Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Conan May Jump NBC Ship

I admit that I am a fan of Conan O'Brien, and considering recent events surrounding the failure of Jay Leno's prime time show, I was anticipating O'Brien's response. Frankly, I believe that any change in the NBC lineup changing O'Brien's show, either moving the time slot or changing the name, would be an insult and I was satisfied to see the response by O'Brien, "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."

O'Brien's sentiments are exact and I hope that whatever NBC's decision may be, they respect O'Brien, The Tonight Show name, and all the viewers who have given their time to the program.

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