NBC continuing to fail

[ZarakiKujata]

Bit uppity of him to assume that 'People of Earth' give a rats ass about this shit. Guaranteed that no more than 5% of the earths population actively cares about this.


Just sayin.

[Acturus]

Bit uppity of him to assume that 'People of Earth' give a rats ass about this shit. Guaranteed that no more than 5% of the earths population actively cares about this.


Just sayin.

If your hair was as awesome as his, the phrase "People of Earth" would pepper your everyday conversations.

[Karshe]

If you don't care about the situation, why are you reading his statement?

[Gargoyle]

It's not like he said "Listen the fuck up everybody". Anyone that cares is a person of Earth, but he's not asking all of humanity to care. And it's not like he sent it to literally every person everywhere and was all "read up bitches, I'm Conan." Even though he could completely get away with that, and I'd love it. I look forward to seeing whatever his next project is.

[Bethany]

I really hope he does move to Fox. With their 10pm news casts they can offer him something no other network can at the moment, an 11pm start time.

NBC should be ashamed for not doing the right thing. They should have just put Jay Leno out of his misery. Making Conan and the Tonight Show suffer for Leno's failure is just wrong. And yet, they wonder why they are in last place?

[Ksandra]

Conan fights back!

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/TV/0...ien/index.html

(CNN) -- Conan O'Brien suggested in a statement Tuesday that he will not accept NBC's proposal to move him and "The Tonight Show," which he's hosted for seven months, to 12:05 a.m. ET.
NBC has proposed moving "The Tonight Show" from its traditional 11:35 p.m. slot so that the show's former host, Jay Leno, could host a half-hour show then.
"My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of 'The Tonight Show.' But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction," O'Brien said. "Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn't matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.
"There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work."
Read O'Brien's full statement
After Leno left "The Tonight Show" last year -- as part of an agreement reached six years ago giving it to O'Brien -- he began hosting "The Jay Leno Show" for NBC in the fall, airing at 10 p.m. ET.
But ratings for the 10 p.m. show were low, and on Sunday, NBC announced that it was taking Leno out of the prime-time slot because the show "didn't meet affiliates' needs" despite performing at acceptable levels for the network. The last show will air February 11 to make way for the 2010 Winter Olympics, which airs starting February 12.
Jeff Gaspin, chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment, said the plan was for Leno to host a new, half-hour show at 11:35 p.m. ET, followed by "Tonight" with O'Brien at 12:05 a.m. and Jimmy Fallon's "Late Night" show moving to 1 a.m. As of Sunday, NBC was still negotiating with the three hosts over the proposed lineup.
iReport: Share your view on the late-night shakeup
O'Brien, in his statement Tuesday, said the plan wasn't acceptable.
"For 60 years the 'Tonight Show' has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying 'The Tonight Show' into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting," O'Brien said. " 'The Tonight Show' at 12:05 simply isn't 'The Tonight Show.'
"Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the 'Late Night' show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy."
Fox's president of entertainment, Kevin Reilly, told reporters on Monday that his network may be interested in O'Brien should he leave "Tonight."
"I love him," Reilly said at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California. "It's a very compatible fit for our brand. He is one of the few guys in the planet who has demonstrated he can do one of these shows every night."
In monologues on their respective shows on Monday, Leno and O'Brien had zingers about the looming shakeup.
"NBC said the show performed exactly as they expected it would and then canceled us. Don't confuse this [with] when we were on at late night and performed better than expected and they canceled us. That was totally different," Leno quipped.
O'Brien had the following to say on his show Monday:
-- "Good evening, I'm Conan O'Brien, the new host of 'Last Call with Carson Daly.' "
-- "This weekend no one was seriously hurt, but a 6.5 earthquake hit California. The earthquake was so powerful that it knocked Jay Leno's show from 10:00 to 11:35."
-- "On the positive side, I have learned a valuable lesson from all this: Never sign a contract that ends with the word 'NOT.' "

[ZarakiKujata]

I really hope he does move to Fox. With their 10pm news casts they can offer him something no other network can at the moment, an 11pm start time.

NBC should be ashamed for not doing the right thing. They should have just put Jay Leno out of his misery. Making Conan and the Tonight Show suffer for Leno's failure is just wrong. And yet, they wonder why they are in last place?

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/ente...onundrum-.html

There is no way Fox could shove this down the throats of their affliates in 2 weeks(if at all after the precedent NBC's affliates have just set). I disagree with the articles estimation that it will take until Fall to retool but again, Conan would be gone from late night for 2-3 months at least. How did Leno fail exactly? He performed exactly how NBC wanted, a cheap alternative to producing costly dramas on a network that nobody watches. And if they had let Leno go from the start than it would be him sitting pretty right now at Fox or ABC demolishing Conan in the ratings just as he has with Letterman.

This is not to say NBC shouldn't be punished for lack of foresight on a number of fronts: not thinking that Leno wouldn't want to quit, picking shitty shows to put on the air this fall and canceling alot of their dramas on the assumption Leno would succeed (Kings, Southland, etc.). I think the bigger problem nobody is really acknowledging is that after the Olympics NBC will have fuck all for a 10pm slot most nights of the week unless they do 3hours of Biggest Loser or Celebrity Apprentice whereas one way or another they will have a 11:35 Late Night show. Bitches better start green lighting every pilot that comes their way or resurrecting anything they still can.

P.S. I wasn't saying I didn't care about his press release, just that the way it was phrased seemed to me like it was a bit too presumptuous of a way to make the joke they were trying to make.

P.P.S I think the only reason this is being allowed to happen at all vis-a-vis the NBC affliates forcing this change is that the penultimate NBC overlords at GE and Comcast don't want said affliates bitching to the guvment and fucking up the buyout.

[Bethany]

It will be some time before he can get a new show up and running on any network he goes to. My point was that NBC will have Jay at 11:35pm, and CBS will have David at 11:35pm. If Conan goes to Fox, they can give him the 11:00pm and he can have a whole 30 minute lead time on the competition. If he keeps the lead time, those viewers will skip the others all together. All this in the end though boils down to who people like. People tolerated Jay at 11:35 as the Tonight Show host. He wasn't loved or adored. NBC grossly overestimated what the public wanted.

Jay's new show bombed so bad, people changed the channels and never switched back to watch local NBC news. That's why the affiliates were crying for blood because they were losing even more market share than they had already. They were so pissed they were basically telling NBC that they needed to pull the plug or they would stop airing him and look for other crap to stick at 10pm on their own.

I can't stand NBC, they've burned me too many times in the past. So many good shows have come along, only to get the rug pulled out from under them because some exec at NBC didn't have the balls to do the right thing and stand by certain shows. Call me bitter, but I've learned that they just don't even care anymore. Lipstick Jungle, Kings, SouthLAnd.. It's in a never ending spiral and I hope they crash and burn. They deserve all that's coming to them, and whole lot more. (Thank you TNT by the way for Picking up SouthLAnd from it's abusive past owner.)

Lastly, as far as Jay Leno.. he should be a man and have some fucking shred of dignity. Let him go to another network, I doubt they would have any luck with him either. He's pretty much washed up. He had his time, he stepped down. Just because he and NBC could not quit one another like a couple of cowboy lovers on a mountain doesn't mean he should let what's happening to Conan happen. He got the Tonight Show the wrong way in the first place, and now after "Retiring" from it; he's still unable to let it go. It's like the whole Carson/Leno/Letterman debacle from the 90's.

[Nitsuki]

Would be nice if Conan would go to comedy central, however if that were to happen it would be at 12 either way cuz of Daily show and colbert report, unless they bump up those shows starting at 10:30.

[vagus]

Jay's show did not bomb, it made NBC money since it's alot cheaper compared to a scripted series. Many local stations were in revolt because viewers were changing channels when Jay's show came on.

I hope Conan doesn't move to Fox, would be weird. I hope NBC smarts up and just boots Jay and keeps Conan at his current time. If he leaves NBC he should move to HBO or like someone else suggested go back to writing for the Simpsons. Or Conan could start his own 30min show similiar to 30 rock. Lol.

Only reason i watch NBC besides Conan is for Law & Order, i'm addicted to the "sound".

[Cantih]

Another suggestion I've heard, is, if Letterman feels like retiring, he should hand the show off to Conan. (Craig doesn't want the 11:35 slot, feels 12:35 is better for what he does.)

The thing I really feel bad about, is the crew. Conan and almost all of his crew, picked up their lives and moved to Los Angeles for this. If he changes networks, he will lose his Universal lot studio.

[Scythiroth]

Would be nice if Conan would go to comedy central, however if that were to happen it would be at 12 either way cuz of Daily show and colbert report, unless they bump up those shows starting at 10:30.

I loved when Conan's show was on Comedy Central a while ago. Instead, we get Mad TV everyday... Pretty much the only show on Comedy Central that makes me change the channel.

[ZarakiKujata]

It will be some time before he can get a new show up and running on any network he goes to. My point was that NBC will have Jay at 11:35pm, and CBS will have David at 11:35pm. If Conan goes to Fox, they can give him the 11:00pm and he can have a whole 30 minute lead time on the competition. If he keeps the lead time, those viewers will skip the others all together. All this in the end though boils down to who people like. People tolerated Jay at 11:35 as the Tonight Show host. He wasn't loved or adored. NBC grossly overestimated what the public wanted.

Jay's new show bombed so bad, people changed the channels and never switched back to watch local NBC news. That's why the affiliates were crying for blood because they were losing even more market share than they had already. They were so pissed they were basically telling NBC that they needed to pull the plug or they would stop airing him and look for other crap to stick at 10pm on their own.

I can't stand NBC, they've burned me too many times in the past. So many good shows have come along, only to get the rug pulled out from under them because some exec at NBC didn't have the balls to do the right thing and stand by certain shows. Call me bitter, but I've learned that they just don't even care anymore. Lipstick Jungle, Kings, SouthLAnd.. It's in a never ending spiral and I hope they crash and burn. They deserve all that's coming to them, and whole lot more. (Thank you TNT by the way for Picking up SouthLAnd from it's abusive past owner.)

Lastly, as far as Jay Leno.. he should be a man and have some fucking shred of dignity. Let him go to another network, I doubt they would have any luck with him either. He's pretty much washed up. He had his time, he stepped down. Just because he and NBC could not quit one another like a couple of cowboy lovers on a mountain doesn't mean he should let what's happening to Conan happen. He got the Tonight Show the wrong way in the first place, and now after "Retiring" from it; he's still unable to let it go. It's like the whole Carson/Leno/Letterman debacle from the 90's.

Fox has killed as many promising shows as NBC has

[Bethany]

Jay's show did not bomb, it made NBC money since it's alot cheaper compared to a scripted series. Many local stations were in revolt because viewers were changing channels when Jay's show came on.

NBC broke even on costs, but lost viewers for it's affiliates. Viewers deliberately changing channels and not going back to watch NBC local news pretty much makes Jay's show a bomb in my book, and many others.

[Bethany]

Fox has killed as many promising shows as NBC has

Yeah, I can't argue with you on that one. However, I only have a couple of shows from Fox that I truly miss that were canceled. Firefly... ; ;

[fliprock]

even though this was when he was on late night, this is hilarious reason why nbc would be losing out if conan left

[*Shinzon*]

Leno's show didn't generate the ratings that NBC wanted it to so it could 'compete' in that timeslot, and so some how in their minds it made sense to push it back into the slot of a show that actually generated revenue and money. They fucked up and it's going to cost them because now they're going to have nothing in that slot. GG NBC lol

[arus2001]

I don't agree that Conan jumping to an 11pm slot on Fox would be a good thing. Fox may do 10pm news stints, but I know around here, it's basically another channel's crew (CBS) doing a half-assed job of it whereas our NBC news team has been leagues ahead in both material and production value, among other things citing 16 years of yearly ratings leadership.

I also think 11pm news had kinda been ingrained into the viewer's mind much like a Tonight Show at 11:30/11:35. Watching Conan's intro comedy bits will mean they won't be watching the news, so either one isn't watched entirely or we start with the Tivo route that ratings companies don't seem to account for.

Personally, I don't hate Leno's show(s). The hate here seems kind of odd since most people I know also seem to watch him over Letterman. I'd like for Jay to just bow out peacefully, as he's probably set for life, but I can understand not wanting to give up a likely easy job, either. Conan, and by proxy, Jimmy and Daly, are undeniably getting the short end of the stick here.

Overall, this kinda reinforces my belief that television should just abandon the time slot format and function solely on an On Demand model. That way, it doesn't matter when the fuck a show airs as people will be able to watch it anytime they wish after its daily/weekly/whatever release. You also get rid of the whole "You can't do that in Prime Time!" crap where the whole TV ratings system can then cover your ass for content. Advertising can still be embedded within these programs, but I'm sure some companies would argue people would just fast forward through them. Not like it's much different than getting up to take a piss during a commercial.

[*Shinzon*]

That would be good except for early morning and live news broadcasts on the Network channels. Maybe during the prime time hours or between live shows they could feature an On Demand menu and any show that doesn't generate the ratings or selections needed gets cut from the menu.

[arus2001]

Eh, it's not like they couldn't have a "Breaking news!" pop-up during a program that you could opt into clicking and watch the recording on that report. National emergency stuff should probably override what you're watching to get the message out. Overall, the networks could still maintain the same "air times" as their recording times. You could watch 'em live if you want, but it's rather rare that news on local TV warrants live feeds short of perhaps traffic updates regarding big accidents.