Conan Says No To New Late Night Lineup

Following his assault on NBC for their recent decisions during his monologue last night, Conan O'Brien has announced that he will not host The Tonight Show if it is moved to follow Jay Leno at 12:05 a.m.

He released a statement this afternoon (read it in full after the jump), making points that the move would be unfair to Jimmy Fallon, that NBC is tarnishing a 60-year-old tradition of the Tonight Show running at 11:35 p.m. and, finally, stating: "I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is [the Tonight Show's] 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."

He says he has not made any decisions about moving to another network (though he has mentioned that he'd like to drink cheap red wine in Spain and write things for Mr. Burns to say), and has "no other offer" right now — which makes this bold and classy move even more applaudable — as he's turning his back on $45 million. Your move, NBC.

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

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in Arts and Events on January 12, 2010 4:00 PM

Comments [rss]

glob

What will all of this mean for Carson Daly?

Earthdog

More power to Conan. Jeff Zucker pretty much defines the term "empty suit".

chickalicious

They cannot do this to Conan O'Brien. Leno has had his "moment" in the sun. It's time for him to fade away gracefully, find something else to do...race cars, collect cars, park cars :-P Or, just get rid of Jimmy Fallon. He's just irritating and not all that funny.

Powerhugs

Lets face facts here - Leno was consistently beating Letterman in the ratings for years - he had 17 years to build up an audience for his brand of humor...Granted Conan is a talent but his core audience watched him at 12:30 including myself on occasion. Bottom line both shows were being revamped and needed to be given time to find their audience once again...Leno's former audience shifted to Dave and I think Conan's show is perceptibly diluted in its humor now....Also there is only so much late night viewership at the 11:35 timeslot.

If you want to blame anyone blame NBC for being cheap and their lack of foresight for not developing new hour long dramas like ER or LAW and ORDER...Now they have a late-night disaster on their hands and still have an open 10PM prime time slot open...

theendofirony

It's like watching a real-life 30 Rock.

jenon

This is all Leno's fault. It's his show that stinks so he should be the one moved around or kicked to the curb. Wasn't it Leno himself who wanted to leave The Tonight Show? Now he wants it back. What an ass.

casey shain

i think Jay Leno is awesome, but i have to admit, i've only sat through ONE entire 10pm show. it's just not the right time for a talk show. NBC made a HUGE mistake in changing everything around. I'm sure it was done just for the money. when you think that those 5 hours a week were filled by one man, one cast and one set, as opposed to 5 dramas, they must have save 50 million dollars this year at least.

that being said, this letter by Conan is the classiest thing i've read by an entertainer. ever. i'm torn. yesterday i would have said do Leno for 1/2 hour then watch Conan at 12:05, but after this letter, i totally get where he's coming from.

Leave Conan at 11:35 and i guess it's time to say ciao to Leno. for now.

ed_Extinct

Pure class.

babyhitler

There's only 5 artists in the world I truly respect and admire and in held in awe of. Thom Yorke, Bill Watterson, David Chappelle, Jack White, and Beethoven. Well, Beethoven's dead so he doesn't count so Conan's my new #5.

S.K.

Vat? You don't like herr Richard Vagner?

bagelman

one of the reasons why i like conan: class act.

Jen S

Team Conan! Quick, someone witty make a t-shirt.

MT

'Save Conan!'

99centmenu

what exactly is it about Leno that NBC is willing to go out of their way to fuck over not one, but two far more talented comedians to keep him on board? did he save the life of someone who still sits on the board? does he have some ridiculously sensitive information regarding the network? I realize his ratings were outstanding while he was host, but that time has passed and the network will only make things worse by scrambling to put everything back where it was rather than trying to work with what they have. potentially, they are burning a bridge with a massive audience which, let's face it, is on average much younger than that of Jay Leno. is it worth it?

the fucker's been on the air for 17 years. it goes without saying that he had his chance and if NBC can't cut him loose, the least he can do is gracefully step down and fade away with dignity.

NannyState

Leno works for nothing and keeps the yokels dribbling into their Depends. NBC is the cheapo network, a cost cutting sewer of shitty reality shows, game shows, and Law And Order. It's breakup value is more than it's worth to try fixing it. The Sports Division alone could fetch $2 billion.

jchez

Anyone with half a brain could see this coming for months. Why did they take the Tonight Show away from Leno if he lead everyone in the ratings? Why did they move O'Brien to the Tonight Show if that meant that his edgy brand of humor would have to be made milder?

This is what's called trying to fix what wasn't broken.

One good thing is that, with Leno at 11:30 on NBC and O'Brien at 11:30 on Fox, Letterman is dead; and that's a good thing.

MT

I doubt they took it away. I'm sure Leno agreed to retire all those years ago when NBC in turn signed Conan. I think that when it finally gave time to give up The Tonight Show Leno simply balked. I'll bet he just didn't want to give it up after all like he said he would. In the end poor Conan got the shaft.

Michael

Yup. The contract for the switch over was signed back in 2004 for Conan to take over for Leno 5 years later.

GOP

$45mm is a lot of money.

mzungu

if Conan walks he walks away from the 45mill. Unfortunately, his lawyers didn't specify a time the "Tonight Show" would air. By calling the 12pm show the Tonight Show, NBC is not technically breaking their contract.

at least that's what everyone is reporting.

longacre

He'll make it somewhere else. He probably would not have written this letter if he didn't already have a solid offer from Fox.

ProcedureTurn

Very classy. Well written.

Conan is ONE-OF-A-KIND.

theevilone

Bravo, Conan. Bravo.

Kevin

Leno is like the bailed out banker of late night. He screws everything up and then gets rewarded.

Rocknrope

Wow. Funny, eloquent, honorable. I have a new respect for him.

In this day and age, how refreshing is it to see someone walking away from a not-so-small fortune because he believes some things are more important than money?

NBC is looking like the major douchebags they probably are.

NannyState

Who's "Jimmy"?

Darrell

I personally hope Comcast outs every single executive from NBC. Its their fault that they forced Jay out of the tonight show early for his 10PM nonsense timeslot, and its their fault that they have essentially recreated the tonight show debacle that spawned The Late Show. Evidently NBC hasn't yet learned that the competition will gladly take whatever talent they foolishly throw aside, and when FOX picks up Conan for a late night run in the fall, and the tonight show ratings continue to plummet, it will only be their fault.

Either way, NBC is still fucked because of Conan's escape clause. They still have to pay him because they created a situation where it became impossible to fulfill the terms of his contract, which means that FOX can pick up Conan on the cheap since NBC is essentially subsidizing his escape.