Conan to NBC "Pound Sand....and keep paying too!" (Lost, series)

[calipoppy]

from MSN Entertainment
Conan O'Brien will not be returning to the "The Tonight Show" if it starts airing at 12:05 a.m. instead of 11:35 p.m. O'Brien released the statement below on Tuesday afternoon.

Conan's 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

[Camper1]

Good for him!!!

[eevee]

awesome for Conan! really a classy move that I'm sure many people (even those that aren't fans of his humor) would agree w/. this network needs to stop messing w/ tradition to pad their own wallets. NBC truly pulled a dick move doing this. I wasn't old enough to live through the Leno-Letterman fiasco, but from the other entertainment sources I've been listening to, this isn't the first time NBC has screwed someone over in favor of Leno. lord knows why the network insists on gunning so hard for this one man at the expense of several other talents like Conan. hope Conan leaves this 4th rate network and goes on to find success at another place that appreciates him. I for one will not watch NBC again (not that I have been anyways, not w/ that horrendous programing...)

[tamiznluv]

I will give Conan 5 stars for that release. Very classy. Really liked the part about his hair. Good luck to him.

[sgresident]

I don't typically watch the tonight show with conan, but he gets major points in my book! why doesn't NBC just put leno on after instead of before? how easy would that be. it's not like the shows are live.

[momof2dfw]

Well, good move for him and as he even said for all involved in the whole mess.

I think Leno has also taken the high road in all of this by not commenting about Conan but as always still putting NBC down constantly (Leno has always done that whenever they do anything stupid). I thought it was actually Leno who WANTED Conan to be the one to take over The Tonight Show after he left.

I remember the Leno/Letterman fiasco. I also remember when Carson was still on The Tonight Show and he had a few guest hosts that would come on for a few weeks while he took time off. The network and the audience got to get a good picture of possible replacements for Carson. This went on for well over a year from what I remember. The two guest hosts that it came down to were Leno and Joan Rivers and they would guest host back and forth for a good while. I believe the network did do the right thing back then by going w/ Leno over Rivers. I actually think that if they had done Leno's replacement more like that it would have gone over better. Maybe they will in the future the NEXT TIME they are thinking they are ready for Leno to retire. Get down to 2 possible replacements and give them several months to guest host off and on for a week here and there and see which one pulls in the most viewers. THEN offer that person a contract.

I can see NBC wanting to keep Leno. Other networks come up w/ empty spots they need something and he would be a good catch. They did something to keep him and try and improve ratings by giving him a show BEFORE the news. Just seems that Conan didn't get enough viewers to keep the network the winner of that time slot and they are backpeddling now.

[Wicked Felina]

Good for Conan. I'm impressed. More golden stars for him for having a sense of fair play, and for sticking up for Jimmy Fallon, too.

I think all three of those late-night hosts, Letterman, Leno and Conan were back-stabbed by the networks. It's the networks who destroyed The Tonight Show, and its legacy.

Conan just earned himself some fans who wouldn't have ordinarily cared. Conan's a class act.

[hypocore]

Even though the Tonight Show has been a long standing tradition, it's been an ever changing show throughout the years as well.
The name of the show changed many times before settling on 'The Tonight Show with'.
The time it was aired also changed many times until Johnny Carson had it, in addition to the length of it.
It has been a variety show, news show, entertainment show and talk show.
It spent many years in NYC before moving to Burbank.
The role of 'announcer' has changed many times.
The music has been orchestra and band settings.
Until Jay Leno they always had substitute/guest hosts when the need arose.

So change is nothing new, it's just that Jay Leno has been so consistent for so long, it seems like it's always been exactly the same.

FWIW, when Carson retired, the more logical choice was for Leno to get the show as he had been the sole guest host for many years. Letterman had his own show that was very successful. The reason it became an issue was because Letterman asked for the show and Carson supported him as the choice. The network, however, chose the proven success of Leno over the chance of upsetting the whole schedule by moving Letterman.

They lost Letterman over it, but as the records show Leno out did Letterman almost the entire time he was there, so they seemingly made the best business decision after all. Especially considering Conan did well as Letterman's replacement.

This time they tried what the public seemed to want and it cost them a tremendous loss in the Tonight Show audience.

I don't like Conan's humor and never have, however I do feel for the guy uprooting his life and family.

With the exception of his salutation to 'people of earth', I think his statement was done very well and shows dignity.
He's definitely between a rock and a hard spot regarding choices.

ETA- Joan Rivers was kicked off as a host due to something she said or did, I no longer remember, so she had been long gone as a guest host when they went to just using Leno.

[kentuckydad95]

Who the hell is running NBC? I am wondering if they could take some joe-blow off the street and program the network better. Most everyone thought Leno in primetime was going to fail and it did. However, the kicker is that now Leno will get REWARDED for his failure and go back to the late night spot.

If you can remember, it took Conan a couple of YEARS to get his groove when he was hired as Letterman's replacement. NBC was threatening to cancel. He ended up with a good audience. I am glad Conan told NBC to stick it. The best thing he can do it get as far away from NBC as possible. NBC is a living, breathing failure. Top to bottom. I hope Leno tanks (I am guessing he will) back in his old spot and Letterman gets more viewers than ever. What an absolute laughingstock the Peacock has become.

[Mike from back east]

NBC is being run by the same sort of mistake-prone poor thinkers that ruined General Motors. Their high-level meetings must be a hoot.

This whole episode hinges on the quality of the thinking processes by NBC types who sat down six years and thought that Conan was the ONLY or the BEST property who would be worth having FIVE years into the future. OMG!

With hundreds of personalities out there, they were somehow sure that Leno would fade and that JUST THIS ONE GUY, CONAN, would be the end-all and be-all of NBC? Sounds to me like they were running on fear....we gotta lock this guy in now or we'll lose him ... or ... we can't wait for Jay to retire to pick a replacement, etc. Sure you can wait for Jay to retire to pick a new host, think of the hype and free publicity to be gained from that, as opposed to the national black eye and ridicule now pouring onto NBC.

What NBC really did was lock themselves OUT of having any shot at REAL talent, like Jerry Seinfeld, Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, Denzel Washington and tons of other comedians / entertainers who can deliver a line and engage in polite conversation.

NBC = Nothing But Chumps