Everyone here loathes Jay Leno, except me.

Well, if there is no resolve, they should get rid of both of them and hire Sinbad.

WaterInYourBath said:

I don't hate him. I just don't think he's funny.

And it's a punk ass move what he's doing to Conan, who I do like.

Ace said:

They're losing more money at 10 p.m. Affiliates are pissed that the lead in is horrible, and they're bleeding advertising money and ratings. NBC acts like Leno is some savior (as I've stated), and he's just not anymore. And what a slap to Conan. NO regard for him or his show whatsoever. This is beyond business. I said earlier than NBC treats any host of Late Night as a red-headed stepchild. They let them get up front at times, but when no one is looking, big papa comes along and slap them in the head, which is exactly what they're doing to Conan. "Get out of the way..Jay's here!"

Conan is finding his audience still. Networks panic the fuck out when something isn't a hit the first week or two. SO many good shows have been canceled because they were never given a chance. Conan's had just a few months in the grand scheme of things, to nail things down.

It's just unfair, and Conan is right to say he'll jump ship. And what happens if he does? How much more $$$ are they going to lose by letting their host leave in a shit storm like the one brewing right now.

Ace said:

Nah, you got Conan crapping on Leno and Letterman crapping on him. You got websites starting Team Coco campaigns: http://www.movieline.com/...h-coco.php

Once this stuff hits the public conscience, it starts to chip away at someone's likability. And remember, this is the second round of these actions for Leno. It's going to hurt him.

Ace said:

The answer to you real dunce/biggest idiot/3rd biggest idiot questions are all the same: Jeff Zucker. He was the doofus who prematurely tried to retire Jay Leno six years ago when Conan O'Brien was getting offers from ABC and FOX to get his own show to compete against Leno and Letterman. NBC didn't want to lose Conan then, so they offered him millions of dollars and the Tonight Show hosting gig five years later. The only problem was, Jay Leno was dominating the ratings in late night at that time and didn't want to leave. Nevertheless, he played the loyal soldier for the network. But by the time his hosting gig on the Tonight Show was coming to an end, he was still dominating the ratings in late night. Then ABC and FOX were offering even bigger money to get his own show on their networks. NBC. now realizing that they were dumping one of their cash cows way too early, started to panic. In addition, they were getting killed in primetime at 10:00 pm and just lost ER, so they were looking for some way to make a profit in that timeslot. So they offered Jay Leno his own show at 10:00 pm to keep him from bolting NBC.

In the end, though NBC made money of Jay Leno at 10:00 pm, it was a disaster. After the initial first week, Jay's ratings cratered, the affiliates late local news ratings went down 10 to 30% from a year earlier, and Conan struggled to beat David Letterman in the ratings.

The ballsy move NBC needs to make is to cut Jay Leno loose, and then fire Jeff Zucker for the way he drove the network into the gutter.

Oh, and here's the biggie. Entertainers and Hollywood players are starting to come out against Leno. That never happened before.



http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/

Vendetta1 said:

I'll bet NBC would've canned Conan regardless of whether or not Jay agreed to take the slot.

So, even if Leno were to say, "I'm not going back to Tonight. And, by the way, I think they should give Conan more time to build an audience", it wouldn't save CO.

NBC said, "Regardless of what happens, Conan will no longer be hosting a show that begins at 11:35. Would you like to go back to that time?".

If you're Leno and you know Conan's toast anyway - why wouldn't you?

http://mediadecoder.blogs...an-obrien/

Ace said:

Is Conan suffering that much in an earlier slot? Do you think any of that can be attributed to Jay losing viewers? If I'm not watching NBC for Jay and I'm not sticking around for the news, why would I hang around for Conan?

Vendetta1 said:

Really? He said a joke yesterday....umm, I can't remember it, but it was hilarious!

But yeah, you're right. I don't watch Conan, but it's wrong if Jay is trying to beguile his way back into his former time slot.

Ace said:

ernestsewell said:

Maybe yes, maybe no. It costs them way less to produce a talk show than something scripted.


He'll almost certainly improve the ratings there, so wouldn't that make him a savior of sorts?


As Stern laughed today, 'Who gets to stay on air without ratings? That's the whole thing! ' Conan gets a mega-platinum handshake, so it's not exactly a tragedy for him. Have you ever known a network to value anything over ratings? That's the name of the game. These boys know this going in.


Again, it's all about ratings. If any host of Late Night could win 11:30, NBC would be kissin' his/her ass.


Conan is a mandarin to Letterman's orange, whereas Leno is an apple. CO would never come close to beating Dave


The only money they'll lose is what they have to pay Conan in his buyout clause.

I far prefer Conan to Jay, but - if I'm an NBC exec - it's a no-brainer.

sosgemini said:

People've been crapping on Leno for years. The geriatrics who love him don't give a fuck about what Letterman or Conan say about him.

728huey said:

Why would they do that?

sosgemini said:

But here's the biggiest: Money talks and bullshit walks.

Ace said:

No, people have said Leno isn't funny for years...Now they are saying he's a jerk. Two totally different things.

And your arguement against Conan's ratings don't hold up when Leno's ratings sucked for years too when he first started. However, NBC gave him the oppurtunity to build up a fanbase...or, they waited till Hugh Grant picked up a hooker. whatever the case is, they gave him a couple years. They are now giving Conan seven months? How is that fair?

Vendetta1 said:

No. Dave and Conan work the same side of the street and Dave's got time and more mainstream appeal on his side. I would think that, when Jay returns to 11:30, the old-timers and middle-of-the-roaders who find CO too "weird" will migrate back to NBC.

sosgemini said:

They haven't been saying he's a jerk since '92? And why people are blaming Leno for this fiasco is beyond me.


Dave beat Jay slightly pre-Hugh Grant (and not every night). Conan be gettin' his ass whupped. Apples and oranges.

Ace said:

Dude, I love how you are cherry picking facts. Are you just being argumentative for argumentative sake? I know you, old friend, don't forget.

sosgemini said:

So, set me straight.

WaterInYourBath said:

Nah..I love Leno. Just not a fan of this mess is all. But yeah, get Sinbad in there. I heard he's sorta broke now.

I wouldn't mind seeing all that hunky, fine chocolate on my TV in a nice suit. Mmmmmhmmmm...

Ace said:

I already did.

Apparently Jay and Arsenio Hall are pals again... at least publicly. But it'd be interesting to see -- behind closed doors -- what Arsenio's opinion is of all this.

When Dennis Miller's show got canned back in the early '90s, Arsenio said, "(Dennis) should be staying and punk-ass Leno should be going." He also threatened to "kick Jay's ass" and intimated that Jay routinely burns bridges with fellow comedians to get what he wants: "Jay and I used to be friends ... Dennis and Jay used to be friends. Johnny handed over a legacy, and they never mentioned each other's names (on Carson's finale and Leno's debut). Something's wrong with someone who is always surprised about people being upset with him."


[Edited 1/13/10 19:11pm]

LadyLuvSexxy said:

DIdn't he take Chris Spencer's job.

Mars23 said:

Sorry but that is wrong on many levels, FIRST the share audience that Leno was getting at 10PM was exactly what NBC forecasted, Conans show was getting stomped by Letterman, costing the network 200 million in sponsors alone for the Tonight Show that were lost to Lettermans show. SECOND Leno got the Tonight Show not because he "scumbagged" David Letterman, but JOHNNY CARSON who said David was not RIGHT for that show, David was never asked, and it was all Johnnys doing, and David was fine with it but felt Jay should have turned it down, why i have no idea? since dave was never in line for it. This fiasco has nothing to do with Leno or even Conan, this is the network grasping for its live, 200 million lost in this day and age could cause a network to go under, Conan was never right for this show, everyone said it, The Tonight Show has to have that certain appeal to a wide audience, CONAN is a cult following type show and he was good at that, and should have stayed with it in NYC, if Jay was going to leave the TONIGHT SHOW, they should have removed that name "the tonight show" and revamped it all together.

NBC primetime failed not so much because of Leno but be real, he was up against shows that kicked everyones ass, who thought he was going to get ratings? not even NBC did. It dont matter how good your ratings were at another time, its what you are up against, go back to 1985 when MIAMI VICE was taking off, the show jumped from the 40's in ratings to a top five show, the network got greedy and put it up against DALLAS on CBS, and MIAMI VICE disappeared quicker than Phillip Michael Thomas's singing career.

^^^ Leno is not liked by many people in the industry, and "Late Shift" was only a peek at that. He's a brat at this point. No one is going to watch his stupid 30 minute show. They'll piss on it, and Conan and Jimmy (!) will suffer even more in ratings. IF Leno ends up at 11:35 again for 30 minutes (which really just makes him a higher paid Carson Daly), NBC will rip that before the summer sets in. Conan will have long jumped ship, and NBC will then be walking behind Letterman, and probably Kimmel.

Bottom line - NBC fucked up the most by keeping Leno and giving him that 10:00pm prime time spot. They fucked over their own affiliates as well as put FIVE potential 1-hour dramas out of production (which also means 100s of lost jobs).

Leno's prime time show is atrocious. I thought him a boring host of The Tonight Show but he is far more un-watchable at 10pm. I think that Jay's 10pm colossal failure did contribute to Conan's less than stellar ratings. Furthermore, I think the public seems to be sympathisizing more with Conan. I RARELY watch his show but have tuned in ever since this shit hit the fan. I usually toggle between Letterman and Kimmel

And why should Jimmy Fallon have to suffer the time change. He's been strangely quiet, hasn't he? After all he is the new guy and probably does not want to shake the boat further.

I wrote an e-mail to NBC today and told them that if they re-instate Leno for 1.2 hour or even back into the Tonight Show spot I will be boycotting ALL their late-night programming including local news.

DiminutiveRocker said:

I've watched Conan on some occasions and I enjoy him more than Leno

^I tend to agree, while Leno easily won when he was doing the tonight show his show tanked, not because it was him in prime time, but because saw a couple of episodes n didn't care for it and started watching what they either had dvr'd or could download. The Leno show brought nothing to prime time plain n simple.

Leno should have retired or rebrand himself. But as many have said Leno is an asshole. No one here can say if Conan could have made it a The Tonight Show, cause he was never given the same even playing field that previous host had. Why watch another hour of talk show after the local news after having just watched a talk show?

It was just way to much overload, and really the same kind of style. NBC reigned in Conan and tried to tame him, which was a mistake. Could have the audience warmed to Conan most likely, but that takes time, which NBC didn't want to support him.

Though I do have to say that Conan's statement was everything it could be and more funny, smart, humble, and grateful... just what audience wants to hear. N he put NBC in a corner, cause he is quitting as legally as he can.

The next time you see Conan on a different network with a new late night show his opening line as he walks out in a money suit should be...."Do you like it, NBC bought it for me."