The business of entertainment can get real hairy and underhanded and despicable at times, and never has this been more evident than with NBC and its recent late night show-shuffle.
A little back story: Jay Leno retired from The Tonight Show and headed for Prime Time on NBC. The legendary Tonight Show seat was filled by Conan O'Brien, who'd been hosting the Late Night Show all this time, waiting patiently for his brass ring. With Conan's job up for grabs, in enters Jimmy Fallon + The Roots to take over the Late Night Show. Sounds good, right?
Well, NBC didn't count on the Prime Time audience not being in tune with Leno's "brand of comedy" before 11:30, or the fact that the other networks had better programming on at 10PM. So for reasons I'm not privy to they've decided to move Leno to 11:05PM, Conan to 12:05 and poor Jimmy to what I call The Obscurity Hour. I mean really- who's staying up until 2AM to watch Jimmy Fallon?
Conan, however, was not in the mood to bend over for NBC and issued a statement saying:
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.
Source: Huffington Post
When I read that I wanted to jump out of my seat and cheer to the high heavens. My cynical side still thinks it's a negotiating tactic but you know what? That's OK. I've never been a champion of networks playing musical chairs with TV shows. Everyone knows that most of the time if you move a show it will lose a bulk of its ratings and audience. It's the kiss of death.
On one hand I understand that TV is a business and ratings = money. But at what point will the network businesses decide its customers (read: viewers) are important factors in this mix and ask the advertisers to take a few steps back? When will they truly accept that TV has become so much more than just another way to sell us things we don't need? That it is an institution that we revere and adore and remember fondly whenever we speak of our childhood?
Or is this just the artist in me shouting from my soapbox?
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
4:34 PM
I wanted to applaud at my desk. That is the nicest eff you note I've ever seen.
5:54 PM
Seriously.. not to mention that I think he completely has a point in his thinking. His logic is sound, and frankly, I think they thought they were doing Conan a favor by allowing him to keep his job instead of what they could have done - which is to just shit-can Fallon, put Conan back on Late Night, and put Leno back on the Tonight show. Then when Leno was ready to REALLY retire they could move Conan to the Tonight Show.
But frankly, it's a dick move either way you slice it, because NBC is looking at one thing, and one thing only.. the bottom line, as always.
12:56 AM
All of the executives that green lit Jay Leno's move to prime time should be fired. That was a mistake that everyone saw coming.Why should O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon & Carson Daly suffer because Leno failed? Leno isn't funny to be at all. For NBC to say that Leno is valuable to go is foolhardy. Bill Cosby, who completely turned around the network, Ted Danson & Jerry Seinfeld are far more valuable to NBC's bottom line but they let them all go gracefully. But what do you expect. This is the same company that canceled Star Trex (stupid) & fired Howard Stern (Morons). And lets no forget, this is the same crap they did 16 years ago to another late night host, David Letterman. NBC deserves to stay in last place so long as they value money over programming.