Leno Back to 11:30

[Chordata]

Originally Posted by Mike53421

So I went to the living room and my Mom was watching so I popped in to see cause it's been awhile. I get it. He was giving out awards and made a crack about the award for the only blond Tiger didn't sleep with (Andy) and she didn't know who he was. Then he made a crack about an NBC exec and it went to the guy who would ride the kayak on Late Night dressed as a total slob, she laughed but didn't get the reference. So in almost 2 minutes of watching with my Mom the generation gap in Conan's humour is apparent compared to Leno, hmmm.

"Humor" is the key word.

[Mike53421]

Originally Posted by O_V_N

"Humor" is the key word.

Ohhh... it's ON!

[toef]

Originally Posted by AintNoSin

Okay, shall we count the screw ups involved in this debacle?

1) Forcing Leno to retire to keep Conan - this was a screw-up in hindsight. At the time, it looked semi-brilliant. Conan owned 12:30 but since by 2009, Ferguson had cut seriously into his lead, making the move less brilliant.

2) Giving Leno 10pm to keep him in the fold. Both of these moves have been made of fear. Fear of letting what they see as a commodity go to a competitor. Shades of 1992, when NBC was so paralyzed by fear that either Leno or Letterman would bolt, that couldn't seem to make a decision.

3) Leno just doing a version of his 11:30 show at 10pm. Given the chance to do something new and fresh, he punted.

4) NBC panicking and trying once again to have it's cake and eat it too: Leno at 11:30, Conan at Midnight and Fallon at 1. Again, NBC is so afraid of anyone getting away that they manage to make the stupidest decision possible.

I agree with 1, 2 and 4, but not with 3. What was Leno really supposed to do? From his standpoint, he's forced out of a show that he'd like to keep doing... so you blame him for having a similar show to the one he wanted to have? Talk shows have a pretty basic formula (a monologue, a sketch, a guest or two), so I'm not sure how you can really revolutionize it.

Originally Posted by mikejet

The main issues seem to stem from NBC wanting to continue their experiment but the affiliates threatening them back.

It's all because they were losing local viewership leading into their respective evening/morning news.

Had they not put Leno on at 10pm things could have been different but we will never know for sure.

Yeah, I think people are quick to assume Conan's ratings are related to Leno. Maybe they are, but for a different reason. Maybe Leno's show was satisfying people's late-night talk-show fix, so after Leno was over, they watched the news and called it a night.

It's not like Letterman or Kimmel have had spikes in their ratings. It seems like a lot of the people who were watching Leno's Tonight Show have just disappeared.

I don't really buy the "lead-in" theory, because it's not like people are so lazy that they leave their TV on one channel the entire night. If a show I like at 10pm is on CBS, that doesn't mean I'm stuck watching Letterman. I have a solid 35-minutes after the 10pm show ends to roll off my couch and find my remote.

Same goes for the local news. I have a preferred channel for local news, and regardless of what I watch at 10pm, I watch the local ABC news at 11 (if I watch the news at all). I'm sure I'm not some sort of exception.

Blaming the ratings on Leno is a cop-out.

That being said, if I were Conan, I'd go to Fox.

[jadedeath]

Originally Posted by O_V_N

"Humor" is the key word.

Up here in Canada {where we speak English} it's spelled: "Humour"

Logan

[Leopold BUTTERS]

poor Conan, he is awesome. What I love about him is that he tries new things all the time. Sure some of them may suck, but it's still funny. Leno is just headlines and jaywalking.

[toef]

Originally Posted by jadedeath

Up here in Canada {where we speak English} it's spelled: "Humour"

Logan

American English > English

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by jadedeath

Up here in Canada {where we speak English} it's spelled: "Humour"

Logan

If you ask a good portion of us Americans down here...we speak American....sad isn't it?

[Leopold BUTTERS]

Originally Posted by Diesel

If you ask a good portion of us Americans down here...we speak American....sad isn't it?

Hats make people look smarter and cooler than they really are

[toef]

Originally Posted by Diesel

If you ask a good portion of us Americans down here...we speak American....sad isn't it?

I wouldn't say that's a bad thing. We've taken English and made it our own. What's wrong with that?

[Show spoiler]Most people I know that say they speak American are usually saying it as a joke.

[Mike53421]

In completely related news, Conan just released a statement:

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.co...ollowing-leno/

January 12, 2010, 3:10 pm
Conan O’Brien Says He Won’t Do ‘Tonight Show’ Following Leno
By BILL CARTER

Conan O’Brien says he will not do “The Tonight Show” if it airs at 12:05 a.m. He released the following statement Tuesday afternoon:

People of Earth:

In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.

Yours,

Conan

[toef]

Originally Posted by Mike53421

In completely related news, Conan just released a statement:

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.co...ollowing-leno/

Thanks for the link. That was a good read. Glad to see Conan standing up for the show, and even for Fallon (in a way).

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by toefer

I wouldn't say that's a bad thing. We've taken English and made it our own. What's wrong with that?

[Show spoiler]Most people I know that say they speak American are usually saying it as a joke.

Saying it like that is fine, but I'm talking about the people who legitimately think American is its own separate language. Which it isn't. Our English is merely a different dialect.


One example of someone around my area that was serious was when a valedictorian of a local high school gave part of her speech in Vietnamese (for her grandmother that doesn't speak English) one of the members of the school board was infuriated and came out and said, "We speak AMERICAN and our speeches should be in AMERICAN!"

[Mike53421]

Originally Posted by toefer

Thanks for the link. That was a good read. Glad to see Conan standing up for the show, and even for Fallon (in a way).

Yup agree, just came through the wire too (30 minutes ago via Twitter).

[Cisco in HD]

That shows real class on Conan's part.

I always liked him over the others, I'm sure he'll land on his feet and do a show. It would be cool if he did move on to another "channel", like Comedy Central.

[Chordata]

Originally Posted by jadedeath

Up here in Canada {where we speak English} it's spelled: "Humour"

Logan

You missed my point Logan, which is: Leno is not humorous (or humourous).

It doesn't matter how you spell it.

[HuskerGuy]

And my hatred for Jay Leno grows. Very nice statement by Conan.

[casablanca3]

Conan the funniest and best class act out there.

[silversnake]

Originally Posted by HuskerGuy

And my hatred for Jay Leno grows. Very nice statement by Conan.

+1. Exactly how I feel.

Please don't go to FOX!

[mikejet]

Conan is doing the right thing and said what needed to be said.

[GORT]

Originally Posted by jadedeath

Up here in Canada {where we speak English} it's spelled: "Humour"

Logan

Take off you hoser.