NBC tries to fix this mess

[J.M. Vargas]

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

Conan gets $30 million to get the f*** out of NBC. No word yet on how long before Conan can appear on another network/show.

I just want to cuss repeatedly for 5-10 minutes...

It's now reportedly $40 MILLION (per Nikki Finke); keep on cursing: http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/jeff-zucker-threatens-to-ice-conan-ill-keep-you-off-the-air-for-3-12-years/

[Michael Stailey]

With the state of complete disaster his network is in, Jeff Zucker has no business threatening anyone.

[the5thghostbuster]

With the state of complete disaster his network is in, Jeff Zucker has no business threatening anyone.

D___ straight

[mkiker2089]

Zucker's time is over as well. He just doesn't know it yet. Actually he should but hasn't done the honorable thing and retired. Letterman, Conan, Kimmel, and probably Leno himself will never let Zucker live this down. He's the new Dan Quayle.

[mhansen]

Well, it looks like the deal is done, according to Variety.
Here's the basics:
$45 mil exit deal- O'Brien will get more than $33 million. The rest will go to his staff in severance.

O'Brien is set to host two more editions of the "Tonight Show," concluding his run this Friday, with a show that will feature Tom Hanks, Will Ferrell and Neil Young.
After that, "Tonight" was already set to go on hiatus next week. As now planned, NBC will run repeat episodes until Feb. 11, when it's pre-empted for the Olympics.

Leno will host his final episode of the doomed primetime strip "The Jay Leno Show" on Friday. Feb. 11. After a break for NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics, Leno returns to the 11:35 slot -- and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" makes its return -- on Monday, March 1.

O'Brien will also now have the opportunity to launch a new late-night program by September, when a short non-compete window expires.


The whole scoop can be found at Variety.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR111801 ... =3875&cs=1

[erich]

I've been watching The Tonight Show this week, and following what Leno and Letterman are saying about this mess over on Gawker TV, all proving the thing that makes this all so tragic: Conan is hilarious and Jay is not. And I mean not funny...at all. I guess America prefers safe and predictable to quirky and funny. That probably shouldn't be a surprise.

I've got a sneaking suspicion that when the dust settles and Jay settles into The Tonight Show, his ratings are going to be just as bad as Conan's were. There was a great story over on the New York Times site (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/18/business/media/18carr.html) written by someone who argues that how people watch TV has so fundamentally changed that late-night TV is almost obsolete. I think he's on to something.

[the5thghostbuster]

Well, no NBC for me. Not that I was watching them for anything anyway. Or much American teleivison period.

(Turns to his collection of British television series) Looks like I will have more time for you!

[J.M. Vargas]

^^^ (Walks away slowly from the man that talks to his inanimate collection of British TV shows)

[SmokestackJones]

^^^ (Walks away slowly from the man that talks to his inanimate collection of British TV shows)

Yeah, he's nuts! (turns to his collection of Twilight Zone, Monty Python's Flying Circus and Walt Disney Treasures) Isn't he, Darlings?

-SJ

[the5thghostbuster]

^^^ (Walks away slowly from the man that talks to his inanimate collection of British TV shows)

(Turns to his British TV shows) Don't listen to the nasty people darlings!

[mavrach]

Yeah I can't see Leno's return getting good ratings at all. I mean Leno looks like a guy who's wife cheated on him, yet ended up going back to her and pretending that nothing happened.

Letterman has been rightfully beating him regularly, and Conan was always better (hence this whole problem). Leno is just plain and safe comedy, nothing special about him. How long can this last for him?

[mkiker2089]

Here's my take. As long as Leno played nice people would have moved on. He was damaged, but still the nice guy who just let it happen. Once he started turning on Letterman he did two things wrong. 1- he lost the moral high ground. Now he's part of the stink and not just a bystander caught in it and 2- he proved that he can not improvise at all, even given a days notice. He was slow to respond which showed lack of foresight and wasn't funny which made him seem opportunistic and untalented. The moment he had that football guy make that stupid Letterman joke he sealed his fate.

I still say Zucker will be gone soon. Unless Leno takes off in the ratings the next shareholder meeting (or sooner) will have him ousted.

[Steve T Power]

Yeah I can't see Leno's return getting good ratings at all. I mean Leno looks like a guy who's wife cheated on him, yet ended up going back to her and pretending that nothing happened.

Letterman has been rightfully beating him regularly, and Conan was always better (hence this whole problem). Leno is just plain and safe comedy, nothing special about him. How long can this last for him?

The thing is that Leno has the blue collars. All that audience who sits down for their 11pm news will likely tune into Leno afterwards they same way people did for Johnny. Leno's stylings (he's simply a joke teller) and his relatively charismatic "working class" approach will keep these people entertained.

The blue collars don't want to see Andy Richter swilling Bacon flavored Vodka, or Conan and Richter doing voiceovers for anime. They want to see Leno mess with newspaper headlines, or make them feel smart by interviewing stupid people out on the streets.

[Boba Fett]

The one good thing that came out of this mess is the public is reminded that Dave can be a very funny guy. I gave up on him more than a number of years ago because I felt he was being very lazy in his overall effort on the show. I think now that he's finally been given some justification to go after Leno, has inspired him to step up his game to a much more watchable level.

Bottom line though, I'm very sad to see Conan go, but not shocked. I never saw the Late Night... humor translating to the 11:30 crowd and that is likely due to Conan's background and reliance on scripted humor and absurdity, whereas Leno and Letterman come from stand-up backgrounds and rely on the "zingers" for laughs.

[Steve T Power]

The one good thing that came out of this mess is the public is reminded that Dave can be a very funny guy. I gave up on him more than a number of years ago because I felt he was being very lazy in his overall effort on the show. I think now that he's finally been given some justification to go after Leno, has inspired him to step up his game to a much more watchable level.

Bottom line though, I'm very sad to see Conan go, but not shocked. I never saw the Late Night... humor translating to the 11:30 crowd and that is likely due to Conan's background and reliance on scripted humor and absurdity, whereas Leno and Letterman come from stand-up backgrounds and rely on the "zingers" for laughs.

S'funny, i'm convinced letterman sucks more than ever, his whole "be funny for three seconds and stretch it to 7 minutes" shtick makes me bloody insane.

As for Conan - when i'd first heard he was taking over the Tonight Show i feared he'd have his fangs pulled and his balls chopped. Oddly enough - with Ricther back in the game he was more insane than ever.

It was doomed to fail.

[the5thghostbuster]

That...was a classy final show. God bless you Conan, and hope yu are back on the air soon.

[mkiker2089]

If nothing else the star support for Conan should scare the crap out of NBC. Tom Hanks, Adam Sandler, Robin Williams and more than I can list pretty much said screw you NBC. Robin Williams couldn't have made it any clearer how he feels.

Now the question is will they simply roll over to Leno or will he really be in trouble. We shall see.

[Steve T Power]

The deal is already done. This late in the game it doesn't matter anymore.

Goddamn that was one hell of an amazing show - what a way to end a run. Coco demonstrates why he has more class in his index finger than the rest of Television has in its collective body. Here's hoping he knocks it out of the park when he comes back in the Fall... With a whole new audience of adoring fans.

[mkiker2089]

What I meant was how are the stars going to treat Leno. Robin Williams made a big stink about it, now will he be all smiles to Leno or will he be hesitant to appear. Sandler was less vocal but has more of an axe to grind, will he show up on Leno and play nice or will he go to Kimmel and Letterman instead?

I have little confidence in Hollywood and think they will be easier on Leno than he deserves.

I fear for Conan though. Everyone is assuming that Fox wants and can pay him. Even if it happens I think it will bomb. Leno will have an audience, be it a smaller one. Kimmel has a loyal following, and Letterman has his group as well. Adding a fourth to the mix would just spread the crowd out too thin. Even if he beats the others he'll still be taking a piece of the pie that when compared to Carson seem insignificant.

Oddly enough the best offer in my opinion was from Revision 3. A worldwide audience that last I heard was millions strong, lower cost, and he'd be the big man on campus by far. I think the Conan crowd is forward thinking enough to keep up and he could do pretty much whatever he wants to. I don't think the FCC can control internet shows so he could really go wild if he feels the need.

[Boba Fett]

Tom Hanks hasn't appeared on Leno's show in almost four years, Williams and Sandler have made appearances as recent as Dec. of 2008.

The one guest he did snag that hasn't had much to do with Leno was Scorsese, who hasn't appeared on the Tonight Show since 1996.

[erich]

Oddly enough the best offer in my opinion was from Revision 3. A worldwide audience that last I heard was millions strong, lower cost, and he'd be the big man on campus by far. I think the Conan crowd is forward thinking enough to keep up and he could do pretty much whatever he wants to. I don't think the FCC can control internet shows so he could really go wild if he feels the need.

Absolutely! I saw the open letter offer last week, and this seems like Conan's most interesting option by far. I share concerns about Conan's ability to pull major marketshare on Fox. Good thing Fox isn't known for viciously pulling the plug on quality programs that "underperform"...

[jcankerhuxley]

Oddly enough the best offer in my opinion was from Revision 3. A worldwide audience that last I heard was millions strong, lower cost, and he'd be the big man on campus by far. I think the Conan crowd is forward thinking enough to keep up and he could do pretty much whatever he wants to. I don't think the FCC can control internet shows so he could really go wild if he feels the need.

Absolutely! I saw the open letter offer last week, and this seems like Conan's most interesting option by far. I share concerns about Conan's ability to pull major marketshare on Fox. Good thing Fox isn't known for viciously pulling the plug on quality programs that "underperform"...

FYI; Conan's show was accessable around the world on satelite television. When I was in Beruit, I would wake up to his show - live (being it was 8 hours later) and was a bit of an underground hit there. I am sure he would easily fit on a world wide audience.