Team Conan or Team Leno

[ParkTrips]

I thought it was pretty funny even if it came off as incredibly fake

[RCFreak]

^It's making me actually watch so I guess no real harm done.

 

Anyway, Gawker is doing an amazing job getting all the jokes and discussion about this from across the board as they happen each night. Jan 15, Jan 14, Jan 13.

[BeemerBoy]

I thought it was pretty funny even if it came off as incredibly fake

 

Yeah, that's the thing. I mean, when the only thing a failing network can do to get ratings is to manufacture a beef between two otherwise classy individuals who I usually respect, then you start crossing over into reality tv production.

 

I like Jay and Conan (and even Jimmy) for different reasons. But if NBC is gonna turn them into the Housewives of Beverly Hills, then I'll pass.

[Wes]

I don't think it's fake. They might be playing it up, but I think the sentiments are very real on all sides.

 

Jay is trying to save face and seem like a good sport (and unwilling participant), despite every behind-the-scenes tidbit makes it pretty obvious he's being an absolute cold-blooded shark in trying to get his timeslot back.

 

This matter is very trivial, especially in light of what's happening outside the bubble of the USA, but at least it's brought some entertaining moments.

[ParkTrips]

^ I meant the segment posted above, not the whole situation. I think they all have very valid beefs and opinions, and that letter Conan wrote is about as candid as one can be

[BeemerBoy]

Right. I don't think the whole situation is fake either. But NBC certainly isn't doing much to squelch things either. Of course, if the nation is finally tuning in, why would you?

 

For me, I just hate to see either of their reputations ruined or blemished because of the network's ineptness. It's a shame all around.

[Hercules]

^^ I think the reason for that segment seeming a little fake is because of Jimmy Kimmel's delivery. He is pretty funny, but he just doesn't have the best delivery of his jokes. I honestly think he didn't really stick to the script in that. They might have told him to throw in 1 or 2 zingers, but he kept going, and it seemed like Leno was a little uncomfortable and possibly getting a little frustrated at times.

 

I'm a Letterman guy, but I'm on the side of Conan here. Much like his letter states, I don't feel sorry for him, that is for sure, but I think he has a legit beef.

 

I'm sure Leno is being a total ass clown behind the scenes too.

[CoastersNSich]

I LOVE Jay Leno. I live for Headlines, as well as his other comedy sketched, great monologues, his friendly style, and his political/ideological neutrality on the show.

 

But now in this tug of war, The Tonight Show hands down belongs to Conan O'Brien. Jay voluntarily gave up the show in 2004 (taking effect in 09) and while it was nice for Jay to get his prime time show, Jay should be talking to some other networks, maybe ABC or Fox? Conan's set and opening titles are beautiful and I'd hate to see all that go to waste. What Conan's doing now is only boosting his ratings, hopefully making NBC change their tune and side with him. And that Jay Leno will go peacefully right before the Winter Olympics next month.

[Sir Clinksalot]

It's Over. NBC to pay Conan $30 million

 

http://www.thewrap.com/article/breaking-nbc-pay-conan-30m-13048?page=1

 

NBC has its way out of the Conan Crisis.

 

The network has agreed to pay O'Brien $30 million to vacate the 11:35 p.m. "Tonight Show," individuals involved in the negotiations have told TheWrap.

 

The deal, which may still be in the process of finalization, could be announced as early as Friday. has to be formally signed,will be announced on Friday.

 

Individuals in O'Brien's camp declined to comment.

 

NBCU President and CEO Jeff Zucker, NBCU Television Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin and Co-Chairman NBC Entertainment and NBC Televison Studio Marc Graboff were involved in the final, all-night negotiations. The deal was brokered by Universal COO Ron Meyer, who was brought in on Tuesday, after talks had reached an impasse.

 

Key terms to the agreement were worked out between Meyer and Rick Rosen, Conan's agent at WME.

 

The deal came following a battle between the two camps over whether O'Brien's contract specifically guaranteed that "The Tonight Show" must air at 11:35 p.m.

 

As TheWrap previously reported, Team Conan was insisting that NBC has breached O'Brien's contract because, it argued, the deal had a timeslot guarantee.

 

NBC's response: No, there is no such guarantee of a specific timeslot for "Tonight." So as long as we keep something called "The Tonight Show" on the air, there is no breach.

 

If NBC had been in breach, it would have owed Conan around $40 million (and as much as $50 million, according to some reports), as a penalty.

 

People close to NBC insisted the network would not yield on this point-- it wouldn''t admit it had breached O'Brien's deal.

 

One solution that had been on the table Friday, according to TheWrap's Josef Adalian: Agreeing to disagree over the timeslot issue and instead settling on a pay or play fee.

 

Under this proposal, the sooner O'Brien starts a new gig -- if he starts one -- the less money it would have to pay. So if Conan managed to land a new job at Fox within a year, the Peacock might shell out less than the full $30 million.

 

It's unlear if that's how the two sides settled out.

 

As TheWrap first reported, NBC had also been looking to enforce some sort of non-compete period in which Conan couldn't work for anyone else, period. The parties had been looking at a time as early as September or as late as next January for O'Brien to be free.

 

With talks entering the final stages, positioning over what led to this crisis started heating up.

 

Team NBC started the assault by putting sports czar Dick Ebersol on the phone with the New York Times, who tore into O'Brien in a Friday interview. Then, Conan's camp made it clear Friday that it was "absolutely untrue" that O'Brien's deal didn't have timeslot protection.

 

NBC responded by questioning the abilties of O'Brien's legal teams in the same sort of language Ebersol had used to slam O'Brien's hosting skills.

 

"All the chatter is just his reps covering up for their massive f--- up," an NBC insider said. "Leno had timeslot protection in his deal, Letterman has it in his.

[kingsdominionlvr]

Conan really got a bad shake with NBC. He has worked there for 17 years, and even turned down more lucrative contracts with FOX to stay and eventually become the Tonight Show host. His dedication to NBC has been undoubtedly solid, and it really is sad they basically wanted to demote him to 12:05 without even giving him a year to build the show's ratings. I honestly think, eventually he would have started doing better in the ratings.

 

As for Jay Leno, a lot of people and bloggers really seem to think he is the villain in this story which is completely untrue. He gave up his spot on the Tonight Show, which I think he really did not want to leave, so Conan could stay at NBC. The Jay Leno Show was getting the ratings NBC Universal expected anyway, but the affiliates were unhappy with the drop in ratings for their local news programs. That's not Jay's fault, its NBC's fault for failing to realize that this would happen. Now, if the reports are true, he has been offered the Tonight Show back from NBC. I cannot blame him for wanting to have his old job back.

 

Hopefully, this works out well for both Jay and Conan. I'd say we will see Conan at FOX or maybe even ABC. And, if Jay gets the Tonight Show back, he should do great in the ratings again. As for what team I am on, I have to go for Conan. The hair breaks the tie for me, also he is just a little more hilarious then Leno. If he gets an 11:30 or 11:00 time slot at Fox, I'll be watching Conan rather than Leno or Letterman for that matter.

[ParkTrips]

Damn I wish I had a buyout like that. Well, off to FOX I suppose! I'm really bummed, but if we get the Conan of old back, I'll go back to watching regularly

[Sir Clinksalot]

I know a lot of people are talking about Conan's ratings, etc ... and they have a point.

 

But ... when you have the EXACT SAME SHOW airing 90 minutes before your show, same format, same channel, competing for the same guests ... why would people watch Conan?

 

Conan never got the chance he deserved.

[testtrack321]

I know a lot of people are talking about Conan's ratings, etc ... and they have a point.

 

But ... when you have the EXACT SAME SHOW airing 90 minutes before your show, same format, same channel, competing for the same guests ... why would people watch Conan?

 

Conan never got the chance he deserved.

 

Conan's ratings also dropped 25% when The Jay Leno show took over. And lets not get into how Letterman dominated Jay for a bit when he first took over. Conan was never given a proper chance. If this was two/three years later and Conan had sunk, I can see NBC letting him go gracefully...

 

I've read a lot into this, and it seems that this fall out is due to NBC trying to be cheap: produce more variety shows instead of dramas, chip shows instead of news programs. It all and all hurt the network and they're tying to find someone to blame, and heaven forbid it being the real person at fault: Jeff Zuckerburg.

[Jew]

The most disappointing thing of all is one of the most historic shows on television is officially dead after this.

 

Every tonight show host sort of fit in with their generation...Leno is the "baby boomer" generations host of record. His humor plays well with that group, so it's not really an accident Leno was on top for so long. But now what happens when the baby boomers fade away? Conan was supposed to be the host for the next generations (X, Y, millennium). Now where does the show go After Leno is too old?

 

NBC is really going to regret this. They've already alienated producers/writers/etc. by trying to cut them out of primetime, and now they are going kill the 11:35pm timeslot too.

[Ccron10]

So does this mean that NBC will be facing bankruptcy soon? From what I've heard awhile ago, Leno and Conan have been practically the only ones keeping them on decent ground.

 

If Conan does go to Fox, he might actually do decent there since, from what I've heard, their ratings are higher.

 

If Jeff Zucker does get fired, I'd expect him to possibly get a hefty golden parachute even if he did f-up the company.

[Sir Clinksalot]

NBC is really going to regret this. They've already alienated producers/writers/etc. by trying to cut them out of primetime, and now they are going kill the 11:35pm timeslot too.

 

Totally agreed.

 

And back to the "lead in" part of the whole thing, even when NBC was airing drama's at 10pm even the lowest rated ones were pulling in more than DOUBLE the viewers that Leno was at 10.

 

The best part of Leno's show was probably from 10:00pm to 10:30pm. The monologue, "Headlines" and first guest. After 10:30 I can see people shutting off their TV's or going to cable for something else. (which is probably why NBC was only going to give Leno 30 minutes at 11:35???)

 

Which was in-turn affecting the news, which was in-turn affecting Conan.

[ebl]

Even when Jay was on the 11:35 Tonight Show till last spring, I only watched his monologue and comedy bit (Headlines, Jaywalking, etc.). I do like Jay, but sometimes I can't stand listening to his voice, his stumbling over words, poor imitation of Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc. But I do appreciate his relatively clean humor and "average guy" personality.

 

While I have never watched the 10pm Leno show, I don't think it was a good idea. I'm sure a lot of people watched, got their nightly dose of Jay, and headed to bed without watching the news (just a guess).

 

As time goes on, I watch TV less and less, which is a shame since we have hundreds of channels with Verizon FiOS. There are too many better things to do.

 

Eric

[KPfreak519]

I like Conan better than Leno, but the first night show I ever watched was Letterman's so Ive mainly watched him since then...

[disney4me2001]

Honestly I like both hosts...but I HATE NBC!

 

Not to change the subject here, but I'm a fan of the former NBC show "Las Vegas," which, as some of you may know (especially if you're a fellow fan), got cancelled on a cliffhanger. Yes, ultimately it was cut because of the Writer's Strike (supposedly episodes were costing about $1 million/episode, not to mention it had the largest soundstage set ever built for a TV show), but it really p*ssed me (and millions of other fans) off. And Jeff Zucker was one of the execs who pulled the plug on "Vegas."

 

So yeah, Conan definitely got screwed, and I hope things turn out well for him. The media has done nothing but spin the news as if it's Leno's fault, which imo, it isn't. The reason why he is still at NBC is because they offered him enough money to not go to another network (as it was rumored that ABC was prepared to offer him a show to compete against Conan), and especially in Hollywood, money = power.

 

Zucker the F***er is the one who needs to go! *insert Leno/Conan monologue joke here*

 

VIVA "LAS VEGAS"! LONG LIVE LENO! CARRY ON, CONAN!

[testtrack321]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr6mOGPDceQ

[disney4me2001]

Lol now that's expensive! Way to stick it to NBC, Conan! They deserve it!

[dandaman]

I love how NBC cut the clip from its Hulu stream to avoid royalties. "Full episode" my ass!

 

As an aside, earlier this week I sent in a bid for Conan on Craigslist, offering my college dorm room as a set for the new Pink Visual production, "In The Rear 3000". Didn't exactly pan out.

[MisterP]

I've been a Letterman fan since the 80s. But I've watched Conan too (when I stay up that late) since he started on NBC. I think he's pretty brilliant. And I find Leno and any of his shows to be boring, safe, and unfunny.

 

And its rewarding for me to see Leno look like a grade-A a-hole.......

[jmicha]

I'm really upset at how NBC treated Conan. He has always been my favorite late night talkshow host. His skits have always had that goofy sense of humor and he's not afraid to make some edgy jokes. His interviews are also a lot more fun and have personality to them whereas Leno was really only good for his Headlines in my opinion. I'm glad Conan is going out with a bang with skits such as the Veyron mouse. Hopefully wherever he ends up will let him continue his style of hosting and will treat him right.

[disney4me2001]

I'm really upset at how NBC treated Conan. He has always been my favorite late night talkshow host. His skits have always had that goofy sense of humor and he's not afraid to make some edgy jokes. His interviews are also a lot more fun and have personality to them whereas Leno was really only good for his Headlines in my opinion. I'm glad Conan is going out with a bang with skits such as the Veyron mouse. Hopefully wherever he ends up will let him continue his style of hosting and will treat him right.

 

Agreed! NBC just doesn't know how to treat people. They don't know what ethics is or what it means to be ethical imho. But I do wish the best for Conan...let's hope he gets that rumored contract at FOX!