Conan's career is over, Leno returns to his rightful throne as King of Late Nite

[CajoleJuice]

Welp, it's over.

http://www.tmz.com/2010/01/14/jay-leno-conan-obrien-nbc-the-tonight-show/

[TakingBackSunday]

TMZ reporting that Leno has signed onto a new contract giving him back the Tonight Show.

welp.

[The Fake Shemp]

HAY GUYZ, I'M BAAAAAAAAAAACK :lenowned

[Van Cruncheon]

Podcast? that's where the money is. Right eel? (Image removed from quote.)

he can't respond; he just cashed the last mega-check itunes sent us and is currently paying off the whores we defecated on last night after doing a kilimanjaro sized mountain of blow and lik-m-aid.

[Flannel Boy]

I honestly don't understand why NBC doesn't receive as much revenue for each Internet viewer as it does for each TV viewer. It's a mystery!

Welp, it's over.

http://www.tmz.com/2010/01/14/jay-leno-conan-obrien-nbc-the-tonight-show/

conanowned :lenowned

[Himu]

Ahaha.

Wow, I knew Jay wouldn't walk but I'm still shocked after all this bad press.

:lenowned

[TakingBackSunday]

well, he's just living up to his slimy piece of shit persona

[ferrarimanf355]

 :'(

But at least we have the avatar...
 :lenowned

[BobFromPikeCreek]

I wonder when the switch happens.

[CajoleJuice]

Bob: Rumors are that Conan is done after next week and then Leno starts up after the Olympics.

[etiolate]

There's a difference between being ready for changing media and changing your entire business model, dude.

Exactly? Maybe you should read what I say and not what Mandark says I say. It's a dangerous practice.

Some classic Mandark re translations of the past:

Me: I'm reading an Intelligent Design book to see what its really about
Mandark: Etiolate doesn't believe in science

Me: Like the Bell Curve?
Mandark: Etiolate is racist

[The Fake Shemp]

Mandark is dangerous!

[etiolate]

More obsessed with me than dangerous

[Flannel Boy]

On the brightside, FatalT has a good shot at playing Conan O'Brien in the Conan O'Brien TV movie.

The movie will be bumped for Jay Leno: Tale of the Everyman. :lenowned

[Himu]

Welp, it's over.

http://www.tmz.com/2010/01/14/jay-leno-conan-obrien-nbc-the-tonight-show/

(Image removed from quote.)

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Can someone crop out conans head here? I'd like to have it as an avatar

[close]

[Van Cruncheon]

if you read a book on intelligent design in any way that isn't ironic, you're probably a distinguished mentally-challenged fellow, so yeah, mandark's right. have you read hubbard's dianetics, as well?

[ManaByte]

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

ZUCKER THREATENS TO ICE CONAN! Says "I'll Keep You Off The Air For 3 1/2 Years"; Conan Reps Counter: "This Will End Up In Front Of A Judge If NBC Doesn't Wise Up"

BREAKING NEWS! EXCLUSIVE! 2ND UPDATE: NBC Universal, faced with Conan O'Brien's defiance, is taking what insiders tell me is "a super tough threatening position" over his refusal to host The Tonight Show at 12:05 AM instead of 11:35 PM. "Someone's got to show NBCU that big greedy corporate dickheads can't win," one of Conan's manager-agent-lawyer-public relations "Team Conan" representatives told me. And while Jeff Zucker has not stepped up and taken responsibility for this mess he set in in motion in the first place -- by replacing Leno with Conan O'Brien as host of The Tonight Show even though Jay was No. 1 in his time slot at the time -- he's been busy behind the scenes. I've already reported how Zucker has been privately blaming Conan for the current debacle, saying "He let me down" because The Tonight Show for the last 7 months since O'Brien took over has been losing out to David Letterman in both eyeballs and advertiser-coveted demographics. (Bullshit, Zucker, you can't keep blaming others for your Zuck-ups.) Bad enough that Zucker made Conan hear about the planned move in the first place from the media.

But now the NBCU chief has been talking tough during the negotiations with Team Conan. To counter O'Brien's principled public statement which the late night host issued this week, Zucker "is threatening to ice Conan", according to his reps. "Zucker said, 'I'll keep you off the air for 3 1/2 years.' Which doesn't have a chance in hell of happening. What I really think Zucker wants is to hold him off the market for at least six months to a year until the dust settles and Leno is secure and Conan is squelched." One rep even compared Zucker to "Darth Vader" because the NBCU chief "has been so evil" about this. 

According to NBC's stated plans, The Jay Leno Show would leaves its unsuccessful primetime 10 PM time slot on February 12th, and then move to 11:35 PM after NBC finishes broadcasting the Vancouver Winter Olympics on February 28th. That's when The Jay Leno Show arrives in late night, and Conan's show pushes back by 1/2 an hour. To NBC's way of thinking, it can kill two birds with one stone: it won't have to pay Jay that hefty $80 million penalty for taking The Jay Leno Show off the air because the program has "merely" moved timeslots. And it won't have to pay Conan that fat $60 million penalty for removing him from The Tonight Show because that program, too, has "merely" moved timeslots. But, as David Letterman so succinctly put it this week, "At 12:05 AM, that's not The Tonight Show, that's The Tomorrow Show! As I've written previously, the Pottery Barn rule is applicable here: "You break it, you buy it." It could and it should cost NBC. 

But I've learned O'Brien's reps now believe that Zucker wants to jettison Conan altogether and put Jay back at The Tonight Show at its usual starting time. So, to prevent O'Brien competing at NBC or elsewhere with Leno's attempt to lure back his late night audience, NBCU's Zucker has come up with this plot to "ice" Conan for the length of his NBC Tonight Show contract. It's dastardly, it's cowardly, and it could be damn effective. But there's no way Team Conan says they're going to let that happen. Bad enough NBCU horribly humiliated Conan and, as he so rightly pointed out in his statement, will damage The Tonight Show by moving it down a half-hour. With the 12:05 AM start, its ratings will never recover. After NBC made that decision, the phones at his WME agency rang off the hook with calls from every network, cable, and pay channel looking to hire O'Brien. And there's every reason for him to flee. But, if Conan exits voluntarily or involuntarily, it will take at least a year before a new show is readied and on the air. He risks losing his fan base during that time. And he'll be forever tagged by the failure. So now it's open warfare between NBC and O'Brien's reps.

Zucker's hardline stance became evident during that 1:45 PM Tuesday meeting at NBC Universal this week shortly after Conan issued his statement of defiance. On one side of the room were NBCU bigwigs Jeff Gaspin and Marc Graboff. On the other were O'Brien's reps: manager Gavin Palone, WME agent and board member Rick Rosen, and the newest member of Team O'Brien, Hollywood litigator Patty Glaser, who was hired last Sunday and is WME's legal shark of choice. Not attending were Zucker (hiding back in NYC), or WME boss Ari Emanuel (leading the WME retreat in Rancho Mirage). One of Hollywood's toughest negotiators and the model for Entourage agent Ari Gold played by Jeremy Piven, Ari. Even so, Gavin can be as mean as a rabid dog, Rick's agency reps 60% of the TV talent, and Glaser is a pitbull. For them, this kind of mano-a-mano negotiation is bloodsport. But even they were shocked by Zucker's scheming.

"Patty came in and said, 'You can't do this.' They claim they can legally, but everyone knows it's ambiguous. The contract is not clearly expressed and they are misinterpreting it," one of my sources related. "So everything now is at a standstill. There's been a proposal, and a counter-proposal. This will end up in front of a judge if someone [at NBCU] doesn't wise up."

I'd learned both NBCU chief Jeff Zucker as well as Gaspin were told about Conan's statement publicly promising to protect the integrity of The Tonight Show he'd inherited. It made Zucker furious.  O'Brien's reps didn't want O'Brien to speak out. "They were not thrilled. They told him it would undercut his negotiating leverage," one source revealed to me. "But Conan wouldn't listen to them. He wanted to make it." And yet, because of the controversy, O'Brien's Tonight Show ratings have risen. While Leno hasn't received a similar bump, Conan's number went up to 1.9 in the overnights. Certainly, that has to give NBC pause, right? Apparently not. Sources tell me there's only "the slightest of chances" that Zucker will relent and keep O'Brien and The Tonight Show intact at 11:35 PM. As for Conan, if he's released, he wants to ensure his executive producer Jeff Ross and other staff who moved out from New York to Los Angeles "are taken care of". As for himself, "he's not thinking about strategy. He's saying, "I just want enough money to feed my family.'"

[Snuflupagulus]

Speaking of Nielsen:


http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/01/13/obrien-might-still-be-at-1135-if-team-conan-had-watched-the-tonight-show/38787

The chart details ratings through the 8th, for the 18-49 demo.

Sorry Conan.  I'm sure had the fair weather fans tuned in sooner, you'd still have your show.  Blame Letterman, if anyone.  Guess I'll go back to watching Colbert at 11:30 instead of catching the next day repeat.  No biggie.

[Himu]

There's one good thing about this news.

Now I can go back to watching Colbert/TDS daily.

[Flannel Boy]

But, snuflupagulus, they were watching his hulu clips!

[The Fake Shemp]

Nobody finds it coincidental that the ratings boost Letterman had in October is during the same time frame as his tabloid scandal, and that Conan's ratings hit absolute rock bottom when Leno became his lead-in back in August?

[CajoleJuice]

I know people are paying attention to Conan's ratings which -- admittedly -- aren't great, but Leno sucking in the 10 pm time slot is what really made NBC think this move necessary. Conan's ratings made him expendable, but his ratings aren't the reason for this shitshow.

Willco said it better than me.

[Fresh Prince]

Jay Leno is corny is so old people love him
Letterman is an asshole so assholes love him
Conan is. Conan is. BrandNew likes Conan.

[The Fake Shemp]

[Great Rumbler]

Nobody finds it coincidental that the ratings boost Letterman had in October is during the same time frame as his tabloid scandal, and that Conan's ratings hit absolute rock bottom when Leno became his lead-in back in August?

Pretty much says it all really.

[Himu]

(Image removed from quote.)(Image removed from quote.)(Image removed from quote.)

[The Fake Shemp]

Double zing!

[Flannel Boy]

 

[Himu]

[The Fake Shemp]

Yeah, Conan got a totally raw deal, but that's Hollywood. What will make BrandNew cry even more is when Leno recaptures his time slot and his audience, going right back to the top. How will he be able to handle that?

Meanwhile, Conan will be unemployed and living like a drifter.

[Barry Egan]

This an all around shitty situation. I watched Conan nearly every night since he took over the tonight show, so I'm not really to blame. I feel like if he had a better lead in, it wouldn't have been so bad.

do you even have a neilson box in your home?  Noone's keeping track of what you watch if you don't have a box.  

[Flannel Boy]

lol @ the title change

[BobFromPikeCreek]

Someone on GAF said "Imagine how bad Leno would have done if Johnny Carson had a 10pm lead-in show."

Kinda puts Conan's raw deal into perspective.

[CajoleJuice]

So I just went on the ticket website for The Tonight Show.

Please be aware we will not be taping shows 1/25 - 1/29.

Yeah, next week is the last week for Conan...

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I hope Conan gets some sort of severance out of this, but I doubt it.

[Himu]

Get Norm MacDonald on Tonight Show next week, Conan!!!!

[BobFromPikeCreek]

Not gonna lie, I haven't regularly watched Conan in like 2 years.

[Flannel Boy]

Someone on GAF said "Imagine how bad Leno would have done if Johnny Carson had a 10pm lead-in show."

Kinda puts Conan's raw deal into perspective.

But Leno would have actually gotten a decent lead-in.  :conanequivelentsmugface

[Flannel Boy]

It's not a bullshit method.

Random sampling is bullshit--when I don't like the results!

[Barry Egan]

the Neilson box should be shipped only to people with 4000+ forum posts on the internet. 

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Someone on GAF said "Imagine how bad Leno would have done if Johnny Carson had a 10pm lead-in show."

Kinda puts Conan's raw deal into perspective.

But Leno would have actually gotten a decent lead-in.  :conanequivelentsmugface

[Saint Cornelius]

If it's a bullshit way then what do you propose is a superior method to track viewership?

it's 2010. There's NO WAY the fucking cable boxes can't relay that information?

[CajoleJuice]

the Neilson box should be shipped only to people with 4000+ forum posts on the internet. 

[Flannel Boy]

If it's a bullshit way then what do you propose is a superior method to track viewership?

it's 2010. There's NO WAY the fucking cable boxes can't relay that information?

And let the government track my viewing habits? 

also, that method wouldn't track the amount of viewers or the demographics of the viewers.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Nielson is more than just the box.

does Nielson track my Natel usage

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Nielsen

[close]

[Flannel Boy]

Nielson is more than just the box.

does Nielson track my Natel usage

Are you black?

[Saint Cornelius]

Nielson is more than just the box.

I lived with someone whose family was a Nielson family. it was bullshit. Half the time they just put down shows they didn't even watch.

also, that method wouldn't track the amount of viewers or the demographics of the viewers.

there could be a way.

[Snuflupagulus]

Nobody finds it coincidental that the ratings boost Letterman had in October is during the same time frame as his tabloid scandal, and that Conan's ratings hit absolute rock bottom when Leno became his lead-in back in August?

Sure, it's not coincidental.  But really, is a Leno viewer interchangeable with a Conan viewer?  If the response by Team Coco is an indication, that's a vehement no.  Leno at 10:00pm most definitely chased away NBC viewers, myself included.  But, why didn't they return for the local 11:00pm news?  Maybe they did and then turned off Conan.  Arguably, most viewers have a closer "relationship" and stronger affiliation to their chosen local news team than late night hosts.  If they tuned out because of Leno, why didn't they flip the dial back to Conan at 11:35pm?  I mean, what viewer was lost?  If Leno did anything, those people with Nielsen-equipped TVs who fell asleep while tuned to NBC were awake enough at 10:00pm to hit Power on the remote to escape his "comedic stylings."  So, basically, Conan lost the Zombie audience.  Not good.

The simplest explanation seems to be that the audience just wasn't there, Leno or no Leno at 10.

[Fresh Prince]

Something I like has been taken away from me. Life's not fair. I want to end it all before my life gets any worse.

[The Fake Shemp]

... Huh? I don't even know what you're trying to say. I don't think anyone can argue that Leno had a negative impact on his lead-in audience considering the local news was getting hosed, as well. Plus, even if it was just a percentage, there were people that watched Leno and not Conan, simply because of brand loyalty. That was going to hurt him as well.

Leno did a job on Conan and the entire network. He killed primtime, hurt their affiliates and cannibalized Tonight Show viewers while chasing away people to other networks. If some lame 10 PM drama was on, people would have stuck around to see Conan more than likely.

[Flannel Boy]

Something I like has been taken away from me. Life's not fair. I want to end it all before my life gets any worse.

A new Conan press release?

[The Fake Shemp]

[Saint Cornelius]

SC anecdotally destroys Neilson, nothing left but wreckage.

Oh for fucks sake dude, I'm relaying my experience to you. In 2010, how many people do you think are truthfully mailing out their little "what did you watch" postcards? Unless they went electronic and I don't see that happening.

[Barry Egan]

I want to see some fury from Conan in his last week.  Some real Howard Beale staring in to the abyss type shit.  It should be the only week of late night worth watching, in the past 18 years or in the foreseeable future.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Leno's trajectory is pretty amazing, though. He's not just failing upwards - he's failing downards, sideways, diagonally, sliding into parallel dimensions made of pure failtonium. THE CHIN MUST BE WHERE THE ALIEN PILOT SITS

[Flannel Boy]

SC anecdotally destroys Neilson, nothing left but wreckage.

Oh for fucks sake dude, I'm relaying my experience to you. In 2010, how many people do you think are truthfully mailing out their little "what did you watch" postcards? Unless they went electronic and I don't see that happening.

Nielsen also uses set meters, which I assume they use in conjunction with diaries.

[Fresh Prince]

I want to see some fury from Conan in his last week.  Some real Howard Beale staring in to the abyss type shit.  It should be the only week of late night worth watching, in the past 18 years or in the foreseeable future.

It'll probably be like when Green Shinobi gets angry.

[The Fake Shemp]

Leno's trajectory is pretty amazing, though. He's not just failing upwards - he's failing downards, sideways, diagonally, sliding into parallel dimensions made of pure failtonium. THE CHIN MUST BE WHERE THE ALIEN PILOT SITS

It is pretty amazing. He pretty much pushed Carson out of The Tonight Show, and then wrestled the show away from the successor that Carson actually picked (y'know, the most influential talk show host of all-time). Then Leno was the definition of an underachiever for almost two years until he got a boost from a scandal and maintained a healthy lead thanks to mediocrity ever since. Then when he agrees to a succession plan, he reneges on his agreement and systematically destroys the network's primetime schedule, affiliate local news ratings and his successor's lead-in. Then he takes the show back from his successor in a very underhanded move.

That's fucking ICE COLD. Leno: flawless victory. :lenowned

[Saint Cornelius]

Nielsen also uses set meters, which I assume they use in conjunction with diaries.

*throws papers in the air*

Obviously, I have no idea what I'm talking about.

[Snuflupagulus]

... Huh? I don't even know what you're trying to say. I don't think anyone can argue that Leno had a negative impact on his lead-in audience considering the local news was getting hosed, as well. Plus, even if it was just a percentage, there were people that watched Leno and not Conan, simply because of brand loyalty. That was going to hurt him as well.

Leno did a job on Conan and the entire network. He killed primtime, hurt their affiliates and cannibalized Tonight Show viewers while chasing away people to other networks. If some lame 10 PM drama was on, people would have stuck around to see Conan more than likely.

I disagree that Leno impacted Conan, such that The Tonight Show lost its audience.  But this is like disagreeing over milk duds or junior mints.  Whichever, it's cool <shrug>.

I'm just happy to be getting back, fingers-crossed, scripted TV at 10:00pm.  Maybe not in time for Southland to be saved from exile on whichever cable channel has it, but hopefully something good.  Knowing my luck, it'll be some new variant of NCIS with the Law & Order brand stuck on top.   :'(