Leno / Conan / NBC / etc.

[Guest Speed Racer]

I think in that time slot, people just prefer the momentum of an episode of drama or comedy. I know that news magazines like Dateline always did well in those slots too, but they definitely have more of a story-arc than a talk show.

 

After the news, it's a lot easier to say, "One more segment, then I'm done." But if you're trying to get through something so that you can watch the news, those segments are a lot less likely to hold your attention without the story-arc, where the beginning (no matter how lame CSI: Milwaukee is) kind of compels you to see the end.

 

Only my opinion of course. That, and Leno five nights a week sounds like something they would institute at Guantanamo.

[u2roolz]

Right, Speed Racer. You know while reading this thread I realized that I don't watch any show at 10p.m.

And the only shows that I watch on NBC are SNL, Community, Parks & Recreation, The Office, & 30 Rock.

I have heard that JJ Abrams is producing a new tv show that is a cross between Mr. And Mrs. Smith and the Bourne Identity. I heard that NBC picked it up.

[Winston Legthigh]

Bring back the variety show, like Donny and Marie.

[Analogman]

Bring back the variety show, like Donny and Marie.

 

That's funny. Fox has tried that with The Osbournes, and more recently, with Seth MacFarlane (sort of). Also, NBC tried it with Rosie O'Donnell.

[u2roolz]

Before they take Leno off NBC at some point, the NBC big wigs should take over the time slot in fierce competition. Like those crazy Asian game shows.

And lots of apologies.

[u2roolz]

Re: TV Pilots in general. I'm giving Lost as an example.

From IMDB:

"The two-part pilot episode was the most expensive in ABC's history, reportedly costing between $10 million and $14 million. The average pilot is usually in the region of $4 million."

"The first episode debuted on ABC with 18.65 million viewers. The second episode attracted 16.33 million viewers."

 

Via New York Times & Hollywood Reporter:

"Each airing of Leno costs about $350,000 to $400,000 versus up to $3 million for an hour-long drama, saving NBC $13 million each week without the network needing the show to beat its competitors."

[cryptique]

Looks like the end may be near...

 

 

NBC Is Flying a Lot of Pilots -- Is It Really to Fill Up Jay Leno Airspace?

 

By Catharine P. Taylor | Jan 5, 2010

 

(UPDATE: Verne Gay over at Newsday, who has followed the minutiae of the TV business far longer than I have, furthers this theory: that NBC will bump Leno on Thursdays and Fridays, and that a show like NBC’s planned remake of “Rockford Files” would only be suitable in a 10 p.m. weekday slot.)

 

At least one of my 2010 media predictions came true before I even wrote it — in one of those headlines that got lost in the holiday shuffle, NBC is indeed producing a lot more pilots for the 2010-11 TV season, 18 in fact. If you’re keeping score, that’s more pilots than the network has produced since 2003. But according to president of primetime entertainment Angela Bromstad, the huge ramping up of pilot production — last year the network produced only 11 — has nothing to do with the tepid ratings of the 10 p.m. weeknight “Jay Leno Show” which I’ve predicted won’t last until next year at this time. No, no. Instead Bromstad told Bloomberg that having Leno eat up five hours during the week will allow her to spend more time thinking about the 10 [weekday] hours from 8 to 10. “We have so many holes that we have to essentially rebuild the schedule. Not having the additional five hours has certainly relieved some of the pressure,” she said.

 

Please, readers, take that with a grain of salt.

 

It seems like ordering so many pilots (NBC plans to produce 10 one-hour dramas and eight 30-minute sitcoms), just might leave it with some additional wiggle room if it decides to deep-six the “Leno” show, which seems a likelihood not only because of the show’s ratings but because of the unfortunate ripple effect the show has had on local news and the network’s late-night schedule. While the chances of any pilot making it on air are very low, and there’s of course an even lower chance that a show will actually catch on, consider the following: NBC is ordering up enough pilots to fill the 8 to 10 slot almost one and a half times if the entire current schedule were to be obliterated. While that may be tempting to some who are sick of NBC’s seven-year ratings decline — not even counting this season — shows like “The Office“, “Biggest Loser” and “Law and Order” aren’t going anywhere. (Actually, Bromstad has already confirmed “Law and Order” isn’t going anywhere next season.)

 

I’m not saying that Bromstad is exactly stretching the truth in what she said above, but ordering up so many pilots is a great way to hedge one’s bets, and if ever a broadcast network needed to do some hedging, it’s NBC.

[Analogman]

Reports: Jay Leno's future on NBC up in the air

 

Reports: Jay Leno's future on NBC up in the air

 

By FRAZIER MOORE, AP Television Writer Frazier Moore, Ap Television Writer – 51 mins ago

 

NEW YORK – The future of "The Jay Leno Show" was in question Thursday, even as NBC defended its prime-time talk-show star amid Web site reports the program will soon be canceled or shifted into late night.

 

An industry Web site called FTV declared that Leno's show would be canceled as soon as the Winter Olympics begin next month, when much of the regular programming on NBC will be pre-empted for Olympics coverage.

 

Then the TMZ Web site, citing undisclosed sources, said Leno's show would go on hiatus Feb. 1. Following the Olympics (which take place in Vancouver from Feb. 12-28), Leno will take back the 11:35 p.m. EST time slot he occupied for 17 years that ended last May.

 

This would make Leno's successor at "The Tonight Show," Conan O'Brien, "the odd man out," TMZ said.

 

But late Thursday, The New York Times reported that NBC executives have a plan in the works to return Leno to 11:35 p.m. in a half-hour edition, pushing O'Brien to 12:05 a.m., followed by "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" at 1:05 a.m.

 

The revamped lineup would go into effect after NBC concludes its Olympics coverage, the Times reported.

 

NBC spokeswoman Rebecca Marks declined to comment on the report.

 

Since September, Leno has hosted an hour-long talk and comedy show weeknights at 10 p.m. EST. But his lackluster ratings in prime time have upset NBC affiliate stations who complain they are getting weaker lead-in audiences for their local late newscasts than from past NBC fare.

 

In a statement released Thursday, NBC said, "Jay Leno is one of the most compelling entertainers in the world today. As we have said all along, Jay's show has performed exactly as we anticipated on the network. It has, however, presented some issues for our affiliates. Both Jay and the show are committed to working closely with them to find ways to improve the performance."

 

While this statement didn't clearly refute the Web reports that Leno's show would be dropped, a clarification from NBC executives denied "The Jay Leno Show" has been canceled.

 

During his monologue Thursday, Leno milked some laughs from the "rumor floating around that we were canceled. I heard it coming in this morning on the radio. So far, no one has said anything to me."

 

But if it's true, he joked, "it will give us time to do some traveling. I understand that (the) Fox (network) is beautiful this time of year."

 

"I don't think there is any truth to the rumors," he went on, referring to his frontrunner status in the ratings when NBC took him off "The Tonight Show."

 

"See, it's always been my experience that NBC only cancels you when you're in first place," Leno cracked. "So we are fine. We are OK."

 

O'Brien made no mention of the scuttlebutt in his monologue.

 

Thursday night, NBC issued yet another statement expressing the network's commitment "to keeping Conan O'Brien on NBC. He is a valued part of our late-night lineup, as he has been for more than 16 years and is one of the most respected entertainers on television."

 

On Thursday, the rumors surrounding Leno's fate left industry analyst Shari Anne Brill mystified.

 

"For me, the big question is what is going to happen at 10 p.m. going forward," Brill said, "because that's a critical time period to promote the late local news, and it was the affiliates' dissatisfaction with their lower audience numbers that was the catalyst for speculation on this purported move (for Leno) into late-night."

 

"The unsolved mystery is what happens at 10 p.m." said Brill of Carat USA.

 

What sparked Thursday's flurry of Web reports was unclear, but coincided with reports this week that NBC has as many as 18 pilots for prospective new series — presumably more than would be needed to replenish a prime-time schedule for a network that expected to continue filling five hours weekly with Leno's show.

 

The speculation may also be a run-up to the winter TV Critics Press Tour, which begins this weekend in Los Angeles. At this annual conclave, network programming initiatives are unveiled for media reporters. In turn, reporters have a forum to grill network brass on programming questions. NBC's session is scheduled for Sunday.

[cryptique]

The only graceful thing for Jay to do at this point is retire. If he accepts the half-hour 11:35 slot, he's a punk-ass bitch, and Conan O'Brien should kick his unfunny ass up and down the Pacific Coast Highway.

 

It's not like he needs the money. Retire, Jay. Hole up in your garage and indulge your true passion.

[jimmyjimmy]

I'm curious as to how the rest of you guys feel about Conan's first year as Tonight Show host.

 

As a big fan of his old Late Night gig I'm a little disappointed in the content and style of his new show. I know it's geared for a different audience, a larger demographic, and that there are a great many factors therein to consider. I feels "cluncky" to me. It's hard to describe really. Back in the old days when he was struggling at Late Night there was still a spark to the material that they seem to have misplaced... ( full disclosure: I was never a fan of Leno. Ever.)

 

Additionally, I think Fallon is doing a pretty damn good job overall. I record, Letterman, Fallon and O'Brien each night primarily just to check out the musical acts and while i was never a fan of Fallon on SNL I find myself watching the majority of the episodes.

[cryptique]

I'm curious as to how the rest of you guys feel about Conan's first year as Tonight Show host.

 

As a big fan of his old Late Night gig I'm a little disappointed in the content and style of his new show. I know it's geared for a different audience, a larger demographic, and that there are a great many factors therein to consider. I feels "cluncky" to me. It's hard to describe really. Back in the old days when he was struggling at Late Night there was still a spark to the material that they seem to have misplaced... ( full disclosure: I was never a fan of Leno. Ever.)

I have to confess that I'm rarely awake to watch any of these guys anymore, but I'm a fan of Conan and I think that he deserves the 11:35 slot in a way that Leno never really did. I've seen his new show enough to know what you're getting at -- something seems to be missing -- but it's still better than Leno's Tonight Show ever was. We all knew he'd have to water it down a bit when he moved from 12:35, so we can't act surprised now that it actually happened.

 

Leno turns 60 this year and has a bazillion dollars. So, seriously, give it up. Enjoy your retirement, or if you don't want to retire, go back out on the road and play arenas with your stand-up material.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

If I were Conan, I'd be furious. it seems they gave him the choice of leaving, or taking the midnight spot, but this is fucked up. They made this big deal about being committed to Conan as the Tonight Show host, and now this happens?

 

Jay Leno doesn't look good here either, because if this wasn't initiated by him, it wouldn't happen.

[isadorah]

I think NBC should let Conan continue as is without Leno on the air; am guessing the drop in the ratings Conan is experiencing might have something to do with loyal fans of Leno watching at 10pm and not tuning in afterwords. drop Leno altogether and I gander the ratings would go up. NBC messed this up all royally.

[tongue-tied]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3cjCaGYrCc

[u2roolz]

LOL. I love Craig Ferguson. Almost all of his monologs and interviews are amazing.

I need to find the episode from last month where he was a "puppet". It was pretty amazing. He had on Jason Schwartzmann and Kristen Bell and Jason Segel who did his Dracula's Lament with the same puppet from Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41m_DDKejAI&feature=related

[u2roolz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3SsYyTUu50&feature=related

[jmacomber68w]

I think NBC should let Conan continue as is without Leno on the air; am guessing the drop in the ratings Conan is experiencing might have something to do with loyal fans of Leno watching at 10pm and not tuning in afterwords. drop Leno altogether and I gander the ratings would go up. NBC messed this up all royally.

 

CNN said that Leno being at 11:30 meant the local news actually had ratings. Now, with leno on earlier, the old people (Leno's crowd) are turning off their tvs, this in turn starts this domino effect that ruins everything.

 

If NBC drops Conan that network will probably end up being on my lifetime shit list. I can't see me respecting anything Leno has ever touched, what a sack of shit

[cryptique]

If NBC drops Conan that network will probably end up being on my lifetime shit list. I can't see me respecting anything Leno has ever touched, what a sack of shit

Yeah, if Leno accepts the 11:35 slot, either with Conan being moved back to 12:05, or with Conan walking, Leno and NBC are dead to me.

 

Seriously, if the guy has any integrity whatsoever, he'll just retire. If he lets Conan get screwed like this, he's an eternal douchebag, and I will never watch him again.

[sureshot]

Seriously, if the guy has any integrity whatsoever, he'll just retire.

 

He dosent, and he wont.

[Duck-Billed Catechist]

What does it have to do with integrity? TV is a competitive business. What is it that he owes Conan?

 

I like Conan tons more than Jay, but it's hard for me to get worked up about show that I never watch.

[tugmoose]

Liked the bit where Gary Oldman shows Conan the raise the head then the eyes thing. I'll be using that next time someone tries to get in front of me at a show.

[u2roolz]

I'll have to find the Letterman bit from tonight where he talked about the NBC Shuffle. It's not on youtube yet.

Funny and honest stuff.

 

Also, Craig Ferguson said a lot too on this matter.

[jakobnicholas]

I feel a little bad for Conan. It doesn't SEEM fair. But remember, it was Leno who ultimately gave Conan the Tonight Show. Jay didn't like NBC's decision to get moved to prime time. Jay couldn't understand how NBC could take him out of a spot that he hosted THE HIGHEST RATED LATE NIGHT SHOW FOR OVER 10 YEARS?!

 

It's not Jay's fault that audiences haven't yet warmed to Conan....evidenced by Letterman beating him in every category.

 

If NBC can keep Conan (I think Conan would be foolish to go to Fox...he can build his audience the next handful of years, then when Jay finally bows out, he can get his normal hour back), Letterman may be an afterthought again. Letterman would be going up against Jay's half-hour (like it or not, his monologue is what brings in huge ratings and he destroyed Letterman in the ratings year after year) and Conan's first half-hour.

[u2roolz]

As promised,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN6Q2YFFteQ

[ih8music]

It's not Jay's fault that audiences haven't yet warmed to Conan....evidenced by Letterman beating him in every category.

Actually, one could argue that it is. The reason for all this coming to a head is because NBC affiliates are experiencing an average 30% drop in ratings for their 11pm news since his show began. Less viewers at 11pm means less available viewers at 11:35pm, too.