$40 million vs $150 million....an NBC no brainer

[MediaBoy4Radio]

According to reports today in the NY POST and on TV by the numbers......NBC's choice of who to dump from the network really came down to a very easy to understand dollar and cents consideration. As we all know by now, Conan is receiving approx....$40 million to go away...........However according to the New York Post," Leno has an ironclad, "brilliantly written" agreement that guarantees his production company a staggering $150 million if NBC Universal axes his flailing primetime show, an insider said."

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/conan_leap_for_joy_Xem23v4HiRTwOPWPs3HKiL#ixzz0dN3ibJN1

Jay must be a genius......many sorces give him the credit, or give his agent the credit for assisting Carson's departure from NBC and now he pulls this $ 150 million penalty clause out of his magic hat.....amazing!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TheBigA]

The key sentence in that story is this:

Under the terms of O'Brien's buyout, NBC Universal could deduct the amount of any new deal he strikes with another network from the $32.5 million.

There must be a time period set on that clause, but it leads me to believe that he could sign with another network for nothing or $1, and have his salary paid by NBC while working someplace else. Similar to what happens with some athletes.

 

[ajc_trw]

The key sentence in that story is this:

Under the terms of O'Brien's buyout, NBC Universal could deduct the amount of any new deal he strikes with another network from the $32.5 million.

There must be a time period set on that clause, but it leads me to believe that he could sign with another network for nothing or $1, and have his salary paid by NBC while working someplace else. Similar to what happens with some athletes.

Hmmm, get a proven late-night talk show host for your network and it only costs $1. Talk about an offer you can't refuse.

I was thinking NBC might have incentive to get Conan hired, like a guy trying to get his ex-wife remarried. But the "get Conan and have NBC pay his salary" sounds just as good. Oh Mr. Murdock?

 

[Markxxx]

The key sentence in that story is this:

Under the terms of O'Brien's buyout, NBC Universal could deduct the amount of any new deal he strikes with another network from the $32.5 million.

There must be a time period set on that clause, but it leads me to believe that he could sign with another network for nothing or $1, and have his salary paid by NBC while working someplace else. Similar to what happens with some athletes.

Not really under the law you have a responsibility to mitigate damages. For instance, if someone delivers you a truck load of ice cream and you didn't order it, if you have the freezer space to store it, you have to do it. You just can't let it melt.

So Conan has to come up with a legitimate deal and $1.00 a year wouldn't be even close to what the law would call "acting in good faith"

 

[fmradio1]

I've seen the date September 1st mentioned in a few online articles. My guess is as long as Conan waits until that date to start his new show, he'll get the full 32.5 million from NBC, plus whatever he signs for with his new network. This allows the whole episode to blow over. NBC is protecting itself from Conan signing a quickie deal with, say, Fox...and winding up doing a show right away (within days or a couple of weeks tops) to capitalize on the whole mess as it's unfolding. Basically it's a non-compete, and I'm sure it was a major part of the negotiations as it pertained to the separation agreement. September 1st seems reasonable.

 

[quadraphonic]

It seems like Conan mentioned "seven months" before he could do anything else last night. Or maybe I just heard how long he was there and am conflating them.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

Not really under the law you have a responsibility to mitigate damages. For instance, if someone delivers you a truck load of ice cream and you didn't order it, if you have the freezer space to store it, you have to do it. You just can't let it melt.

So Conan has to come up with a legitimate deal and $1.00 a year wouldn't be even close to what the law would call "acting in good faith"

But still, there's a great gap between what the market will bear and the NBC buyout. Conan could act in "good faith" to sign a contract for, maybe, $3 million per year for 3 years.

 

[TheBigA]

Here are Conan's choices...I posted this in the other Conan thread:

Fox. The Fox thing is not a slam dunk. They have basically the same problem that NBC has, and that's a bunch of affiliates that won't want to give up their local time for a national show.

Fox has gone down this road several times before. There was The Joan Rivers Show in 1986, and the Chevy Chase Show in 1993. The latter was canceled after 5 weeks. The Rivers show continued as The Late Show for a few years with a variety of hosts, but was cancelled in 88. The issue is that these Fox stations run their local news an hour earlier, and then run very profitable off-network re-runs. They are unlikely to give that time up, regardless of the host, especially given the track record.

Last May, when Leno left Tonight, he made it sound like ABC was looking for a replacement to Nightline. Of course, they could simply move Jimmy Kimmel up to 11:30. But sticking Conan in there would be a great lead-in for Kimmel, although it would mean his show would start a half hour later, angering the Kimmel fans.

Conan is better off considering a syndicated show, along the lines of Arsenio Hall. It could be harder to launch, because each station has to be signed individually. Another outlet available is cable. Channels like TBS and FX have budgets for first-run programming. Comedy Central has no room now for such a show. I'm sure the various NBC cable channels were discussed, such as Lifetime and Bravo.

 

[DToTheJ]

I posted this in the other Conan thread...

WHAT other Conan thread, there's like 19 of them!