Jay Leno's low ratings are causing NBC big trouble. And finally, it seems that the network is bowing to serious pressure from station affiliates. NBC says its retooling its late-night lineup, Leno's show is going on hiatus until after NBC's coverage of the Olympics.
Another scenario under discussion is to give the 10 p.m. hour back to the stations for news while shifting the rest of the late-night lineup. NBC affiliates could have the 10 o’clock hour, followed by Leno at 11 p.m. and "The Tonight Show" host Conan O’Brien at midnight.
Yet another option would be to cut Leno’s show to a half-hour so that the affiliates could run their news at 10 p.m. and Leno could air from 11 p.m. to 11:30pm -- the rest of the lineup would remain unchanged.
NBC maintains that Leno’s show, which has appeared each weeknight at 10 p.m. since last fall, is generating ratings that are in line with what it guaranteed advertisers. But the show has proven to be a dismal lead-in for the late local news .
NBC affiliate stations have become more vocal in expressing their displeasure, especially after the November sweeps came back and showed huge declines for a number of stations at the 11 p.m. hour.
By trying to keep all of its late-night stars happy, NBC has made none happy. Conan O'Brien has to be upset here. There's no easy solution for NBC. Does it cut ties with Jay and admits it made a huge mistake? Or does it tinker with its flagship Tonight Show, moving it to midnight? Very strange.
As Leno (and Letterman and Conan) have stated previously: NBC stands for "Never Believe Your Contract."
What a mess.
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Now it's official. The last episode of the 10 p.m. version of the Jay Leno Show airs 2/11. As for Conan, as Jay recently joked, I hear Fox is lovely this time of year. Bonus: If Conan winds up on Fox, he can have Sarah Palin on the show as a regular now!
Btw, do you know ANYONE who actually watched/watches Leno?
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