Conan: "I won't do The Tonight Show @ 12:05"

[Chelsea]

Conan O'Brien released a statement today. It reads as follows:

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

[Mr. Television]

He's a class guy. This is all NBC's fault. They never should have replaced Jay Leno on the Tonight Show but once they did, they should have let him go to another network. Putting Jay in primetime 5 days a week did undermine the Tonight Show.

[Brian Damage]

Hello FOX Here he comes...

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by Clint Eastwood Fan

He's a class guy. This is all NBC's fault. They never should have replaced Jay Leno on the Tonight Show but once they did, they should have let him go to another network. Putting Jay in primetime 5 days a week did undermine the Tonight Show.

EXACTLY!! The soap opera continues...

[Scoobiedoo30]

If Conan does Leave NBC just what will happen to The Tonight Show

[USATVFAN]

Originally Posted by Scoobiedoo30

If Conan does Leave NBC just what will happen to The Tonight Show

my Guess is Jay Leno will go back to the Tonight Show.

[floyd2006]

This just isnt right. It was time for Jay Leno to step down and give Conan a spot. Conan earned that spot after waiting 15+ years & Jay comes along and steals it from him. I know some people are Leno fans and some are O'brien fans, I like them both, but if conan goes to Fox I guess i'll be watching FOX. Hope NBC fixes this problem.

[Marvo301]

Originally Posted by floyd2006

This just isnt right. It was time for Jay Leno to step down and give Conan a spot. Conan earned that spot after waiting 15+ years & Jay comes along and steals it from him. I know some people are Leno fans and some are O'brien fans, I like them both, but if conan goes to Fox I guess i'll be watching FOX. Hope NBC fixes this problem.

Based on Conan's statement I think this "problem" may be beyond solving. It sounds to me like Conan's statement is his first step on the way out the door. And not a bad P.R. move on his part either as it will make it appear as though NBC is pushing him out the door and are therefore the bad guys in all this. (which they probably are)

[TV Knowledge Fan]

...from the sidelines.

Way back in 1992, a similar situation happened at NBC. Who was going to succeed Johnny Carson on "THE TONIGHT SHOW": Letterman or Leno? Well, NBC's attitude was, they didn't want to "lose" Jay to another network, and chose him. Naturally, Dave was upset {his attitude was, "You practically promised 11:35 to me!!!"}...enough to move to CBS after his NBC contract expired in 1993. This made the network even more nervous when it was decided that Conan would succeed Jay on "TONIGHT" in 2009- again, they couldn't afford to see him leave after 17 years of healthy ratings and profits, and arranged the "10pm show" as a way of keeping him "in the NBC family". Now, it's Conan's turn to be outraged, as NBC again has decided Leno is too valuable to appear anywhere else other than 11:35...which, they had virtually promised O'Brien was "his" time.

So, Conan will probably sign with Fox for his own 11pm(et) Monday-Friday show...OR, possibly ABC might be interested in replacing "NIGHTLINE" with him at 11:35 (the way he wants it). Who knows?

No wonder Dave is having a good laugh over all this....

[Ian]

In a perfect world Leno would bow out and tend to his cars... maybe hit the comedy club circuit. In my opinion, the man isn't funny.

Conan has always been consistently funny, but I guess his show doesn't play well to an older demo. It took him a while to settle into late night back in the early 90's, NBC needs to give him some time.

Not to mention late night network tv isn't the appointment television it once was, there are so many other options... if leno comes back it isn't going to get any better. It'll make NBC look like idiots AND jerks..

Stick with Conan!

[Skywalker]

Good for Conan. I hadn't watched Late Night With Conan regularly in a long time and I've only watched a couple of episodes of his Tonight Show, but he is clearly being disrepected here. Here's a guy who's busted his butt for years to get to where he's at, moved his family from NY to CA, and because of NBC and Jay Leno, he may lose the Tonight Show. Leno's show bombed big time and it's no surprise. If Leno had any class, he'd step down and retire, or go to another network. Hey, maybe he can try a daytime talk show. I hear Oprah's timeslot will be available soon.

[Adamantium]

Originally Posted by Ian

In a perfect world Leno would bow out and tend to his cars... maybe hit the comedy club circuit. In my opinion, the man isn't funny.

Conan has always been consistently funny, but I guess his show doesn't play well to an older demo. It took him a while to settle into late night back in the early 90's, NBC needs to give him some time.

Not to mention late night network tv isn't the appointment television it once was, there are so many other options... if leno comes back it isn't going to get any better. It'll make NBC look like idiots AND jerks..

Stick with Conan!

I agree 100%, especially about Leno not being funny. At least when Leno was on The Tonight Show, I could watch Letterman and then switch to Conan. I hate that my two favorites are now competing.

At first the move to 12:05 didn’t bother me. I figured Leno would get his little half hour at 11:35, and Conan’s show would still be intact, just a half-hour later. But it bothers Conan. It’s nice that Conan is concerned about what the move would mean to Jimmy Fallon, the person he handed his show over to. Too bad, he can’t get the same from the guy who gave Conan his show (Leno).

Let’s take a look back. Six years ago, Leno announced his “retirement”, and said he was handing his show over to Conan O’Brien. He also said part of the reason he was stepping aside was because he didn’t want any ill feelings between the two of them, like what happened to Letterman in 1992-93. Conan finally gets to host the show he’d dreamt of forever. But wait a second, Jay Leno is back. This time hosting a new show at the 10 o’clock hour. So once again, Conan follows Leno, already tarnishing the new Tonight Show. Although Conan was beginning to lose to Letterman in the ratings (heck, Leno lost to Letterman in the beginning, but he eventually became #1) ratings really began to sink once “The Jay Leno Show” was on. It’s low ratings caused the news to get lower ratings which then ran into lower ratings for Conan. What does NBC do? They put Jay Leno back at 11:35 for a half-hour! So once again, Conan follows Leno, but this time directly.

#1 it’s NBC’s fault. But #2 it’s Leno’s fault. It wouldn’t be right to give the full blame to Leno. He’s just a guy who wants to work. But then why step aside in the first place? Why not say “No, I’m not giving Conan my show! I love doing my show!” Instead of acting like the bigger man and stepping aside, only to come back and screw Conan by never leaving. Jay’s pathetic. Those who find Jay funny can do so, but I see what a pathetic guy he is and nothing that comes out of him will ever be funny to me.

I was never a fan of Johnny Carson (because I was too young to watch), but all this mess makes me miss him, lol. I’d like to hear his take on all of this.

[floyd2006]

This isnt the first time Jay has pushed someone out of the way to get the tonight desk.

I'm now wondering if this is a brillant ploy of both Jay & Conan to get more viewers. I know for a fact that more people are now watching them because of this fight. I might even go on a limb and say this whole thing could possibly be an April Fools joke.

[Adamantium]

83% of people want Conan O'Brien to remain at 11:35, according to a TV Guide Poll.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by The Jeffersons Fan

my Guess is Jay Leno will go back to the Tonight Show.

Okay, who's going to replace Jay when he steps aside once and for all (and don't say Jimmy Fallon)? Jay is almost 60, he can't host The Tonight Show forever. I mean, part of the reason why Johnny Carson retired when he did because NBC was worried about losing the 18-34 demo to Arsenio Hall. David Letterman is in his 60s I think, and he's probably going to leave his CBS show once his contract is up in 2012. NBC really screwed themselves with this short-sighted thinking. Plus, Jay Leno isn't going to look good once or if he comes back to The Tonight Show because sensible people will instantly see him as a classless jerk for pushing Conan out of his old job.