Jay Leno's New Primetime Show

[Malcolm]

Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West will appear together on the debut broadcast of "The Jay Leno Show" on Monday, September 14, NBC announced today.

The trio of entertainers are set to perform "Run This Town," a song from Jay-Z's highly anticipated new album "The Blueprint 3," set for release on September 11.

The show marks Leno's switch from latenight into primetime; it will air at 10 p.m. EST five nights a week.

Prince performed May 28 on the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" to celebrate the end of Leno's run as host of the show. Pearl Jam was the first band to play under Conan O'Brien's tenure as host, which started June 1.

[Jdog0830]

Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West will appear together on the debut broadcast of "The Jay Leno Show" on Monday, September 14, NBC announced today.

The trio of entertainers are set to perform "Run This Town," a song from Jay-Z's highly anticipated new album "The Blueprint 3," set for release on September 11.

The show marks Leno's switch from latenight into primetime; it will air at 10 p.m. EST five nights a week.

Prince performed May 28 on the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" to celebrate the end of Leno's run as host of the show. Pearl Jam was the first band to play under Conan O'Brien's tenure as host, which started June 1.

Great to hear hes not goin away wish Axl would go on the show

[Malcolm]

The Jay Leno Show is an American prime time television talk show created by and starring Jay Leno, to premiere Monday, September 14, 2009 on NBC following the May 29, 2009 conclusion of Leno's tenure as host of The Tonight Show.[1]

The Jay Leno Show will air weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT from Studio 11 of the NBC Studios in Burbank, California

After brief opening credits, Leno's monologue.
One celebrity guest, two at the most. The stage adjusts to allow guests to get off the couch[4] and participate in antics.

Musical segments appear only twice a week, in the middle of the show,[5] and sometimes feature multiple acts performing together (this will occur on the first episode, with Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West playing the song "Run This Town", in which all three are featured).

Comedy segments brought over from Tonight, such as "Headlines" and "Jaywalking", are reserved for the last 15 minutes[6] of the show, the only time when Leno might use a desk.

New segments include:
The "advertiser-friendly 'Green Car Challenge'," featuring celebrities racing each other in alternative fuel vehicles on a dedicated outdoor track.[
Comic "correspondents" such as D. L. Hughley, Mikey Day,[2] Rachael Harris, and Jim Norton.
"Stories Not Good Enough For Nightly News" with NBC News anchor Brian Williams.[3]

[Malcolm]

Economics
Leno has a contract for four years for the show. NBC reportedly has an option to cancel after two years, but has committed to at least one year regardless of ratings.[6] He could earn up to $30 million each year depending on ratings for Leno, compared to a $20 million annual salary during his last years at Tonight.[7]

NBC expects to benefit by offering an inexpensive comedic alternative ("100% more comedy and 98% fewer murders!"[4]) to the procedurals[8] and other one-hour dramas that typically air at 10 pm, and by offering new episodes 46 weeks each year versus 22.[9][4][10][11] While Leno may not be competitive with the higher-rated scripted shows on ABC and CBS in its time slot, its projected cost of production is far lower and thus is expected to be profitable to the network.[12] Each airing of Leno will cost about $350,000[13] to $400,000[7] versus up to $3 million for an hour-long drama, saving NBC $13 million each week without the network needing the show to beat its competitors.[7] Those costs include the services of what Leno called the "top 5% of the highest-paid writers in the Guild."[3]


[edit] Ratings
Leno does not expect his show to beat competing first-run episodes, but to do better than reruns,[3] in part because topical jokes will benefit from the "immediacy" of the time slot versus 11:30 pm.[2] NBC research indicates that fans of Leno will watch Leno two to three times a week.[8] The television audience at 10 pm is 40% larger than at 11:30 pm, and the network hopes Leno's audience will also grow.[11] Tonight at 11:30 pm earned about a 1.3[12] to 1.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic, compared to about 2 for NBC's dramas overall during the 2008-2009 season.[7] Earning a 1.7[13] to 2[7] at 10 pm ? 2.5 is generally necessary for a 10 pm drama to succeed[14] ? would likely make Leno a success;[7] according to Jeff Zucker, head of NBC Universal, a 1.8 rating for Leno would be a "home run."[14]


[edit] Industry impact
NBC is the first network in decades,[15] or possibly ever,[16] to strip a show during weekday prime time hours. NBC executives called the decision "a transformational moment in the history of broadcasting" and "in effect, launching five shows."[15] An industry observer said that Leno, "in all my years, is the biggest risk a network has ever taken."[17]

Industry executives criticized NBC for abandoning its history of airing quality dramas such as Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, and ER at 10 pm.[14][18] They predict that the decision will hurt the television industry, both because the network will air fewer dramas and[14] because Leno will not be easily sold overseas or be rerun.[18]

Other networks believe NBC's decision has created an opportunity, and have planned their 2009-2010 schedules accordingly. CBS's popular procedural The Mentalist, for example, will compete with the show on Thursdays,[14] joining fellow successes CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, and Numb3rs.[19] If Leno survives, however, other networks may also schedule less-expensive shows, such as Nightline, for the hour as well.[14]


[edit] History
NBC announced in 2004 that Leno would leave Tonight in 2009, with Conan O'Brien as his replacement. Leno said at the announcement, "You can do these things until they carry you out on a stretcher, or you can get out when you?re still doing good."[20] He began to regret his decision in 2007,[20] and several networks and studios including ABC, Fox, Sony,[12] and Tribune[21] expressed interest in his services after leaving Tonight.

Zucker sought to keep Leno from defecting to a competitor. Leno rejected several NBC offers for daytime or cable slots, a series of recurring specials, and a half-hour show at 8 pm five nights a week featuring Leno's Tonight monologue.[20] The network had in 1981 considered moving The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson to 10 pm;[9] Zucker, who in 2007 offered Oprah Winfrey an hour five nights a week at 8 pm,[9] now offered Leno an hour five nights a week at 10 pm.[20] Leno was announced on December 9, 2008.[22]

Though Leno is the first to move the entire five-day-a-week late night talk show to prime time, he is not the first Tonight alumnus to move from late night to a prime time talk show: Jack Paar, who hosted Tonight from 1957 to 1962, next hosted a weekly talk show that ran until 1965.[23]

At least one station, WHDH-TV in Boston, Massachusetts, had announced that it would not carry the program, claiming that Leno would be detrimental to the station's 11 p.m. newscast, and instead that it would launch a local newscast in the time slot. NBC said that such plans would amount to a flagrant violation of the network contract, a claim that WHDH disputed. NBC said that it would immediately remove its programming from WHDH if the station followed through with the plan. WHDH backed down on April 13, 2009 and announced that it had decided to air Leno instead of the proposed newscast.[24]

[Axl4Prez2004]

Personally, I think this show will work well.  I like both Jay and Conan...unfortunately, I can't stay awake for the late show.  I can handle an occasional 10:00 show...and Jay is a funny guy.  I'll give it a shot.

[D]

Glad Leno is staying on TV

Conan is horrible IMO

but NBC got what they wanted

Lucky for them Leno didn't jump to another  network.