Leno's lessons: NBC's botched move caused damage all around
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Even on paper, NBC's plan to move Jay Leno from 11:35 p.m., where he was the king of late-night talk, to 10 p.m. to save money on five nights of scripted dramas seemed crazy.
"The Tonight Show" franchise was scheduled to pass from Mr. Leno to Conan O'Brien in 2009, but NBC was desperate to keep the veteran comic from jumping to a rival network.
Eager for a game changer in prime time that would be cheap to produce, the network concocted "The Jay Leno Show" based on several ill-conceived assumptions: 1) Mr. Leno's fans would tune in 90 minutes early to see him even if he was competing against their favorite network shows; 2) the talk-show host's accessible humor would attract a new generation of viewers; 3) predicting audience behavior in a volatile environment is rational.
Except for its debut week, "The Jay Leno Show" performed far below expectations. "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" also failed to maintain the No. 1 position against "Late Night with David Letterman."
The ratings slide at NBC was immediate. The local affiliates let the fourth-place network know they weren't happy that their 11 o'clock news programs were taking a hit because the 10 p.m. lead-in was a disaster.
Fearing an affiliate revolt, NBC announced this week that it was returning Mr. Leno to his 11:35 p.m. slot, cutting 30 minutes from the show and pushing Mr. O'Brien's "Tonight Show" to 12:05 a.m. Rather than deal with that indignity, Mr. O'Brien issued a statement saying he would not follow Mr. Leno out of respect for "The Tonight Show" brand. He has no plans to go to another network.
Besides the affiliates, NBC's inept experiment has hurt Mr. O'Brien the most. No one would blame him for taking a severance package -- and the remnants of his dignity -- elsewhere.
Still, NBC executives refuse to admit they blew it. They even insist that Mr. Leno "performed as expected." In Greek tragedy, this is called "hubris." In network television, it's just another day at the office.
First Published January 14, 2010 12:00 am
