The latest on Conan, Leno and NBC - Page 10

http://www.thewrap.com/article/breaking-nbc-pay-conan-30m-13048?page=1

Looks like the settlement will be for $30 million, with the no-compete clause lasting until September-January. I would think Conan's lawyers would push hard for September. If they are able to get September as the end of that no-compete period I put very good odds on The Conan O'Brien Show debuting on Fox 11pm-12am starting in September.

In any case, man this was nasty. I can't wait for the inside conversations to emerge. I especially can't wait to see O'Brien on Letterman in the near future.

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EDIT:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-01-15/tallying-the-nbc-damage/

Article detailing NBC fallout.
Edited by Brandon Conway - 1/15/10 at 7:55pm

Maybe as much as $40 million?

http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/jeff-zucker-threatens-to-ice-conan-ill-keep-you-off-the-air-for-3-12-years/

"How much cash? "Zucker's NBC spin puts it at $25 million. But it's a lot closer to $40 million than $25 million," my insider says. "And Conan was adamant that NBC take care of the people close to him -- [executive producer] Jeff Ross and the staff who moved out to Los Angeles." According to the pact, Conan leaves The Tonight Show on January 22nd, and The Jay Leno Show ends its 10 PM primetime run on February 12th when NBC starts its coverage of the Vancouver Winter Olympics through February 28th. That Monday, Leno commences his Tonight Show do-over. Conan, meanwhile, is free to go anywhere and compete with Jay."

Well I wish Conan the best of luck.  If he does turn up on Fox I will definitely watch.  As for NBC... well there are now 4 less shows on my Tivo's Season Pass Manager.  Congratulations NBC!  My biggest disappointment in this whole thing is really Jay Leno.  I once really respected and thought highly of him but not anymore. 

Interesting wrinkle about the time slot contract issues:

http://weblogs.variety.com/on_the_air/2010/01/late-night-in-crisis-conans-camp-responds-to-ebersol-and-where-everything-stands.html

"Insiders from O'Brien's camp also dismissed reports that the host's contract failed to stipulate that his "Tonight Show" air at 11:35.

Those sources claim that O'Brien's old "Late Night" contract made it clear that the show aired after "The Tonight Show," which aired at 11:35. His eventual "Tonight Show" pact was an addendum to that existing "Late Night" deal. That's why O'Brien's exit has been expedited so quickly, they said -- that there isn't the kind of semantics debate over the "Tonight Show" timeslot that everyone predicted there would be.
 

NBC sources, however, dispute that, and stand by the previous assumption that O'Brien's deal was just for "The Tonight Show" -- and not 11:35."

So, you lose respect for someone who tries to do what his employer wants him to do?
He was willing to do the 30 min. show, like they wanted. Conan is the one that's been such an a##hole about this. He flat refused to do what his employer asked of him. If he had done what was asked, everything would be fine and running smooth, just a half hour later than usual. Just 30 mins. He's still tape at the same time, and have the same inhouse audience. Again, he proves what an idiot he is. He could have maybe hosted the Tonight Show for 20+ years, and made a lot more than 25 -40 million. He's an idiot! Plain and simple.

Why work for someone you no longer respect if you don't have to? Being a "company man" has its limits of dignity.

That's complete BS. I can't believe anyone could expect Conan to just bend over and take it the way you're proposing. That's humiliating and I for one would've done exactly what he did. Screw Leno and his smarmy, backstabbing ways. I hope he gets crushed in the ratings when he takes over The Tonight Show so NBC can see how stupid they were for doing this to Conan. If anyone is an idiot in this whole scenario it's Jeff Zucker...the worst executive in the entertainment industry.

That's why between this debacle and NBC Sports President Dick Ebersol admitting NBC may lose US$200 million over the Winter Olympics coverage, we may be seeing the end of Zucker as NBC Universal President very soon.

Yes, Zucker may have survived programming debacles in the past, but in the current recession, even ONE massive gaffe will force GE (and soon Comcast) management to take immediate action. We could see both Zucker and even possibly Ebersol being replaced by the end of February 2010.

iI cannot understand how, on a forum for afficiandos of television programming, how anyone could call Conan an idiot for wanting to exhibit some personal and artistic integrity. Is it the job of someone in a creative medium to simply follow the dictates of those higher on up instead of offering their own POV and creativity? To advocate that Conan should keep quiet and do as he's told to reap monetary rewards in exchange for his self-respect is just a repulsive idea to me. What kind of soulless world would this be if everyone was "smart" and just followed orders? Just appalling.

Conan's an asshole because he'd rather give up the Tonight Show rather than ruin it by moving it to 12:05? Because he respects its legacy more than NBC or Leno do?  Ooookay.

Riiiiiiiight!


See? I can write "simple" lame responses as well as anyone.
Edited by ChristopherG - 1/16/10 at 12:17pm

Pretty much what I was thinking, Hanson.  Further, if you think the relationship between Conan/Jay/other big stars and the network execs is one of "employer/employee," well I would argue that view is incorrect.  It's not like the phone rings in the middle of the night, and Conan picks it up, only to hear a mysterious voice speaking orders into the phone, and he says "yes sir, Mr. Zucker, right away, sir!"

You people don't think his audience will wait a half hour? That's just ridiculous!
Him, and all of his audience that's in too big of a rush to wait another 30 mins. to be aired, needs to be taken behind the barn and have a whip taken to them. 30 mins. is gone almost in a blink of the eye.

I'm tired of all the stupidity in this thread. I'm finished with it................
I'll be glad when he's gone.

Same reason Jay was #1 all these years.

Who ever said anything about his audience not waiting? If you've been paying any attention at all, you should know that is not what this is about.

To quote an old SNL bit, "NBC! Smart as a Peacock!"

Conan's last show ought to be interesting.

I have a couple of thoughts after watching both Leno and Conan for the last several nights. 

- I have to give Conan's writers credit.  Conan's monologues were substantially funnier than Leno's the past few nights.  With all the events of the past week, Leno didn't really seem to take advantage of it the way Conan did.  Leno's strength over the past 2 decades has been his monologue.  Somehow, he just seemed a little flat this week. 

- Conan seems to have the transition to Los Angeles smoothly.  I don't think the same could be said of Letterman if he had moved his program to LA as he wanted to.  I've been re-reading "The Late Shift" and I had forgotten that the entire Letterman camp wanted to take the show to LA when he moved to CBS.  Howard Stringer fought and finally convinced him to try the Ed Sullivan theater for one year.  Letterman, Morty and Peter Lassaly really wanted to be at Television City.  Letterman's 12:30 show was so focused on NYC that I think it would have felt like something was missing.  Conan's show seems right at home in LA. 

- I'm not sure about Andy Richter.  He was one of the strengths of Conan's show in the early years and I've always felt his departure hurt the show.  Now that he's back, I'm not so sure.  He comes across rather plastic to me now.  I think Kevin Eubanks is still the best sidekick on late night TV. 

I'm starting to come around a bit on Conan.  I watched the first few nights when he took over the Tonight Show and thought it was weak and never watched again until this week.  It still bugs me the way he's always shaking his head back and forth all the time, but his writers are currently at the top of their game.  I'll definitely check out his show wherever he ends up.  I just hope he doesn't end up with a shoestring budget.  I think the Tonight Show production value has really helped Conan.  If he goes on at 11:00, I wonder if that might be a hinderance to the ratings. 

An irony?

Conan's been playing the victim, that's easy to do. (It's actually one of his comedic strengths.) I would contribute any recent improvements in his monologues to that more then anything else.

As far as an 11pm start time, I think it's a must for him to be competitive. His first half hour numbers should be very strong since he will have no competition what so ever.

In a couple of years it will be interesting to see the landscape of late night television. It maybe that the biggest mistake that NBC made was back in 2004 when they thought Conan was the future of late night television.

 

And now this:

That is just plain petty. It's not like NBC will have any use for Conando, etc. with Conan gone. Can't wait to hear the NBC apologists defend this crap...

They didn't have any use for Larry Bud Melman either but they prevented Letterman from using it.  I agree its petty.  I'm a Jay apologist to some extent, but I think NBC has been downright nasty in the way they've handled this.

That's SOP for NBC.  They did it to Letterman, too.  He has NEVER been able to show a single second of material from his Late Night show when he went to CBS.  He even had to call Calvert DeForest by his real name after the move rather than Larry "Bud" Melman.  He couldn't even show any of the clips of when Carson appeared on his show (appearances Carson NEVER made with Leno).  Etc. 

Letterman will be celebrating his 30th year on network TV this year and can only show moments from the last 17 years. 

Conan gets his settlement, but can no longer trash NBC.

http://www.tmz.com/2010/01/16/conan-obrien-nbc-settlement-tonight-show-jay-leno/

Conan's staff is pissed at him:

http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/conan_stiffed_us_staffers_say_09HWtZQc2Jc4BYmw7dg2hK

Seems he went to some lengths for them:

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Rep-Conan-Worried-1013763.aspx

 Right now the show's website lists no guests after Tuesday, though other sources do.

Well that's good because it saves me from having to reiterate the points that rebuke your opinion. 

New York Post report is "outrageous lie": 
http://www.thewrap.com/ind-column/ratings-cocos-still-got-big-mo-13082

NBC should just let him take the characters with him, that is just silly.

Wouldn't a lot of his staffers be members of various unions? If so they probably are guaranteed some sort of severance.