It seemed like a good idea at the time. In 2004, NBC announced a plan for a “smooth transition” of hosts for their late-night programs, with Jay Leno exiting The Tonight Show in 2009, with their 12:30 star Conan O’Brien taking over the legendary earlier time slot. Lately, there have been whispers that Jay didn’t want to give up his show, which could lead the way for a repeat of the bitter power struggle that occurred in the late-90s at NBC, which eventually lead David Letterman to pack up his Top-Ten List and move to CBS. But NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker is trying to cut the potential infighting off at the pass.
According to The Associated Press, Zucker told an audience at Syracuse University, “Conan O’Brien will take over ‘The Tonight Show’ in 2009.” Zucker’s confirmation of the network’s original plans stems from a Los Angeles Times story last month where Leno was characterized as being “frustrated and reluctant” when it came to retirement. Leno has yet to comment on Zucker’s remarks.
When asked about what NBC plans to do with Jay after he signs off The Tonight Show, Zucker said, “I’m hopeful that Jay will be with us,” and that conversations with the comic about post-2009 plans have begun. But are those conversations for real projects at The Peacock, or are they trying to prevent The Chin from packing his boxes and “Jaywalk” to another network.
NBC has made this mistake before. When they were trying to keep David Letterman from taking his act to 11:30, they promised him everything except The Tonight Show, which is the only thing Dave really wanted. It sounds like they are running into the same problem with Leno. What does the network have that he could really want to keep him in the family? It might have worked with Bob Hope, but prime-time specials are too old-school. And after hosting the most famous late-night show is history, I don’t think game shows and reality competitions are going to do the trick. So it looks like Jay won’t be handing off to Conan, but they’ll be going head-to-head in 2010 instead.
