The Jay Leno Show – which currently airs every weeknight at 10pm on NBC – is being pushed to a later timeslot soon according to The New York Times and other notable news outlets.
NBC have also now confirmed this – Digital Spy reports NBC Universal TV chairman Jeff Gaspin said “I can confirm that starting February 12, Jay Leno will no longer air at 10pm… My goal right now is to keep Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Fallon as part of our late-night lineup. As much as I’d like to tell you we have a done deal, we know that’s not true”.
The New York Times reports NBC’s plan to win back viewers to its channel during primetime is to move The Jay Leno Show (which launched in September last year) from 10pm to 11.35pm and have The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien move from 11.35pm to 12.05am.
The Jay Leno Show would be cut to be a 30 minute programme instead of a full hour, but The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien would stay an hour long show.
Late Night With Jimmy Fallon would also be pushed back to make way for the changes – it would start at 1.05am instead of 12.35am. Last Call With Carson Daly currently follows Late Night With Jimmy Fallon but its future is now unclear because it may have to be pushed back so late that NBC might decide it isn’t worth airing it anymore.
The New York Times says “NBC executives held extensive discussions with Mr. Leno and Mr. O’Brien on Thursday about the future of the network’s late-night lineup… while NBC officially said no final decision on the plan had been made, two senior NBC executives who had talked to the top management about the moves said that under the plan being discussed, Mr. Leno would definitely shift back to 11:35 but in a half-hour format, while Mr. O’Brien would slide back his start time by a half hour and then produce an hourlong show”.
Conan addressed the news that Leno might be taking back the 11.35pm timeslot on his show this week saying “we’ve got a great show for you tonight. I have no idea what time it will air — but it’s going to be a great show”. Leno joked on The Jay Leno Show about moving to Fox but Fox seem more interested in Conan – they told The New York Times “we’ve always been interested in late night and we’re always looking to bring great new talent to Fox. While Conan would be a great fit for Fox, he’s still under contract with NBC, so we’ll just see how all of this plays out”. Fallon seems happy enough being moved slightly later – NYMag says he told The New York Times “I’ll do my show at 3 in the morning… I’m just happy I have a job”.
The New York Times reports “the revised lineup would go into effect after NBC concludes its coverage of the Winter Olympics on Feb. 28. NBC will pre-empt its prime-time and late-night lineup for more than two weeks to cover the Olympics, creating a natural break in which to put the late-night changes into effect”.
What do you think? Will Leno stay is he’s being moved back to late night? Will Conan stay with NBC if Leno takes back the Tonight Show timeslot? Will Fallon stay if he’s being shifted to a later timeslot? Leave us a comment.
Digital Spy – “NBC cancels ‘The Jay Leno Show’”
The New York Times – “Update: NBC Plan Would Move Leno Back to Late Nights”
TV Guide – “Leno Leaving 10 O’Clock Timeslot; Late-Night Changes Proposed…”
TV Guide – “NBC Reportedly Moving Leno Back to 11:35 with O’Brien Following Him”
TV Guide – “Fox Says Conan O’Brien “Would Be a Great Fit”"
NYMag – “Jimmy Fallon: ‘I’ll Do My Show at 3 in the Morning’”
