 slot and it just isn't the same as it was when he was on Late Night. If he didn't tone down the show and was given time, he would have done fine. Letterman's show is increasingly stale and Letterman is becoming increasingly unlikeable. But the debacle that NBC is now contending with was a revolt from the affiliates who were pissed about the 10 PM Leno show which wasn't providing a very good lead in for their local news broadcasts which are supposedly the money-makers for the affiliates (I had no idea people actually watched this swill at 11 but apparently they do).

[scottie]

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/conan-obrien-says-he-wont-do-tonight-show-following-leno/?hpw

Conan O’Brien released a statement Tuesday saying he no longer wants to host NBC’s “Tonight Show” and intends to seek a way to end his contract with the network.

...

[TripletDaddy]

Didn't someone around here say that Conan had to change his hyper-tick crappy monologue schtick if he were to survive the new time slot? I could have sworn that someone was saying that from Day 1.......some disagreed and even tried to say that Conan was better.....but someone, can't remember who it was.....said Conan had to change if he wanted to succeed.....

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

I have watched about 15 total minutes of Jay Leno in his 10PM slot.

That equals what I have watched of Jay and Conan, combined. As I have watched about 1 minute of Conan, I am heavy on the Jay side.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Didn't someone around here say that Conan had to change his hyper-tick crappy monologue schtick if he were to survive the new time slot? I could have sworn that someone was saying that from Day 1.......some disagreed and even tried to say that Conan was better.....but someone, can't remember who it was.....said Conan had to change if he wanted to succeed.....

You could be right, but NBC shoved Leno back into the 11:30 slot due to a revolt by the affiliates over the Jay Leno show at 10:00.

But no one forced NBC to move Jay Leno back to 11:30 which is obviously a vote of no confidence for Conan and is thereby forcing him to go to Fox or ABC. So at this point NBC thinks their error was forcing Leno out when he was leading the segment and putting a more polarizing host in his spot.

Fox is supposedly the most likely destination. The problem for Fox is that their affiliates all have one hour news broadcasts from 10-11. I'm wondering if that hour long format will take too many viewers away from a late night show. But I also think having a late night show at 11 could be advantageous over an 11:30 show.

[scottie]

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.co...wing-leno/?hpw

For those who don't want to open the link, this is the full text of 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

[Bastage]

Conan is funnier than Jay. The vast majority of his fans come from the prized demographic. However, I speculate that not very many people who find him hilarious actually watch his show on a nightly basis. The people who watch The Tonight Show (or Letterman) are watching their local news. I don't think very many 18-35 year olds are doing that. It's the older demographics who are drawn to Jay, not Conan.