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"Conan O�Brien Says He Won�t Host �Tonight Show� Following Leno"

Posted by Ender (aka Ender) Jan 12 '10, 12:38

Per NY Times:

Conan O�Brien says he will not host �The Tonight Show� if it is moved to 12:05 a.m.

In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Mr. O�Brien said he cannot participate �in what I honestly believe is its destruction.� Last week NBC outlined a plan to move �The Jay Leno Show� to 11:35 p.m. in March, elbowing Mr. O�Brien�s �Tonight Show� back half an hour. Mr. Leno seems supportive of the plan; but in his statement, Mr. O�Brien rejects it outright. The statement reads:

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

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/conan-obrien-says-he-wont-do-tonight-show-following-leno/ (mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com)

Responses:

Attaboy Conan. That's drawing a line in the sand. (nm) - musubi Jan 12, 12:44 3
- That'll move the chains. -- nm - Max Jan 12, 12:45 2
  - Nothing but the bottom of the net! (nm) - musubi Jan 12, 12:46 1
    - It puts the lotion in the basket! -- nm - Reagen Jan 12, 12:47
He stole my inauguration speech. -- nm - Max Jan 12, 12:43
Good for him. nm - Dignan Jan 12, 12:42
so, ST poll: If Conan calls it quits, does he go back to write for the Simpsons? :) -- nm - Beryllium Jan 12, 12:42 2
- no *way* he calls it quits. although I don't know if he'll go to fox. -- nm - amanda Jan 12, 12:46 1
  - maybe he'll be all, "screw you, NBC. I'm starting my own network. On youtube." -- nm - Beryllium Jan 12, 12:48
that sounds unusually honest for a celebrity. -- nm - loosilu Jan 12, 12:41 4
- late night host seems to be the one position in entertainment that lets you bite the hand that feeds you. -- nm - Reagen Jan 12, 12:50
- He openly mocked the NBC decision in his last monologue -- nm - con_carne Jan 12, 12:49 2
  - link? -- nm - Spawn: Champion of ST Jan 12, 12:50 1
    - No, but paraphrase inside - con_carne Jan 12, 12:54
To Crush jay leno, have him driven before me, and her the lamination of his women -Conan -- nm - Redmond on a phone Jan 12, 12:40
That's an excellent statement. -- nm - TFox Jan 12, 12:40
He and Dave should have a beer together. -- nm - Spawn: Champion of ST Jan 12, 12:40
I guess he didn't read the blog post about how he could tactically destroy Letterman ... -- nm - Beryllium Jan 12, 12:40 1
- That matter sless than zero. Being moved back behind Leno? Not for any amount of money. -- nm - Spawn: Champion of ST Jan 12, 12:40

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"Conan O�Brien Says He Won�t Host �Tonight Show� Following Leno"

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