The latest on Conan, Leno and NBC (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

What I've missed in the discussion is, "why?" The original gambit was that Leno could suck, his ratings could be terrible, and NBC would still make good money. And they announced as much late last year, that even with Leno's meager ratings his show would earn some $300M.

Have his ratings sunk so low that NBC can't make money?

Why does Leno care what time his show is? He still records it in the middle of the day, so it's not as if his performance has suffered from actually being at a different time. He's never been racy or vulgar, so I can't see how currently being an hour earlier has robbed him of the performance options needed to be good.

If he takes his current schtick to 11:30, why would it be more successful? And if there's a better way to do the show, why not make those changes to the show now, at 10pm?

Is it simply ego? He's failing against scripted programming and wants to move back to late night where he can (presumably) hold his own against other talking desks?

 

[Hanson]

The answer to "why" is "Comcast" and "afflitiates".

The affiliates have been complaining for some time now that the horrible 10pm lead-in has caused a big drop in ratings for their 11pm local news shows, which in some markets account for 40% of their earnings. NBC essentially ignored them until Comcast stepped in, because NBC now needs affiliate support to push the merger through the federal approval process. If the affiliates made a collective stink, the merger would have been in jeopardy. So that's "why" NBC finally moved Jay out.

 

[mattCR]

The issue is that while Leno may be profitable for the network (NBCU) he's a killer for the broadcast affiliates. They've seen their ratings or local nes, etc. go signiicantly down, and their revenue per ad go down

NBCU simply didn't think hard enough about how the local affiliates would manage to make their profit sheets look OK in the face of across the board advertising revenue losses.

 

[DaveF]

Thanks for the explanation Both my wife and I were curious over it.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Originally Posted by DaveF

What I've missed in the discussion is, "why?" The original gambit was that Leno could suck, his ratings could be terrible, and NBC would still make good money. And they announced as much late last year, that even with Leno's meager ratings his show would earn some $300M.

Have his ratings sunk so low that NBC can't make money?

NBC's doing fine with Leno at 10. He's making them a lot less ad revenue, but he's costing them a lot less to program the 10 o'clock hour. The problem is affiliates. Their 11 PM news broadcasts are getting slaughtered because of Leno's lackluster ratings. The decline has also trickled down and hurt the ratings Conan, Fallon, and Daly.

 

[Hanson]

Again, the affiliate problem would have been ignored as it had been since Leno premiered if it weren't for the Comcast wrinkle. The impending merger is "why" NBC finally took action. They need the affilites on their side if they want the merger to go through.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Just coming into this thread.

I don't quite understand...

Didn't Jay want out of his Tonight Show
contract? Wasn't that why they offered
Conan his spot?

...or was that an NBC decision all along.

Just not sure why Leno would be so happy
about getting his old gig back.

 

[Hanson]

It was Conan who wanted to move to 11:30. His contract was coming up, and NBC didn't want to lose him. They had an agreement with Jay and Conan that Jay would leave the Tonight Show in 2009 and Conan would take over. However, as the date approached, Jay started making it known that he didn't want to leave and that he might take his services elsewhere. Conan had a stipulation in his contract that if he didn't move to the 11:35 spot in 2009 (to prevent, say the network renaming Late Night to The Tonight Show and leaving it at 12:35), he would get a big payout. So NBC couldn't keep Jay at 11:35. That's when the big brains at NBC decided to have Jay host a 10pm show 5 days a week. This, of course, was a stupid idea.

The new late night schedule is NBC's attempt at shoe-horning both Jay and Conan on the late night schedule (they are afraid of either performing well at another network). I think they could technically cancel Conan's show (the rating's slide gives NBC all the justification it needs) and move Jay to 11:35 into a renamed show. Which is why Conan was given the choice of 12am or hitting the road. At this point, Fox is salivating at the prospect of getting Conan -- his demo's are perfect for Fox even if the overall ratings stink. At this point, I don't think anyone is happy -- Jay liked his 10pm slot and is obviously unhappy about the changes.

 

[Patrick H.]

Total debacle...what a way to run a railroad! IMHO, Conan should jump ship to Fox as soon as legally possible. Move back to NY, get his old groove back...just at 11:35 on a network that will be happy to let him do his thing. Then we'll see what's what. Leno is right that everybody's getting screwed now, but Conan never even got a fair shot...

 

[mattCR]

Carson Daly appears on Jimmy Kimmel

 

[Garrett Adams]

Originally Posted by Ted Todorov

Am I the only one here who absolutely loves Fallon's show? The Roots are amazing, he is very much at home at 30 Rock, perfect show...

No. I am also a fan. It was a little rough at first but Fallon has gotten it under control now. To me he seems more natural and genuine than most hosts. On your other comment, I too was a huge Carson fan, but then I also felt the same about Jack Paar.

 

[TonyD]

^
"What's gonna happen to MY show?"

 

[DaveF]

 

[Chris Lockwood]

Originally Posted by DaveF

Why does Leno care what time his show is? He still records it in the middle of the day, so it's not as if his performance has suffered from actually being at a different time. He's never been racy or vulgar, so I can't see how currently being an hour earlier has robbed him of the performance options needed to be good.

If he takes his current schtick to 11:30, why would it be more successful? And if there's a better way to do the show, why not make those changes to the show now, at 10pm?

On a related note, why did I really like him at 11:35 but never bother watching at 10?

It's not the time slot- it's a different show, a lame watered-down show. It's hard to describe why I don't like it now. It's just kind of blah. They should have kept everything the same except the title.

Another network had a poll on what NBC should do, and some people said rerun the Carson show at 11:30. I like that idea. I wish someone would run those shows.

 

[ThomasC]

Originally Posted by Chris Lockwood

On a related note, why did I really like him at 11:35 but never bother watching at 10?

It's not the time slot- it's a different show, a lame watered-down show. It's hard to describe why I don't like it now. It's just kind of blah. They should have kept everything the same except the title.

Agreed. They tried to change/fix something that wasn't broken.

 

[TonyD]

btw, the title of this topic is ridiculous, Conan wasn't axed and Leno never went anywhere.

How about a fix to what the situation really is?

 

[DaveF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Lockwood

It's not the time slot- it's a different show, a lame watered-down show. It's hard to describe why I don't like it now. It's just kind of blah. They should have kept everything the same except the title.

That's easy: because the 10pm show is weak sauce. Earn-your-plug is tedious. Watching celebs drive a hybrid car 30mph around a small track is uninteresting. The 9-at-9 is an improv act by people who can't improvise. And through this, I see Jay bored with his own show. Which I can't figure out. It's like he doesn't have creative control and has to watch the interns put the thing together.

The defining moment to me was when he had Pee Wee Herman on and for a "skit", Pee Wee went down a salad bar and made a salad, extolling the virtues of eating leafy greens. No gags, no jokes. Just Pee Wee making a salad.

But it makes for acceptable background noise when I'm not interested in watching a Tivo'd show.

 

[mattCR]

NBC Officially cancels Leno. Announcement:

http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/nbc-officially-cancels-leno-at-10pm-nothing-else-a-done-deal/

Statement from Zucker:

Let me get right to it. The Jay Leno Show. On February 12th, Jay Leno will no longer air at 10 PM. While it was performing at acceptable levels for the network, it did not meet our affiliates needs, and we realized we had to make a change. My goal right now is to keep Jay, Conan and Jimmy as part of our late night line up. I have spoken to all of them and proposed that The Jay Leno Show move to 11:35 PM, Conan move to 12:05 AM, and Jimmy to late night at 1:05 AM. As much as I would like to tell you it’s a done deal, we know that’s not true, “ adding that the talks are ongoing. MORE

 

[Zack Gibbs]

Well that's very interesting. Sounds like the hosts all realize it's a shit hand, and if they don't accept it the only possible outcome I could see is Jay calling it quits.

Surely he realizes the trouble he's caused, there's no way things can just go back to the way they were.

 

[Ken Chan]

It's not a statement by Zucker, it's "NBC Universal Entertainment chief Jeff Gaspin's first public statement on NBC's late night mess set in motion by NBCU boss Jeff Zucker."