Jay Leno Speaks Out on ConanGate: 'This Is All Business'
"Okay. So then, the affiliates are not happy. The affiliates are the ones that own the TV stations. They're the ones that sort of make the decisions, they're not happy with your performance and Conan is not doing well at 11:30. I said, 'What's your idea?' They said, 'Well, look, how about you do a half hour show at 11:30?' Now, where I come from, when your boss gives you a job and you don't do it well, I think we did a good job here, but we didn't get the ratings, so you get humbled. I said, 'Okay, I'm not crazy about doing a half hour, but okay. What do you want to do with Conan?' 'We'll put him on at midnight, or 12:05, keeps "The Tonight Show," does all that, he gets the whole hour.' I said, 'Okay. You think Conan will go for that?' 'Yes, yes. (laughter) Almost guarantee you.' I said okay. Shake hands, that's it. I don't have a manager, I don't have an agent, that's my handshake deal.
"Next thing I see Conan has a story in the paper saying he doesn't want to do that. They come back to me and they say if he decides to walk and doesn't want to do it, do you want the show back? I go, 'Yeah, I'll take the show back. If that's what he wants to do. This way, we keep our people working, fine.' So that's pretty much where we are. It looks like we might be back at 11:30, I'm not sure. I don't know. (applause) I don't know. But through all of this - through all of this, Conan O'Brien has been a gentleman. He's a good guy. I have no animosity towards him. This is all business. If you don't get the ratings, they take you off the air. I think you know this town, you can do almost anything. You get ratings, they keep you. I don't get ratings, he walks. That was NBC's solution. It didn't work, so we might have an answer for you tomorrow. So, we'll see. That's basically where it is."
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Comments
Is there no limit to the man's self-pity? "I'm just a simple man, with simple tastes, trying to do whatever the executives at NBC want me to." Only his audience could be stupid enough to believe this.
The "Small Man - Big Town" self-labeling fault, I'll give you.
But if your argument is, "I did what was best for the company..." then THAT'S where you lose people.
We're not talking about Stan's Local Diner, we're talking about NBC.
It appears that Leno has seller's remorse and is trying to validate that by using ratings as the reason he should be back in the chair.
He had almost 3 years (hopefully my dates are correct) in second place until the Hugh Grant windfall. And that was WITH a 10pm lead in.
How could O'Brien do as well with a failing show at 10pm 5 nights a week?
Leno should have done the right thing and walked away from 10pm.
If it was HIS decision to take 10pm "Valiantly so", then he should be equally valiant and step away from 10pm.
Business is business and he WAS #1 at 11:30. (And just might be so again.) But stepping back in now? When he, himself had been given time to mature when things were down? - That just seems greedy.
I'm with CoCo!
Why exactly is Leno under the impression that anyone is blaming Conan? (other than asshole NBC execs)
So he's trying to save 175 jobs eh?
He's the guy trying to keep the truck plant open...not a guy who's had a good run and made a vast fortune doing it? Yeeesh.
All hell broke loose and Conan decided to walk. Was that valiant? Yes, but he also knows he has many other offers on the table. So, empty Tonight Show slot...
Leno would have to be quite the martyr to not take his old spot back.
The network is really to blame for all of this. (Dating all the way back to forcing Carson to retire and replacing him with Leno instead of Letterman)
But, as another commenter here brilliantly stated> All NBC is doing is creating their own competition. It will be interesting to see where the cards fall by this time next year...
I think NBC's next move should be to try and move "30 Rock" to daytime so Tina Fey gets pissed and goes over to another network . . .
If it not broke why fix it....the whole thing was a mess from the onset. Leno was King of late night and Conan was King of late late night. Hope this move does'nt cost Leno. Total lack of respect NBC has shown everyone. NBC = No Bull Crap, It's shameful!
Even through the probable 50% truth to everyone's (Conan, Jay) responses in this debacle, the true villain shines through...NBC. I don't particularly like either of the individuals involved but both have been tarnished by their association with the idiots that run NBC and their careers may never bounce back (to the glee of some, I'm sure).
Jay, I double-dog-dare you to try a JayWalking segment now.