Conan O'Brien getting booted as 'Tonight Show' Host

[cotis]

have you guys all heard about this?

in an effort to stick it to NBC, he's spending as much money that he can in the last few days.

Tonight he got a Bugatti car, dressed as a mouse, playing a Rolling Stones song in the back. Total price-tag - $1.5 Million.

Guy is a genius.

[w.axl.rose]

I love Conan. Jay Leno... Fuck you 

[Eazy E]

Conan is the man, shame his "Tonight Show" didn't really catch on... definitely the best of the late night hosts.

Letterman got some great shots in on all these NBC guys yesterday.

[CheapJon]

Conan's easily my favorite talk show host, haven't seen any of his tonight show (wasn't aired in Sweden, caught the late night with C whenever i could though) but i can't believe it was bad.. here's a press release from him, couple of days old but still

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

i've just followed up a little bit on youtube and forums and gotta say that letterman and kimmel killed leno and nbc kimmel @ lenos "10 at 10" and show with him dressing and acting like leno, and all of lettermans segments and remarks

btw here's leno's announcement from 2004 http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/6d1caacad1/jay-s-2004-announcement

conan is a straight up man and comedic genius IMO, jay leno's a sneaky bitch

[Loaded NightraiN]

Conan has been and always will be LAME, I'm glad Leno is heading back...

Saying that Conan did get screwed, and NBC has no one to blame but themselves... Had they let Leno go when he left like he wanted, they would not be here...

[LunsJail]

I thought Conan was great back in the day but the last 5-6 years of his show have been a little lame. I thought it was a good move bringing Andy back. It's a shame his show gets funny again in its last week.

I also think Leno might be catching an unfair amount of heat for this. It's obvious that a lot of these guys have some previous beef or resentment of him. That being said, I always thought Letterman was light years funnier.

NBC screwed this up big time starting in 2004 when they set up this "retirement" plan for Leno when he didn't want it and was still #1 in late night.

[axlrosegnr]

Hate Conan, think he's an idiot. Always loved Leno. I was actually one of the few that watched his 10 pm show. 11:30 is too late for me since I work early.

[D]

Conan is corny and boring


People say Conan got a raw deal etc.... Leno got the raw deal first. He had the number 1 show for a decade and NBC made him retire and give it to Conan. The 10pm show was a compromise.


So Jay is just getting back what never should've been taken away.

I use to watch Conan after Leno thinking, "This guy is replacing Leno?"

[LunsJail]

People say Conan got a raw deal etc.... Leno got the raw deal first. He had the number 1 show for a decade and NBC made him retire and give it to Conan. The 10pm show was a compromise.

The 10pm show was also a way for NBC not to have to spend money on 5 one hour dramas shows a week to fill that slot. It backfired spectacularly.

[sandman]

Leno signed a contract in 2004 to give up the tonight show in 2009. conan signed a contract in 2004 to takeover the tonight show in 2009.

no one forced leno to sign that contract. he's a weasel.

NBC has screwed up (again). they give leno a show at 10pm, which i think common sense tells you that will hurt people's appetite for the tonight show. so you're already figuring you'll lose a chunk of people watching Leno's show at 10. but on top of that, leno's ratings at 10 are abysmal! so now NBC is really screwing Conan! and then they only give him about 7 months to build a following.  

[Loaded NightraiN]

no one forced leno to sign that contract. he's a weasel.

Forced him? No

But it doesn't sound like he was given much choice

[D]

Yeah, that was part of the deal, he had to sign it or leave in 2004.

Leno actually still drew 5 million at 10pm... so his ratings weren't that terrible.

Conan also walked away with 45 million dollars, so nobody should cry for Conan.

I think its hilarious how Letterman and everyone are so pissed

only reason they are pissed is cause they know they will now lose the ratings whereas with Conan they stayed number 1.

[Bodhi]

are you guys serious?  Conan might not be the funniest person on earth, but he is way funnier than Jay Leno.  Jay Leno is NOT funny.  His jokes you can see coming from a mile away and the only people who laugh at his corny shit are older people, which is who the The Tonight show is aimed at, so it works.


Also lets look at why Conan's show did so bad.  1. NBC dicked him over and pretty much moved Jay Leno's "Tonight Show" to 10 pm.  Are you telling me that a good part of Leno's audience didnt just watch his show and not even give Conan a chance?  2. NBC has dick on the air in primetime.

Bottom line, Jay Leno could have prevented this whole thing from happening by refusing to take the 11:30 spot, instead he was a prick on pretty much got Conan fired.

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

Ah, I have a memory to share about the last time I saw Jay Leno on the Tonight Show in person.

He set up a joke, I think it was a Paul McCartney joke.  I shouted out the punch line, and I was escorted out of the studio!  I couldn't help myself, I saw that joke coming the day before.

Once Conan is off the air, I won't have a reason to watch NBC.  They won't be getting my rating point.

Sorry Olympics, sorry Stanley Cup Finals.

[LunsJail]

sorry Stanley Cup Finals.

  That bit of programming should get the viewers rushing back 

[Bodhi]

sorry Stanley Cup Finals.

  That bit of programming should get the viewers rushing back 

are you telling me the NHL strike is over?? when did that happen? Yeah the NHL is not what it used to be.  The Devils win the cup every few years over here and still no one cares.  Personally I like hockey, wish it was more popular.

[LunsJail]

are you telling me the NHL strike is over?? when did that happen? Yeah the NHL is not what it used to be.  The Devils win the cup every few years over here and still no one cares.  Personally I like hockey, wish it was more popular.

Wow, if you think no one cares in Jersey you should go anywhere south of about Philadelphia and anywhere west of Detroit.

[CheapJon]

http://www.wimp.com/obamaleno/ Obama's with CoCo? 

[Halo69]

I dont watch leno or conan for a long time now, maybe a year or so, but  i did like some parts in both shows... For example i loved the part where Leno would joke about newspaper ads, that was probably my favorite part of his show.
However i do have to say that on a comedian point of view Conan is better. On an interviewer point of view i think Leno is better than Conan.

[CheapJon]

I dont watch leno or conan for a long time now, maybe a year or so, but  i did like some parts in both shows... For example i loved the part where Leno would joke about newspaper ads, that was probably my favorite part of his show.
However i do have to say that on a comedian point of view Conan is better. On an interviewer point of view i think Leno is better than Conan.

probably mine as well, and that wasn't even his own material in any way.. viewers of the shows sent in headlines which were already funny and he just showed them