Latest On Late Night

The story so far: NBC ruled the roost in late night for over a decade, then, in one fell swoop, threw it all away and created three flops. (Actually, some claim Jimmy Fallon is doing well in the old Conan slot. Scary if true. I'm not sure if I can trust this, since they also make exaggerated claims for Conan's numbers.)

Now the word on the street (picked up by the major papers) is that by March NBC will give Jay a half hour after the news, followed by Conan's hour and then Jimmy Fallon at 1.

This sounds just awful. I admit I didn't watch Jay's old Tonight Show, but after the 10 pm debacle, isn't the bloom off the rose for everyone? Also, who wants to watch a half-hour Jay, rushing through his gags, or whatever he'd do?

Bigger, this is a real sock in the jaw to Conan, who bided his time, climbed the ladder, and finally got the prize slot, only to be kicked out in less than a year.

Finally, will anyone still be up to watch Fallon? (Though I hope this means they'll cancel Last Call With Carson Daly and go straight to Poker After Dark.)

What interests me most is what kind of penalty clauses are in Jay and Conan's contracts? NBC was frightened Jay would move to a competitor, so they gave him a pile of money and huge promises. I'm sure he's paid no matter what, but do they have to put him on the air? And if so, does it have to be in prime time? Apparently not, to that last question.

On the other hand, Conan got the jewel that eluded David Letterman--The Tonight Show. And there's a significant penalty clause if it's taken away from him early. I would love to see the actual wording of the contract, because the question in court would be is it still Tonight if you give it a later slot with the same name?

PS Great moments in flackery:

No NBC executive would speak on the record about the late-night plan. But in response to reports on several Web sites, including FTVLive and TMZ, NBC issued several statements Thursday, including one that read in part: “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."

I see. So what you expected from Jay were ratings so bad that the affiliates would revolt.