NBC axes 'Jay
Leno Show' at 10 p.m.
Bows to pressure from affiliates over low ratings
By Toni Fitzgerald
Jan 11, 2010
If Jeff Gaspin had had his druthers, "The Jay Leno Show" would have stayed on the schedule until summer, giving NBC enough time to come up with a contingency plan for the 10 p.m. weeknights slot.
But Gaspin's hand was forced. Facing an affiliate revolt just weeks before the Winter Olympics begin, he's confirming what's been rumored for days: NBC is canceling "The Jay Leno Show" after just five months, a failed experiment that will serve as an example of how not to do things for years to come.
The show will air its final episode next month and will not return as scheduled in March, after the Games.
Gaspin made the announcement yesterday at NBC's Television Critics Association winter tour event. He said the network will fill the vacated timeslot with a mix of "Dateline," reality programming and scripted dramas.
Gaspin, chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment, said that he would have preferred to wait a few months to make the change.
But the grumbles of local affiliates, many of whom have seen their 11 p.m. newscasts decline with the weaker 10 p.m. lead-in, were turning to roars, including threats by more than a few to preempt "Leno" when the Olympics were over.
Gaspin realized that the problem needed to be addressed now to assure affiliates that the network was behind them. He consulted with NBC Universal chairman Jeff Zucker, who hatched the "Leno" plan last year, before making the decision.
Many had expected NBC to stick out the "Leno" experiment at least until May, despite doubts from the start over the feasibility of the show, conceived out of a need for cost-cutting and a desire to keep Leno at the network after he left "The Tonight Show."
The most baffling part, however, is that NBC did not seem to have a contingency plan ready if the incredibly risky move failed. Gaspin insisted that "Leno," while averaging just a 1.5 adults 18-49 rating, was profitable.
Yet almost from the start, affiliates had been unhappy about it, with a Boston general manager even threatening to preempt the show before it debuted. The debacle made NBC seem incredibly out of touch with its affiliates.
And NBC's schedule remains in flux. If weeknights sound like a haphazard affair, late-night is even more of a mess.
The network knows what it wants to do; it just hasn't gotten the okay from the three men involved, Leno, "Tonight Show" host Conan O'Brien and "Late Night" host Jimmy Fallon.
Under NBC's plan, a half-hour Leno show would air at 11:35 p.m., mostly consisting of a monologue. "Tonight" with O'Brien as host would air at 12:05 a.m., followed by "Late Night" an hour later.
The biggest obstacle would seem to be getting approval from O'Brien. Gaspin claims that maintaining the "Tonight" moniker is most important to the comic, though other reports dispute that.
Whatever the truth, it's clear that moving him to 12:05 a.m. is a demotion for the former "Late Night" host, just months after his splashy takeover of "Tonight."
In the time since, ratings for the show have plunged to all-time lows and "Tonight" has slipped from first to third place in late night among total viewers.
NBC would have to pay a stiff penalty to O'Brien if he loses the "Tonight" gig or if his show starts later than 12:05.
Fox, which does not have a weeknight late show, has shown some interest in O'Brien, though it's unclear how easily he could get out of his contract to jump to another network.
Gaspin said he expected Leno, O'Brien and Fallon to agree to the arrangement. That would likely leave "Last Call" host Carson Daly without a job; his show currently airs at 1:35 a.m., but NBC would be unable to push it back a half hour because the affiliates program part of that time.
Whatever happens, it's definite that "Leno" will be gone by March. And the network seems to be putting renewed emphasis on scripted programming, after inspiring the ire of writers for going with a variety show at 10 p.m.
Yesterday NBC confirmed that it has ordered more than half a dozen pilots for the upcoming season, including dramas from J.J. Abrams ("Lost"), David E. Kelley ("LA Law"), David Shore ("House") and Jerry Bruckheimer.
And Gaspin said that the network will return to the traditional upfront presentation in May, after two years of doing a more informal "infront" presentation weeks before the other networks.
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