BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (July 22) - Conan O'Brien will take over the
"Tonight" show next June - and what happens to deposed host Jay
Leno after that is anybody's guess.
Leno's last show will be Friday, May 29, and O'Brien will start
the following Monday, June 1, NBC executives told a Television
Critics Association meeting Monday.
Jay Out, Conan In
Kevin Winter, Getty ImagesNBC has announced that Jay Leno's tenure as host of 'Tonight' will end on May 29, 2009 and Conan O'Brien, who currently hosts 'Late Night' will step to fill Leno's role on June 1.
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NBC is angling to keep Leno with NBC Universal but the
late-night king has indicated he's ready to jump ship. Eager NBC
competitors, including other networks and syndicators, are prepared
to help him make the leap.
Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff, NBC Entertainment co-chairmen,
were asked about the specter of Leno being hired by ABC and
overpowering O'Brien and top-rated "Tonight."
"We really believe in the decisions we've made with our
partners, including Jay," and stand by them, Silverman replied.
Graboff disagreed with the premise of the question, saying talks
aimed at keeping Leno within NBC Universal post-"Tonight" are
continuing.
But, Graboff added, "we've made our decision, we're happy with
it, we're very confident the `Tonight' show will remain dominant in
its time period."
Despite its prime-time woes, NBC has managed to maintain its
late-night ratings dominance, although O'Brien has been challenged
lately by Craig Ferguson on CBS. Now NBC is attempting a tricky
transition based on a promise made nearly four years ago that
O'Brien would succeed Leno.
The network attempted to defuse the issue Monday with humor:
Leno was seated among the press corps, disguised as a bald, bearded
reporter who was armed with questions about himself.
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But the exchange came off as more pointed than funny, unlike a
similar staged encounter between ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel
and a network executive last week at the critics' meeting.
Kimmel, identifying himself as a Florida newspaper reporter,
tweaked his bosses as he posed questions about his job security if
Leno comes to ABC; Leno, on the other hand, represents a threat to
NBC if he goes elsewhere.
"(Green Bay Packers quarterback) Brett Favre retired and then
wanted to come back," Leno said to Silverman and Graboff. "The
Packers said no. What do you make of that?"
Favre retired in early March but recently expressed second
thoughts about playing in 2008. The change of heart has drawn
lukewarm enthusiasm from the Packers, who spent the offseason
planning to move ahead with Aaron Rodgers as their starter - akin
to the O'Brien-Leno switch.
"Everyone's entitled to change their mind. But I'd imagine that
puts management in an impossible situation," Silverman replied,
gamely.
"Is it true you've offered Leno a fifth hour on the `Today'
show?" Leno said.
"That's a great idea, actually," Silverman said.
Nah, replied Leno, "It's a crappy idea."
Jimmy Fallon is poised to take over O'Brien's "Late Night" in
March or April of 2009, after honing his approach in brief Internet
shows, Silverman and Graboff said.
O'Brien will wrap his "Late Night" run sometime in the first
quarter of the year, with exact dates to be determined, the
executives said. O'Brien reruns will fill the gap until Fallon
takes over.
NBC is owned by General Electric Co. ABC is owned by The Walt
Disney Co.
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