Conan O'Brien pissed at Jay Leno move: ON HIS WAY OUT!?

[daigong]

so much for that!! that'd suck if they make Conan and Fallon move back an hour. Who'd watch Carson Daly 



NBC confirms abandoning Jay Leno prime time show
Sun Jan 10, 2:13 PM

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - NBC said on Sunday that it was abandoning its cost-cutting prime time experiment with talk show host Jay Leno, and was "going back to basics."

NBC Universal television entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin told television reporters that starting Feb .12, "The Jay Leno Show" would no longer air in its 10 p.m. slot.

"I can confirm that starting February 12, Jay Leno will no longer air at 10 p.m.," Gaspin said.

Gaspin said General Electric Co's NBC was in talks with Leno, and its other late night show hosts Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Fallon about moving all their current shows to a later hour.

Gaspin said NBC had come under pressure from its local affiliates who complained audiences had dropped for their lucrative late news broadcasts because of the poor audiences for "The Jay Leno Show."

NBC, which is struggling in bottom place among the four leading networks, made the unprecedented move in September 2009 to replace traditional and costly drama at 10 p.m. with "The Jay Leno Show," which was cheaper to produce.

It was not immediately clear what shows NBC would run at 10 p.m. in place of Leno.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant, Editing by Sandra Maler)

[shirenuファクトリー]

TEAM COCO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[arun.yothin]

I don't watch either show, but I caught a bit of Conan's show where he was talking about his options after this whole deal. My favorite was:

Leave television altogether, and work in a classier business with better people, like hard core porn.

[Tuffty]

Here's Conan and David Letterman and Craig Ferguson all laying into NBC over the decision

[Masa]

Team Conan FTW!

http://tv.gawker.com/5448615/late-night-wars-jay-leno-turns-the-tables-and-bashes-conan-obrien-is-then-bashed-harder-by-jimmy-kimmel

Kimmel destroying Leno

[daigong]

I watch Letterman on most nights but Conan is

I'm just shocked at how this is shaking down... I thought they'd work something out but talks of him getting a buy out.

[daigong]

It's done.



NBC: Conan O'Brien reaches $45M exit deal
By FRAZIER MOORE, AP Television Writer 1 hour and 29 minutes ago

NBC said Thursday it has reached a $45 million deal with Conan O'Brien for his exit from the "Tonight" show, allowing Jay Leno to return to the late-night program he hosted for 17 years.

Under the deal, which came seven months after O'Brien took the reins from Leno, O'Brien will get more than $33 million, NBC said. The rest will go to his 200-strong staff in severance, the network said in an announcement on the "Today" show.

His final show will be Friday, with Tom Hanks scheduled to appear as well as Will Ferrell — the first guest O'Brien welcomed as "Tonight" host last June — and musical guest Neil Young.

Leno will return to "Tonight" on March 1.

"In the end, Conan was appreciative of the steps NBC made to take care of his staff and crew, and decided to supplement the severance they were getting out of his own pocket," his manager, Gavin Polone, told The Wall Street Journal. "Now he just wants to get back on the air as quickly as possible."

O'Brien will be free to begin another TV job as soon as September, NBC said. There has been speculation on where he might go next. ABC (which airs "Nightline" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live!") has said it wasn't interested, while Fox, which lacks a network late-night show, expressed appreciation for his show — but nothing more. Comedy Central has also been mentioned.

A spokesman for O'Brien said he would be unavailable for comment.

O'Brien landed the "Tonight" show after successfully hosting "Late Night," which airs an hour later, since 1993. But he quickly stumbled in the ratings race against his CBS rival, David Letterman.

[Saburo]

A sector of online analysis now says: no tears for Conan now that he got his ca$h.  Still what a PR disaster for NBC and Leno.  Will the short-term memory of the masses clear things after the Winter Olympics?  Not if the online flames keep burning strong, which I believe they will.

[Asmodai]

This seems shortsighted to me. Who under 60 watches Leno? Even if Leno does manage to extend his reach, he's not that far off from retirement himself.

[Saburo]

The Sports Guy, Bill Simmons chimes in with a few cuts at Conan.

[daigong]

lol man, i didn't even watch enough to get a feel of his new skits. at least the past few weeks was entertaining all around, LEtterman just ripping Leno a new asshole!

[daigong]

best fuckin quote ever.

"All I ask of you, especially young people...is one thing. Please don't be cynical. I hate cynicism -- it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen. I'm telling you, amazing things will happen."
- Conan O'Brien