Conan O’Brien Says He Won’t Host ‘Tonight Show’ Following Leno - Thoughts?
Here's his official statement.
People of Earth:
In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.
Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.
But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.
Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. 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. 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.
So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. 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. 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.
Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.
Yours,
Conan
My questions to you: What are your thoughts? What do you predict will happen to Conan and The Tonight Show...now?
Tags: conan, host, o'brien, show, tonight, won't
Views: 5
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Johnny Blue on -
I'm personally really happy that he stood his ground. The more I thought about NBC's whack decision, the less it made sense to me. Conan has totally stepped us his game in the Tonight Show time slot, and he's totally on point when he says he wasn't given a chance.
The biggest weenie in this fiasco is Jay Leno. NBC executives are the biggest douches. Why doesn't Jay understand that once you leave, you should go away gracefully. Conan and his crew have put in their time and left New York for this gig. On top of all of that, the most important fact remains: Conan is way better and way more funny.
So, I'm really happy and proud of Conan. I believe he will get what he wants or he will leave. The more I think about it, at this point, leaving may not be the worst thing that happens to him or his fans.
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Permalink Reply by MATTstas on -
See Im to young (21) to really know the transitional point between Johnny Carson & Jay Leno but I'm sure when it occurred many people were disappointed that they were losing Johnny Carson.
Jay Leno's comedy & Conan's are different and because of that many more mature viewers who have grown to love Leno (like Carson) are not necessarily going to enjoy Conan and because of that they may not watch. When Leno left there should have been NO "Jay Leno" show. He should have been done.Enough said. Allowing him to have a show would only hurt Conan's rating because people would watch Leno, the news and then head to bed. NBC should have stuck with their decision and allowed Conan to grow on those that were new to him and allow those who love him to enjoy him in his new position.
If Leno goes into the 11:30 time slot I will not watch because it will be a very disrespectful thing for him to do. Conan in this situation is being the better man & no matter what the outcome, he deserves the most respect for saying what he said.
I hope NBC gets their act together and resolves this but unfortunately I doubt that will occur unfortunately.
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Permalink Reply by lauralove on -
I love how Conan's putting in all these NBC bashing jokes in his show right now. NBC needs to give Leno the boot. He's no longer relevant. Keep Conan on The Tonight Show. Sayonara Leno!
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Permalink Reply by FubarGuy on -
Serves NBC right. They've lost viewers, respect and I'm guessing a fair amount of money and it's bound to get worse. I've never been much of a Conan fan (Ferguson rules!) but I appreciate him doing what he feels is right, not just for him but the other shows impacted. Classy, maybe some NBC Execs should take lessons from him.
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Permalink Reply by rp {|} // .MrPresident___++ on -
I liked Leno better anyway, I never liked conans old show...he isnt funny and his personality does not appeal to me. Leno on the other hand is a car guy... for me the car guy will always win...
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