Two years from now, it’s quite likely that Jay Leno will be winning the Late Night ratings war just has he has for the past 10 years or whatever. The only difference is, he’ll likely be on a different network.
Shit for brains Jeff Zucker, who ran NBC into the ground and got promoted for it, green lit a deal that tosses Leno out on his ass in 2009 and moves Conan O’Brien into the coveted 11:30 slot. Well, these days its 11:35, so they can give you more commercials in your local news. This was an interesting move when it was announced in 2004, now it appears to be just one of the many NBC blunders in recent years.
NBC was scared to lose Conan, so they promised him the Tonight Show. He would just have to wait five years. Five years should be enough time for Leno to start slipping in the ratings, right? Wrong! In fact, Leno was still winning the time slot during the writers strike. Of course it is widely suspected that Jay was using writers to help with his monologue, in complete violation of the WGA rules, but no one has ever said Jay isn’t a snake.
The bottom line is that Leno is still the King of Late Night and all signs point to his winning streak continuing wherever he lands in 2010. And that becomes the million-dollar question. Or, according to a recent article in the NY Times, the $40 million question. Although he is unable to entertain any offers until November of next year, ABC, Fox, and Sony Television are already making sure that two-faced Leno knows there is life after NBC. ABC would likely dump “Nightline,” Fox would offer a thirty minute jump on the competition with an 11pm show, and Sony has allegedly offered Leno $40 million a year and a brand new studio on the lot. But seriously, who wants to drive all the way to Sony studios?
Things will get interesting very soon. Will ABC bump Jimmy Kimmel? Does Fox stand a chance? Would Leno take a syndicated deal? Did I leave the iron on?
Personally, I don’t give a shit. I’m a Letterman guy.
