Mayhem at NBC (Business as Usual?)

Image: NBC Universal

It has been a weird day in TV land. This morning, rumors swirled that NBC brass had canceled The Jay Leno Show, giving in to affiliate concerns about poor lead-in ratings that have been hammering 11 pm newscasts.

NBC has stated that The Jay Leno Show has not been canceled and that the network is committed to Conan O’Brien, host of the Tonight Show. NBC spin regarding the fate of O’Brien, via James Hibberd:

We have the best comedy team in the business. We remain committed to keeping Conan O’Brien on NBC. He is a valued part of our late-night line-up, as he has been for more than 16 years and is one of the most respected entertainers on television.

So what’s going to happen? It is unclear. TMZ reports that Leno will move back to 11:35 pm for a half-hour show, pushing Conan’s Tonight Show back to 12:05 am. The fate of Late Night host Jimmy Fallon is the least clear in this scenario.

Ben Grossman, writing for Broadcasting & Cable, reports that NBC is attempting to make any changes final prior to NBC’s affiliates meeting on January 21.

Things got so intense that Leno joked about being canceled during his monologue (video):

Tags: Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, Jimmy Fallon, NBC, The Jay Leno Show, Tonight Show

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