Conan: I wouldn't do what Jay Leno did to me."

[Kent]

Leno's ratings dropped when he took over for Carson. Especially once Letterman started on CBS. But he was given a chance. O'Brien wasn't.

This is true. Conan wasn't really given a chance. However, I don't feel sorry for him since, as has been mentioned, he's collected a nice fat paycheck to do absolutely nothing. I'd take a gig that paid tens of millions of dollars to do absolutely nothing in a heartbeat!

I also don't buy the idea that Leno stole his show and put him out of work. Leno's ratings at 9/10 pm were almost exactly what they were at 10:35/11:35, which was great for late night but terrible for primetime. When your ratings are in the toilet and your show is getting cancelled, you have absolutely no leverage. NBC is the real villain, or maybe stooge is a little more fair, because they made a promise they couldn't keep and counted on the existing Tonight Show host to fail several years down the road.

 

[radiojomo]

I've gone to tapings of the Tonight Show and The Jay Leno Show and Jay is absolutely amazing! I've been to other show tapings and some hosts don't even bother interacting with their fans and taking photos with them before the show. Jay does however. While I never went to a Johnny Carson taping, I think Jay still definitely interacts more than other hosts.

Conan needs to stop complaining about Leno. This deal wasn't Leno's fault, it was NBC's fault. Leno just didn't want to walk away from NBC because they thought he was still an asset for the company, plus he didn't want his staff unemployed and he didn't want to go through the trouble of finding a new network. After having an unsuccessful 10PM show and after having an aging demographic, the chances of him finding a new network would be harder than before because ABC is winning with Nightline, FOX has their syndication troubles and CBS has Dave and cable usually targets younger demos at this time. The only possible network Leno could have landed if he had walked away from The Jay Leno Show would be WGN America with the combination of Tribune stations that would have carried him. Leno knew that if he had left NBC after the Conan trouble, his new home wouldn't be in 99% of the nation's households and he knew his show would never have the ability to reach #1 in the its timeslot like it had reached before. He had a staff with families that he wanted to save because really severance can only go so far.

Conan makes himself feel like the Jesus of late night television, but really his ratings sucked. Yes, Leno was given time to reach his numbers, but Leno never had 50% of the audience stop watching from when it transitioned from Johnny. The numbers would have been even more disastrous if Conan was still on right now and none of this publicity Conan received. Conan wanted the Tonight Show and he should have known that the burden of hosting this show is more than he expected.

 

[azumanga]

The only possible network Leno could have landed if he had walked away from The Jay Leno Show would be WGN America with the combination of Tribune stations that would have carried him.

Of course, before the start of The Jay Leno Show, it was discussed that Randy Michaels planned on picking up Jay Leno for WGN America and the Tribune group, but NBC's plans for Jay at 10 PM pre-empted that idea.

 

[badjef]

To say Jay Leno "surrendered" The Tonight Show doesn't tell the real story. Leno had no choice. Conan had a contract that said he was going to take over The Tonight Show on a certain date, regardless of circumstances. The problem was that Leno was still immensely popular on that date. So NBC was stuck removing a host that was still #1 in his daypart. No one forced Johnny Carson to retire. No one had a contract that stipulated that Carson had to leave his show by a certain date. Conan did that to Leno, and if roles were reversed, I don't think Leno would have done that to Conan.

I think you both are incorrect on the finger pointing.

Conan was thrust, albeit willingly, into the 11:30pm et. Tonight Show. There was no 11:30pm warm-up as Leno had as Carson's fill-in for 5 years.

The 10pm program would have had fast traction but they changed too many things on just the first night alone. I.E.: Headlines to the end of the program.

The monologue still isn't funny since they moved it back to 11:30pm et.

NBC & Jay had an initial problem of lead-in to local news and lead-out of local news with a similar, yet unfamilliar, program.

When Letterman leaves CBS's 11:30pm et slot, the effect will be similar.

This was predictible given the situation.

Conan and Leno feud, not long lasting, if it is existing at all - other than your own heads.

As Coke said with the "New Coke Conspiracy" - NBC is neither that smart, nor that stupid.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[formeraa]

I agree with Jeff. I would like to add that NBC committed a single, fatal error. They never should have promised Conan a specific date -- NEVER! Many of us remember the jokes surrounding Brian Williams and Tom Brokaw and the SNL skits with Brian trying to get Tom to retire already. They should have continued to keep Conan under contract and let him guest-host The Tonight Show when Jay was on vacation.

 

[badjef]

I agree with Jeff. I would like to add that NBC committed a single, fatal error. They never should have promised Conan a specific date -- NEVER! Many of us remember the jokes surrounding Brian Williams and Tom Brokaw and the SNL skits with Brian trying to get Tom to retire already. They should have continued to keep Conan under contract and let him guest-host The Tonight Show when Jay was on vacation.

Unfortunately, with the network ads, there has to be a time frame. Network buys are based months in advanced.
This is based on revenue being generated, or will be generated, by the program.

How long can they keep the audience?
Answer is: until the next commercial break.

It was explained to me as a cruise ship making a turn: You have to prepare for it long before you are ready to turn.

I have found most of the way life operates under the same principle.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[imhomerjay]

Conan was thrust, albeit willingly, into the 11:30pm et. Tonight Show. There was no 11:30pm warm-up as Leno had as Carson's fill-in for 5 years.

Which he knew going in. He thrust himself--there was nothing passive about it.

 

[badjef]

Conan was thrust, albeit willingly, into the 11:30pm et. Tonight Show. There was no 11:30pm warm-up as Leno had as Carson's fill-in for 5 years.

Which he knew going in. He thrust himself--there was nothing passive about it.

In the same position, any one of us would have done the same thing.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[LKellerIII]

Conan was thrust, albeit willingly, into the 11:30pm et. Tonight Show. There was no 11:30pm warm-up as Leno had as Carson's fill-in for 5 years.

Which he knew going in. He thrust himself--there was nothing passive about it.

In the same position, any one of us would have done the same thing.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

That's what's starting to bug me about all these Jay vs Conan posts, with everybody taking sides. Let's face it, if any one of us were Conan, we would have done the same thing, and if any of us were Jay Leno, we would have done the same thing.

I'm a Conan fan - never been a Leno fan, but I don't think it's right for Conan to blame Leno for wanting the 11:30 slot back. It just looks like sour grapes.

 

[badjef]

That's what's starting to bug me about all these Jay vs Conan posts, with everybody taking sides. Let's face it, if any one of us were Conan, we would have done the same thing, and if any of us were Jay Leno, we would have done the same thing.

I'm a Conan fan - never been a Leno fan, but I don't think it's right for Conan to blame Leno for wanting the 11:30 slot back. It just looks like sour grapes.

I'm not convinced he wanted to leave it or get it back.

He owes his whole career to the network. He may have done it as a favor to them. Remember, you have to be a good employee first.
He certainly doesn't need the gig anymore.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[SKIPPER]

Conan Rocks... NBC Sucks. Just the facts.

imhomerjay... you are a jerk. You just come off as a real nasty guy, but I guess haters gonna hate!

With Warmest Regards

 

[searadiofreak]

As expected, not much new from Conan tonight on 60-min. If anything, Conan was quite subdued and careful. Seems to have been a carefuly edited piece that protects Conan AND CBS. His point about the importance of cable vs. network was a good one, and I think he will be proven right, if not this fall, but in the next few years.

 

[imhomerjay]

Apparently a dictionary isn't something you're familiar with there, Skipper, or perhaps you'd know the difference between facts and opinions. Whether Conan rocks or is as funny as a bag thereof is a matter of opinion. That he signed a contract of his choosing to take the job is a factual matter. Sorry you dislike that distinction.

 

[DToTheJ]

His point about the importance of cable vs. network was a good one, and I think he will be proven right, if not this fall, but in the next few years.

It's already been proven with each Emmy that HBO, Showtime et al. snap up over the broadcast networks every year.

 

[badjef]

His point about the importance of cable vs. network was a good one, and I think he will be proven right, if not this fall, but in the next few years.

It's already been proven with each Emmy that HBO, Showtime et al. snap up over the broadcast networks every year.

Hate to burst your bubble, DtotheJ.

Emmys', Grammys', Oscars', all of those awards are subjective. As is the selection to the All-Star Game and the Pro-Bowl.

Most of them are built on opinions based it marketing.

But, your point that those shows beat the OTA's, is because the cables are on even par as a result of the push button cable box and direct access with the numbers and last channel, PIP, etc., the ratings are more stabilized.

There was a CNN Money story on people re-discovering OTA and dropping cable because of the cost. It remains to be seen if that will have any, if at all, effect.

I doubt it - but that's just an opinion.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[LKellerIII]

His point about the importance of cable vs. network was a good one, and I think he will be proven right, if not this fall, but in the next few years.

It's already been proven with each Emmy that HBO, Showtime et al. snap up over the broadcast networks every year.

Hate to burst your bubble, DtotheJ.

Emmys', Grammys', Oscars', all of those awards are subjective. As is the selection to the All-Star Game and the Pro-Bowl.

Most of them are built on opinions based it marketing.

But, your point that those shows beat the OTA's, is because the cables are on even par as a result of the push button cable box and direct access with the numbers and last channel, PIP, etc., the ratings are more stabilized.

There was a CNN Money story on people re-discovering OTA and dropping cable because of the cost. It remains to be seen if that will have any, if at all, effect.

I doubt it - but that's just an opinion.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

Jeff, my opinion is that you're probably right. I suspect that for every person who drops cable or satellete due to cost, at least two people "drink the kool-aid" and buy into cable/satellite.

There's just too much value for the money - even if you only use a couple dozen channels, there's DVR and On Demand (cable). It's totally changed my viewing habits, which are now primarily time-shifted basic cable (to cut commercials), plus HBO. To save a bit, I don't opt for the other premiun channels, but there are a number of great Showtime series I rent through NetFlix.

It would be different if I lost my job and was suddenly poverty-striken. But otherwise, I doubt I could go back to OTA.

I believe that in coming years, the big theat to cable/satellite will be computer delivered services like Apple TV.

 

[1069_KIFR]

I guess that would be the iTV!