The Late Night Fiasco

This whole ordeal with NBC and the ‘tug of war’ fight between Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno is getting insane. Let’s look at the facts, people!

History
NBC’s history has shown that ratings and strong support come with time. Jay Leno didn’t walk in with the strongest ratings ever when he started ‘The Tonight Show’, and most shows (not just on NBC) that end up being successful, start off just as slow as all the rest.

Investing Short Term / Long Term for the Future
There’s no question that Conan O’Brien is an investment in NBC’s ‘long term’ future. He’s going to be around in the business for a while, and he is building his fan base with older viewers. Granted, there are quite a few viewers who aren’t the biggest fans of Conan – but Jay didn’t have the biggest fan base when he started ‘The Tonight Show’, either. As he continues to host and make a presence in late night, Conan and NBC will find that those older viewers will be like his younger viewers, and show a ton of loyalty and support to the show; which, in return, will result in stronger ratings, happier affiliates, and proud NBC executives. If NBC decides to move Leno back to 11:35, they are investing in a ‘short term’ future. Leno won’t be along for more than another 5 years or so – if that. Remember, he wanted to RETIRE, but NBC begged him to stay. Leno agreed to stay on, assuming ‘the experiment’ would work. However, the experiment failed.

The Experiment Failed – MOVE ON.
The “Jay Leno Experiment”, which involved putting Jay Leno into primetime, failed for NBC. The idea of putting Leno back in the 11:35 timeslot is silly…if the ratings aren’t doing well at 10:00, then clearly Jay has lost his support. NBC hasn’t realized that Jay DOES NOT have the support he had when he was on ‘The Tonight Show’. Why? Jay’s primetime show was attempting to do the exact opposite thing that Conan’s current version of ‘The Tonight Show’ is doing – become a ‘cool’ and ‘entertaining’ show with the younger audiences. While Leno may found some sketches and bits that younger audiences enjoy, in doing so, he has lost his older and dedicated crowd from ‘The Tonight Show’. Most of the sketches featured on “The Jay Leno Show’ were way over the older crowd’s head, and thus, Leno didn’t have his ‘old spark and charm’ that he had on ‘The Tonight Show’.

Jay isn't keeping his word
When Jay Leno left ‘The Tonight Show’, he talked about leaving a legacy behind. He said he was proud to know that a close-knit family had been created from his 17 years of working on the show. He also asked everyone to give Conan their full support as he took over ‘The Tonight Show’. Furthermore, before ‘The Jay Leno Show’ even began, Leno was asked what would happen if the show ‘received poor reviews and wasn’t funny’. Leno’s response was clear – ‘if the show isn’t funny or successful, I wouldn’t want the show to stay on the air’. Now, in the midst of all this drama and talk, nobody sees Leno stepping down…he isn’t holding his word about maintaining the legacy of ‘The Tonight Show’, and he isn’t showing that he is willing to ‘take one for the team’, so the network can start to rebuild.

This isn’t fair to Conan and his crew
Not that television has ever been concerned with what’s fair, but when you consider that Conan O’Brien and his entire crew put quite a bit on the line for the new ‘Tonight Show’, you can’t help but feel bad. Everybody came with Conan when he moved to L.A. – the crew, the producers, the band, and everyone else in-between. Now, all of these families are likely sitting on pins and needles to hear the result of what could potentially be a huge, life-changing experience for them all.

If the show was doing bad because of ridiculous ratings, families would understand – its part of living and working in the business of television. But for a show to be kicked off the air because NBC wants to try and ‘play it safe’ and attempt to gain ratings with an old dog that can’t pull off any new (or even old!) tricks, that’s just wrong. And yes, people can say, “well, that’s the business of television, too”, and they would be right – but sometimes, people like to see the networks “do the right thing”, even if it isn’t what NBC really wants to do. NBC is hurting as it is…I think the last thing they wish to be viewed as is a company with no integrity, class, brains, or follow-through.