NBC continuing to fail

[arus2001]

somehow I doubt south park or Psych are in danger of being canceled.

SP's production values never struck me as terribly high, but I wouldn't call that something Comedy Central's been known for, either. As for Psych, I don't know if USA finds itself under the same pressures as NBC does, even though they are affiliates.

Question do the networks still use Nelson ratings families? Or do they just get info from you tv or cable boxes or whatever now?

Apparently they're using something since all of this spawned off Conan not performing as well as they wished. I still think some of it is just people being too stubborn to adapt to change and hating the current Tonight Show just because it isn't the Leno they'd known for 16 years. I personally liked both shows, but most of the time the TV is just background noise for me while I'm on the net, too. Most of what I go out of my way to watch tends to be anime downloads just because a lot of what's available on cable here blows with Comcast knocking out some of the channels we used to have and I watched. :/

[Qalbert]

the discussion was about those two shows, so the ratings argument is pointless

[arus2001]

Maybe. Alternative viewing methods aside, I still say this fiasco has emphasized the failures of measuring success based on time slot performances when alternative viewing methods are becoming more and more prominent. Broadcast companies are giving off the vibe that people should be revolving around the programs, not the programs revolving around the people.

[6souls]

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - A day after they learned that they would be laid off, employees of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" have received news that might ease the blow.

Leno has decided to pay his non-writing staff out of his pocket through next week, sources said Saturday. That could be extended if the writers' strike is not resolved by then.

"Tonight Show" executive producer Debbie Vickers is said to have been involved in the decision and reportedly began calling laid-off employees Saturday.

A couple of days after the Writers Guild of America strike began November 5, the star of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" told about 80 of his staffers that they need not worry about their finances. Leno was so adamant about paychecks being safe, many didn't bother looking for new jobs even though NBC was forecasting layoffs.

So it came as quite a shock Friday when the entire staff was told that they were not only out of a job but also that they weren't guaranteed of being rehired once "The Tonight Show" returns.

"Some people were crying. Some people were screaming," said one employee speaking on the condition of anonymity.

NBC declined comment on the firings beyond a brief statement Friday saying that the network had "regretfully informed the people who work on 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno' and 'Late Night With Conan O'Brien' that their services are not needed at this time due to our inability to continue production of the shows."

TENSIONS HIGH, MORALE LOW

According to several staffers, tensions at "Tonight Show" have been mounting for weeks, and matters weren't helped by news that other late-night hosts have been preserving the jobs of their non-writing staffs or paying those who had been laid off. Conan O'Brien confirmed Thursday, for example, that he would pay the salaries of at least 50 non-writing "Late Night" staffers out of his own pocket on a week-to-week basis.

But "Tonight Show" insiders say Leno's actions have destroyed morale at the show and in the process dented the host's previously squeaky-clean reputation as one of television's A-list nice guys.

"A lot of people don't want to work for Jay anymore," another staffer said. "His true colors have shown. We were told he won't cross the picket line until David Letterman or Conan O'Brien do so that he can look like the good guy to the WGA."

All of the laid-off workers who spoke for this article asked that their names not be used.

Insiders said the source of the sudden hostility toward Leno is a conference call he held shortly after the WGA strike began.

"He was on speaker phone," a staffer said. "There were 80 of us. He told us not to panic. He said to trust him. He said: 'I can't get into details, but nobody will miss a car payment or lose their house. We're family. Trust me. I'm going to take care of this.' But that was the time we should have been looking for new jobs."

More recently, a letter NBC sent to now-laid-off staffers said, "If your services are needed, we will contact you."

"That's standard boilerplate," said Joe Medeiros, a striking writer who has worked with Leno for 18 years. "It's corporate butt-covering."

According to insiders, the early confidence that Leno expressed stemmed from several options in the works, including the hiring of guest hosts. Leno himself guest-hosted for "The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson" during the 1988 writers strike, according to the WGA. This time around, comedian Wanda Sykes was a top pick, but she turned down the offer. Using rock stars on a rotating basis also was considered, insiders said.

Another option was having Leno do a show without a monologue or writers, relying heavily on musical acts and stand-up comedians.

None of the options, though, came to fruition, and "The Tonight Show" has continued airing reruns.

BEHAVIOR QUESTIONED

Beyond Leno's misplaced optimism about the financial well-being of his staff, he further damaged himself -- in the eyes of some workers -- with his public behavior. While he privately expressed concern for the jobs of all staff members, to the media he seemed preoccupied with supporting striking writers, including handing out doughnuts to picketers and mugging for press photos.

"He even joked that because of the writers strike, he had more time to work on his car collection," a staffer said. "That didn't sit well with us."

Medeiros said that Leno made his doughnut appearance on Day One of the strike at his request. "I asked him to come out and he did. We thought it sent a message to end the strike."

Asked if writers would object to Leno working without them during the strike in order to save jobs, Medeiros said: "I can't answer that. The story to me is that the corporations are doing this in order to pit groups against each other and break the strike."

The fact that some of Leno's writers are paid $500,000 or more annually also didn't sit well with suddenly out-of-work below-the-line staffers who make a fraction of that amount. Writers also are getting residuals on "Tonight Show" reruns that air during the strike.

Another staffer complained that Leno was taking credit for getting employees two extra weeks of work, but those extra days were the result of executive producer Debbie Vickers making the request to NBC topper Jeff Zucker.

"Jay made his voice known too, and those jobs were held for four weeks," a Leno representative responded.

The final indignation was a Christmas bonus that many thought lacking. Staffers with a couple of years on the job were given $200. Some higher-paid employees were awarded three days of salary or a bit more, about the same bonuses they got last year.

The Leno representative defended the bonuses as well, pointing out that they amounted to $500,000 in aggregate out of Leno's pocket. He also noted that Leno handed out $2 million five years ago to staffers in celebration of his 10th year as host.

"Jay is a very generous man," added Medeiros. "I don't know what people expected. How much more should he give over a situation that he didn't cause?"

But, said one staffer: "When the most powerful man in TV tells you to relax, then you relax. That's why we expected the bonuses to cover us through the strike. He could of at least covered us through Christmas. That would have been nice."

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN3034279620071204

[Deftscythe]

Networks still use Nielsen. If you aren't in that program no one cares what you watch on TV. Depending on the network, you may be contributing to a show's numbers if you watch from "official" streaming sites like Hulu.

[arus2001]

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN3034279620071204

So I'm sitting here thinking, "What does the writer's guild have to do with this?" only to click the link and see it was from 2007. >.>

[toonces]

hah me too , im like wt.. another strike since when...

[Kaslo]

Networks still use Nielsen. If you aren't in that program no one cares what you watch on TV. Depending on the network, you may be contributing to a show's numbers if you watch from "official" streaming sites like Hulu.

Apparently for NBC though they only were looking at Nielsen and that didn't take into effect DVRs or Internet Streaming.

[Man0warr]

http://www.hulu.com/watch/121471/the...-show-jays-pov

I definitely support Conan in this whole thing, but if Jay isn't lying then I don't really blame him for what's happening. Sounds like when Comcast takes over they need to get rid of the current executive staff, Jeff Zucker especially.

[Acturus]

http://www.hulu.com/watch/121471/the...-show-jays-pov

I definitely support Conan in this whole thing, but if Jay isn't lying then I don't really blame him for what's happening. Sounds like when Comcast takes over they need to get rid of the current executive staff, Jeff Zucker especially.

It's a tough sell. Jay Leno has never been much of a team player where The Tonight Show has been concerned. At the same time, Conan is the people's hero, and even if Leno isn't "the bad guy" in this, he's being labeled as such, and doesn't seem to be fighting hard enough to change that.

[Deftscythe]

If Jay didn't want to be the bad guy, he could have refused the 11:35 slot and retired or gone to another network instead of displacing Conan and a decades-old tradition.

[Rowe]

http://www.charlierose.com/

link to an interview with Zucker

[Kaslo]

www.conanonfox.com was registered by FOX today.

[Souj]

www.conanonfox.com was registered by FOX today.

uh that looks like its just some regular random guy who registered it.

[Kaslo]

uh that looks like its just some regular random guy who registered it.

Guess it got outed as a hoax. I know it was being reported on TMZ that the actual domain was registered under FOX.

[Talint]

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

[Cleverness]

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

Not gonna lie, I lost my shit when Letterman just comes out of nowhere with the chair. Fucking gold.

[Cleverness]

Also

http://tv.gawker.com/5451462/as-lett...not-doing-well

Letterman in the 3rd video was just amazing near the end.

[Ker]

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

Here same video in English

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y04H5mFUFM

[Akiyama]

I used to not be a David Letterman fan, but.. oh my god am I now.

http://tv.gawker.com/5452391/as-obri...es-vintage-jay

Seriously. Letterman is taking advantage of the situation because Conan's not a bad guy and he HATES Leno. It's just beautiful. His line here:

"You get fired, you get another gig! Don't hang around waiting for somebody to drop dead."

Just priceless.