Conan O'Brien
to NBC: I'm not moving
'Tonight' host rejects network plan to move show back
By Toni Fitzgerald
Jan 13, 2010
It looks like NBC is in even more of a quandary than it first seemed.
Comedian Conan O'Brien has rejected the network's offer to move "The Tonight Show" back to 12:05 a.m., according to a statement released yesterday afternoon.
Though O'Brien did not resign, he also made it clear that he was unhappy with NBC's proposal. In fact, it sounds like he's ready to do battle with his employer in order to keep his job.
The statement reads in part: "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."
O'Brien went on to say that he believes moving the decades-old program to a later timeslot would damage the "Tonight" franchise. He also says pushing Jimmy Fallon, the current host of "Late Night," back to 1:05 a.m. would be unfair.
He concludes with this thought: "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."
NBC had hoped to move "Tonight" back to 12:05 a.m. in order to bring Jay Leno back into the late-night fold, giving him a half-hour show at 11:35 p.m.
That was prompted by the failure of his 10 p.m. weeknight program "The Jay Leno Show," which has been canceled. "Leno" will go off the air next month, when the Winter Olympics begin, and will not return, much to the delight of the affiliates, who complained his low ratings were hurting their 11 p.m. newscasts.
NBC had aimed to have the new schedule in place by March, though entertainment president Jeff Gaspin had said he was still waiting for the approval of the three men involved, Leno, O'Brien and Fallon.
That's apparently not coming.
While everyone agrees that NBC has handled the entire situation poorly, public sympathy seems to be mostly with O'Brien, who has had only seven months as host of the show. In that time his ratings have plummeted and "Tonight" has gone from first to last in total viewers, behind ABC's "Nightline" and CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman."
But O'Brien also has little support from the NBC primetime schedule. And Leno, too, struggled in his first year before rising to No. 1.
It's been reported that NBC would have to pay a huge penalty to O'Brien if he is not hosting "Tonight," according to a contract he signed with the network some years ago.
Since the whole fiasco began last week, Fox has been hinting that it would welcome O'Brien if he decides to defect.
But for now the next move seems to be with NBC. What exactly that move will be is anyone's guess, this thing has turned into such a mess.
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