Fri 08 Jan ∞ Permalink

Leno vs. Conan

So, there’s a strong rumor that NBC now is going to put Leno on haitus during the Olympics, then have him come back to his old 11:30 timeslot for perhaps a half-hour show (perhaps an hour), followed by Conan. It’s unclear whether he will take back “The Tonight Show” title.

It’s unclear if Conan will even put up with this, but he’s sure to get a good paycheck out of it regardless. If he does leave, rumor has it that FOX is courting him, as they did years ago when NBC was scared to lose him and thus offered him the Tonight Show job in 2009, which he took and thus pushed Leno, whom NBC was also scared to lose, so they put him at a 10 pm timeslot, which hurt Conan’s ratings and ticked off affiliates because now no one watches their news.

Ultimately, NBC has screwed themselves because now they’ve hurt their relations with their affiliates, they’re ruining their relationship with Conan, and they’ll suddenly have 5 hours of primetime programming to fill and nothing to put there except perhaps additional orders of their current dramas, or maybe an early premiere of Friday Night Lights.

I’m just glad I watch Craig Ferguson. :P