Leno to Conan: 'The Tonight Show' is Yours

Um, couldn't all of this back and forth be solved if the executive producer had vision and had a Tonight Show with BOTH CONAN AND LENO? That would be a new dynamic duo and keep the viewers unexpected as to what zany antics Conan does along side Leno's strengths. Of course, Leno and Conan both would have to be cool with it, but it would start a new genre in late-night shows, which is severely needed since all of these shows are going the way of the do-do unless it gets reinvented.

Leno handled his forced releif of the tonight show with class and acceptance. Conan although quirky not the right personality to take over after Johnny & Jay. NBC finally gets it right.

Jay Leno took 3+ years to become #1 in his timeslot, and at the time NBC actually had a decent primetime lineup. Shifting to recent events, how is it reasonable to expect the viewers who tuned out from Leno at 10PM to show back up at 11:35? Though I have to say that personally, I found that Conan hit the ground running and was impressed how the bits improved with the better budget--clearly I don't have a Nielsen box. IMO Leno had been progressively less funny over the 6-7 years, and I looked forward to Conan taking over the Tonight Show since the announcement in 2004. Now the network chimps think taking an unfunny person from 10PM to 11:35 will solve everything. It might look good on their bottom line, but it will be the end of the Tonight Show. What a shame.

Are all you guys ragging on Conan's head-to-heads with Dave, which were competitive, forgetful that Leno trailed Dave for his first two years?

It took Hugh Grant to change things. Maybe a little more time to build an audience would have been nice for Conan.

This is ridiculous, everybody is taking Conan's side when all Jay does is show up and does his job. Conan was never right for the job because he will always be more of a late late night guy. NBC should have never taken Jay off, especially after hosting Obama where his show clearly soared over the others.

When Leno made the announcement, He was leaving in 5 years, and that Conan would replace Him, I knew I would be leaving NBC also. I could never stomach Conan. Dry, dull, and very
borrrrrrrrring. Had to change over to Letterman. Mean, dry, dull, and borrrrrrrrrrring. I'm so happy and grateful, that,
LENO is coming back. Welcome Home Jay Leno!!!!!!!

Why can't Conan replace Letterman? Letterman is mean spirited, inarticulate, only occasionally funny, an awkward interviewer, and at age 62, getting long in the tooth. Conan is hyperarticulate, fast thinking, consistently funny, and a great interviewer. It would be great to have both Leno and Conan.

When anyone with some kind of integrity gets fired or let go from a job for illegitimate reasons they don't stick around and wait for their old bosses to reconsider. Jay Leno is NBC's Bitch, I lost all respect for that guy. Conan is doing the right thing by leaving and not getting punked around by NBC. Sometimes you have to take a stand. Jay could have took a stand the right way and went to another network but he has no backbone.

I don't understand how Jay Leno is the bad guy in all of this. Let's remember this is SHOW BUSINESS with emphasis on the word BUSINESS! When Johnny left the Tonight Show he was ready to retire, so I don't think it's fair to compare Johnny's exit to Jay's. Truthfully, Conan was never right for the Tonight Show, and Zucker knew it, and to me he's the sole blame, and he needs to go. You don't get to cost the company a 40 million dollar debackle and keep your job.

Jay sucks you guys suck

Did NBC gamble? Yes. Did it win? No

Jay Leno was offered money or the opportunity to continue working. He's a workaholic and made the wrong decision to compete against CBS's Three CSI shows, its Good Wife, and Numbers. All these shows consistenly finish in the top 15 each week. He never had a chance. However, his ratings are high on Hulu and Tivo.

Zucker saw an opportunity to save money by not greenlighting scripted shows. It worked for the network, but screwed the affiliates. This is thy the Peacock is undoing its bad decision. I don't think anyone will come out of this unscathed. No. Conan will (for awhile).

I'm a retired comedy writer who was better writing bits for comedians and TV shows than doing stand-up myself. It takes a special person to perform before an audience and talk without cue cards. This is where Conan and Jay differ.

Conan was a writer, but didn't do stand-up. Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, and Jon Stewart paid their dues before cabaret audiences and honed their skills. Conan relies on his teleprompter and turns to mugging when a joke falls flat. If the card handler messes up, could Conan entertain? Jay can. Remember the writer's strike? Jay wrote his own material and was funnier dueing that time than his regular show.

I feel sorry for the NBC fiasco and what it has done to two men who deserve better. They weren't looking at the total audience, but at the 18-45 demographic. Conan had this, but lost the majority. However, in the long run, Jay has the edge.

Wow, you're as big an idiot as Conan O'Brien.

Leno did everything he said he would.
1. Leno *left* the Tonight Show as promised
2. Conan took over the Tonight Show as promised

So why is Leno the bad guy? Let's see what happened next
3. Conan lost half the Tonight Show viewership
4. Conan lost millions of dollars for NBC
5. Conan FAILED
6. Conan got FIRED

Neat, still don't see how it's Jay Leno's fault. Then what
7. NBC wanted to put Conan back into the time slot he was successful in because he FAILED AT 11:35, but Conan declined
8. NBC offers Jay his old job back because when he ran the show for 17 years it was #1

Interesting list of facts isn't it? I'm glad you kept that clip too so you could show us what a gentlemen Leno was by keeping his word.

All you cry babies need to suck it up and accept it that Conan FAILED. Conan FAILED. Conan FAILED. Conan FAILED. It had NOTHING TO DO WITH LENO.

Do you losers honestly believe if Conan had kept the show #1 that any of this would be happening?

For those of you blaming the "lead in" from Jays show. News flash, Conan had 3 months before Jays show started and by then the Tonight show HAD ALREADY TANKED.

So what are the facts let's recap.
1. Conan FAILED
2. NBC fired him
3. NBC hired the previous host back

That's a faster and less whinier way to recap eh!?

Jay was beating the worldwide pants off of Dave at 11:30.
Dave's scandal helped him for a little while but it was still Jay who was on top of the ratings. Conan had a stupid child like show that was perfect for saturday am fare with the other puppet shows. Jay made a mistake in wanting to leave and with the threat of him going to Fox or ABC,NBC gave him the 10 PM slot which is dead meat for any live comedy show. If any of you pundits can admit to never making a mistake or regretting something you did,or wishing you had the chance to do it differently stand up and throw the first stone.I for one will be glad to have Jay back and Conan gone.

bottom line, conan's funnier than leno. conan should go cable to get his edge back. let the old farts have leno back,more power to them.

Both Leno and Letterman, although not quite up to Carson's performance do suffice for the most part for comedy. O'Brien, my dear sweet mothers (maiden name), gives credence to the suggestion of "The dumbing-down of America", O'Brien is at best amusing when I am so tired but just don't really want to go to sleep yet. I Love Lucy re-runs give a better quality for laughs. How did Conan ever come about? I'd like to hear a good answer. Maybe a "One Hit Wonder" should have been put to rest long ago.

"Chicago Says": If you're wondering why Leno is the bad guy here, it's simple. Check the numbers: Conan was doing fine in The Tonight Show slot -- either beating Letterman or being competitive with him -- until Leno's show appeared. NBC's prime-time ratings tanked, followed by the late local news that provided a feeder to "The Tonight Show." It was a domino effect. Now, Leno is being rewarded for helping start the process that destroyed Conan's ratings. Completely unfair.

Listen Folks look at it this way;

When Johnny Carson retired from the tonight show, did he just make a new show and push his air time up one hour? NO.

If Johnny Carson stayed on air and merely took a new show and new time slot, Jay Leno would not have had a chance to success.

Now fast forward...

Jay Leno retires from the Tonight Show...

Moves up One hour, Does Conan O'brien have half a chance?

NO he does not....

Jay moving to a different time slot was bologna and completely unfair to Conan O'brien...

The result is what we have today...

I dont see how anyone can blame leno for conan rating drop. FIrst off I choose one person and watch it. I dont waste my entire nights watching every talk show that comes on and not to mention, if conans good, people are gonna watch him regardless. Personally I think hes lame with his immature act and plastic look. Hes just annoying acting like a damn bobblehead, I dont see how you people watch him. Hes rating suck cause he sucks. Id rather go to sleep then watch this d*bag. I think its funny that his workers are pissy cause they wont have a job and blame nbc. Oh well Sh*t happens. He's getting 30 million to leave and hopefully that severance package hes giving to his workers is garbage. I dont think someone as lame as him should get 30 million yet 200 other people only get 7.5 mil. Thats a crock of crap and him being a slimebag. Pay them their salaries for a year and be a good boss not a stingy a*hole. Its not like doing that is gonna make him bankrupt. The staff is getting screwed more than him. They dont make nearly what he makes a year and they had to make a lot more sacrifices for him like moving and wondering where their next paycheck is gonna come from, its the least he can do!! He could retire today and be set for life.

For you Leno fans and those of you wondering why Jay is the 'villain' in this mess: While one talk show host is 'getting the boot', the other is getting his 'cake and getting to eat it too'!
NBC, the cold-hearted, money-grubbing network may be the real villain but Jay is certainly culpable for doing his part as well. Would you say "sure guys, let Conan go if he wants as long as I get my job back from him...it's all good"?? Or would you say, "I'm a good guy- let's come up w/ something better that respects Conan as well"...?
Oh and btw to all you Letterman haters; Dave is THE MAN! He began his show as the most irreverent, edgiest, quickest wit and yes the thorniest guy on late night.
You Dave would pull no punches and over the years although he's mellowed- Dave would out joke, out-wit, and out smart Leno w/ ease.
Leno is white bread, safe, middle of the road fare. Which is probably why more Americans watched him.
For me, if I want to laugh I watch Dave- If I want to sleep I put on Jay's show.

NBC execs: didn't want to lose Conan, and weren't satisfied with Jay, but didn't want to lose his audience, so they cave to a primetime. Even though all they wanted was to leave things as they were.

Now obviously they've decided how to remedy the situation without consulting either party..

So in other words, they're like employers EVERYWHERE! YA HA HA HA!!

BUT WAIT, NBC AND GIVE LENO & CREW THE LARGE SEVERANCE PKG..

Well, as with employers everywhere, they will hang in there until the dust settles. And take whatever they can get from the Late Night ratings war. It will take at least as many months as the slide...

It is very simple. The late night show was built around comedy. After Carson...not funny. So only discussing second rate late night hosts. OUT!

Dave is having more fun than humans should be allowed to have as NBC implodes.

Dave is having more fun than humans should be allowed to have as NBC implodes.

I liked watching Jay late at night. I really didn't care for Conan. Once was usually enough for most of his bits. I will watch Jay at that time. I've missed him after the news.

Im still in disbelief that nbc gives leno another shot at the tonight show. Conan deserve a longer probation period to make his act get some viewers. I dont watch the nbc latenight lineup, prefer Letterman and lately have become a big fan of craig ferguson. My only worry is who will take over lettermans show. Id like to see ferguson get it, but think that John Stewart might make the jump. who know huh

Try watching Craig Ferguson after Letterman. His Scottish European off the cuff wit and expression is funnier than all the late night show hosts put together.

Try watching Craig Ferguson after Letterman. His Scottish European off the cuff wit and expression is funnier than all the late night show hosts put together.

From the first episode of The Jay Leno Show, it was my belief that NBC got it all wrong in an effort to hog the late evening talent from defection. They knew they had two high quality, likable guys that could deliver the ratings but they didn't give Leno enough time to develop a new format for a 10 p.m. time slot. Leno's show turned out to be a regurgitation of Leno's best bits with the addition of two mediocre new ones flanking a lame interview (I always felt that Leno's Tonight Show interviews were the weakest part of his show.)

Instead, perhaps NBC could have revisited the old Ed Sullivan Show format, introducing new talent (acrobats, magicians, singers, musicians, comedians, bands, dancers, etc.) and regional or not-so-well-known acts to a national audience. This would've been a wonderful way for NBC to mine and foster new acts without having to resort to producing reality shows like American Idol and America's Got Talent or So You Think You Can Dance, et al. He could intersperse his tried-and-true bits in between to fill time if needed, but this would've helped him to evolve into something other than an old, has-been talk show host like Letterman (who can add lecherous and arrogant to that description as well.)

NBC execs: didn't want to lose Conan, and weren't satisfied with Jay, but didn't want to lose his audience, so they cave to a primetime. Even though all they wanted was to leave things as they were.

Now obviously they've decided how to remedy the situation without consulting either party..

So in other words, they're like employers EVERYWHERE! YA HA HA HA!!

BUT WAIT, NBC AND GIVE LENO & CREW THE LARGE SEVERANCE PKG..

Well, as with employers everywhere, they will hang in there until the dust settles. And take whatever they can get from the Late Night ratings war. It will take at least as many months as the slide...

NBC did the same thing to Milton Berle. They didn't want him any longer, but also did not want anyome else to have him, so when Berle left, it was with severance pay, and a contract that forbade him competition with NBC for(I think it was)30 years. Berle survived. And still had a career.

Conan is the next generation. Leno's okay too. Letterman is just a bitter old man with an axe to grind and for me he is extinct.

Hey....I can't feel too bad for a guy thats going to get upwards of 40 mil not to go to work...and soon free to work elsewhere.
Secondly, I watched him in the beginning, didn't do much for me. Letterman was and still is the best of the bunch.
My opinion only.

WHO ARE THESE LENO/CONAN PEOPLE YOU ARE ALL TALKING ABOUT?

The affiliates wanted to jettison Leno because his crappy ratings resulted in a bad lead in for their local news. Conan did not figure into this battle one iota. It was 100% due to Leno's ratings tanking. I liked Jay but his move back to 11:35 makes him look like the biggest douche bag in the business. I can hope for nothing but his messy demise and hope only the best for Conan wherever he lands. Shame on NBC for being such idiots. Zucker is the laughing stock of the business. Just take him out and shoot him already.

John Stewart is totally getting The Late Show. Conan is not. 100% not. John Stewart is Dave's only choice in my opinion.

Sad to see Conan go. At first I thought I did not like him but after one show I was hooked. I am and have been sick of Leno's lame skits, jokes and such for long time. I will take Letterman over Leno's stale routines.

Conan was fresh and lively.

I was tyke when Jack Parr was on. I watch Johnny faithfully. I was disappointed when the Letterman fiasco went down, but grew into Jay and left Dave. I never caught on to Conan. I watched the new show with Jay for two months and his show didn't capitavate me. Soon I was back with Letterman and that's where I am staying.

NBC Wants their cake and to eat it too. THey don't want Conan but they don't want anyone else to have him either. How Greedy are they being! What, is Conan supposed to sit around doing nothing for five years while his creative humor is being wasted!!! Jay is like a little kid with a toy. He doesn't want to play with it until someone else does. Cut Jay lose while he has some dignity. He will have no trouble getting a talk show gig on another network or on cable. Everyone needs to relax, and give Conan his fair share of time. If in a year he still is flopping then take another course of action.

I can not stand leno anymore. I use to watch him when I was younger until I found Conan. Conan is a awesome comedian. I would rather watch someone who can laugh at him self (conan) instead of comedain (leno) who tells the audience to "shut up" if they don't like one of his jokes. How is that a gentleman? Maybe Leno didn't ask to get put back on the tonight show but he didn't have to accept it either. It just bugs me because Conan is getting screwed and so am I because he is the only late night talk show host I will watch. And with the whole loss of ratings I think its alot of different factors. One of which is that Conan had to hold back alot of his skits because he was at an earlier time slot. Conan is at his best when he is off the cuff which he was unable to do until now because hes getting canned anyways. If hosted like he is doing now and how he did on late night his ratings would stay high.

Jay had said that he wanted to retire in 2009. He was not forced out. The last few years he seemingly questioned his idea to leave, but he was still going and it was his idea. Why would NBC let go of Jay for Conan? Jay didn't want to stay on and they made the deal with Conan. Late Night gets the Tonight Show - they way it should have been done with Letterman. Conan pressuring NBC to make a decision is laughable, really. John Stewart, Ben Stiller, Jimmy Fallon - anyone could do 12:30. Jay left to A. Be the first late night host to go to prime time. B. Get the jump on Letterman and Conan. If this worked out, he wouldn't be going anywhere and he'd be gloating. Furthermore, Jay started spreading the word 2 months ago that he would go back, but that Conan had the job... google it, media. Jay as self deprecating as he is pretending to be, has everytihing to do with this decision. Villian? No. Smart businessman? Yes.

No more NBC latenight in our household! As a matter of fact we only watch the Office which we actually record and watch at a later time.

What was NBC thinking to put Jay on everynight at 10 pm, should have only put him on 2 nights a week at that time. I knew it wouldn't work. Jay is great and will hopefully be around for a long time. I'll watch Jay again at 11:30.

What was NBC thinking to put Jay on everynight at 10 pm, should have only put him on 2 nights a week at that time. I knew it wouldn't work. Jay is great and will hopefully be around for a long time. I'll watch Jay again at 11:30.

WATCH MY SHOW INSTEAD!!!! ITS WAY BETTER ANYWAY!!!

The NBC leadership is at fault here. They wanted to push Conan into the Tonight Show to keep his young audience and to keep him from jumping to another network. So they got Jay to "agree" to set the date for his retirement from the Tonight Show.

NBC spent the money to help Conan's Tonight Show look good and play well. Jay's show looked good too. But in offering Jay at 10PM/9Central etc., they took a chance with the audience--and lost. Jay's audience isn't available at 10PM. The affiliates didn't get their lead-in from a highly rated drama at 10. Conan loses his lead-in and his cult-like audience didn't follow him to an hour earlier time slot. Almost everybody lost.

Regardless of what you think of either Jay or Conan, neither got the deal they deserved. Both are proven talents who have made money for NBC. Sadly, Carson Daley gets canned because of this mess. The only one to survive with dignity may be Jimmy Fallon. Although he started out rough, He is making his way to winning shows. Besides, Nobody is fighting for his time slot.

If Jay were to step aside like the good sport he has always been, Conan could continue on the Tonight Show to build his audience. But I don't blame Jay for not being the "Company" man this time. Jay was offered a bad deal 5 years ago. NBC somehow got him to agree to it and Conan was offered his dream job a little too soon. Both Jay and Conan were profitable before the switch. And now, the Leno/O'Brien situation is in total ruin. No matter who continues on the Tonight Show, both hosts are justified in feeling violated over the thinking that risked way too much.

Perhaps, Letterman was lucky to escape to CBS when he did.

I will be boycotting NBC over the Conan debacle. I'll miss 30 Rock and The Office not so much Heroes and Chuck.

Leno, IMO, hasn't been funny or innovative in years. He's the same age as my husband but believe me even my husband doesn't think he's funny.

I blame the NBCU/Comcast merger for these shennanigans. Broadcast TV is dead and Comcast has killed it.

Good points made by several of you and I will add my take:

I remember when Jay replaced Carson...I was a teenager and at the time I felt a little saddenned but found Leno a little more edgy and continued watching. My parents had grown up with Carson and didn't like Leno at first, but then grew to love him. My mom never liked Letterman, but my dad would watch his monologues and top 10 before swithcing over. Eventually they both just stuck with Leno and never found Conan to be funny.

Now, I grew up with Conan as the Late Night guy who could get away with anything and be the rebel because "nobody watches this show". This appealed to many and he built a loyal following. While not as funny with his monologues IMO, his sketches and interviews were always better to me than Leno. I looked forward to his taking over the Tonight Show as his brand of humor I thought could eventually win over those that were skeptics and I figured the diehard Leno fans would follow him to 10pm. I think NBC panicked and did not give this transition a full time to work itself out. Affiliates be damned, just figure out a way to work it out. Jay was given time even after a big dropoff after Carson, but he adapted and survived. Conan would have doen the same.

As far as how we watch late night, I am 35 and even though I stay up until after 1am most nights, I watch all these type shows on Hulu. I have a gazillion shows I TIVO at home, so I catch them up a nights and watch these comedy talk shows during the day when I find time. I am not alone in that as many I know do the same. In fact, I have taken to subscribing to a late night jokes of the day app on my Iphone for days that I don't get to check the shows out on the internet. Goes to show you the way we as a society are getting our content these days.

BTW, the new late night "rebel" Fallon is much better than I thought. Horrible on SNL, and his monolougues are nearly unbearable, but good for one gem a night usually. He has taken over the mantle as the guy that you watch because your parents think its stupid!

It's business, and quite honestley I don't feel bad for Conan, nor do I care what he has done for writers or anyone else for that matter. I must admit I like Leno better, but if I were never to see either one oif them on tv ever again, I would find someone else to laugh at.

I'll boycott NBC but for how long, who knows. I love 30 Rock and the Office. Parks and Recreation and Chuck (though I'm not crazy about his new super powers) are OK too but I can certainly give up 4 little shows for a while.
Remember when NBC was tops. I enjoyed that SouthLAnd show and now it's on TNT. They seem to want results too fast. What happened to developing an audience, allowing people to discover a show. With so many TV viewing choices it takes people a while to discover a show.
Patience is a virtue NBC doesn't have

NBC stopped promoting the Tonight Show, and promoted the 10pm show exclusively. We never knew who was going to be guesting on the 'real' tonight show. NBC screwed Conan. Jay's Tonight Show took time before it got good ratings, and he had the luxury of promotional support. They took that away from Conan. NBC is insane to let Conan go.

To "Matureviewer" - It sounds like your decision to like Leno over Conan is based not just on entertainment value, but the host as a person on and off the screen.

I'd like to point out Conan and Letterman publicly lead the support for writers during the 2007 writer strike both vocally and financially, while Leno was late to the punch. In fact, Leno was penning his own monologues or basically saying well if these guys aren't doing their work I'll do it for them (i.e. who needs them).

"Unlike colleagues David Letterman and Conan O'Brien, Leno--who makes an estimated $27 million a year--has refused to offer staff of his late-night show their normal paychecks after they were laid off on Friday, according to the New York Daily News."

Leno who is filthy wealthy is again in a position to stand in solidarity with his fellow colleagues and although has publicly supported Conan in this ordeal, there has not been much action behind his words - it's hard to see what he's cooking.

That said, I'm sure both Jay / Conan are ultimately good guys. I don't think you get reward that much in life by being an jerk.

Totally lame. I don't like thinking of Jay as the bad guy though, and i don't know if he's really had a chanse to defend himself. For now I will be thinking of Zuckerman as the evil one, trying to blame the network's shortcomings on CoCo. And if Jay really does take The T Show back, then he will recieve a giant red [EVIL] stamp on his image as well, along with the raspy voice reading it aloud (Conan reference). That will result in me never watching NBC ever again, unless of course they have hijacked a Red Wings game and eventually the Stanly Cup Playoffs.

The following is targeted at 'Matureviewer'...

Listen. The following concept will be hard for you to swallow, as it seems to be for nearly every member of your generation.

Your opinion does not serve as a compass to everyone else's opinions. You are not the middle of some spectrum where every opinion you have is absolute zero, what everyone else's should be, and those who don't share your opinion (or the opinions of your friends) are not wrong or incorrect.

Your arguments are all missing a number of key elements. One; you are not considering the fact that Leno, upon inheriting the Tonight Show from Johnny Carson, had a huge slip in his ratings, as well -- just as Conan has. The slip was so formidable, in fact, that there was even talk of replacing Leno with Letterman; now ask yourself, where would your loyalties have laid had that happened?

Said slip also occurred some two decades ago -- before the existence of not hundreds, but thousands of channels and (most importantly) the internet existed to thin out potential audiences. The advent of the internet had played an especially influential role in Conan's poor ratings; for example, I don't even *own* a TV, for the reason that the internet and its infinite wealth of material has made it obsolete (for me, at least). Anything I want to watch is available at my fingertips at any time, ad-free. It's a mistake to believe that the only reason Conan's garnered positive ratings over the last week or two is because people want to see the drama unfold; rather, it's because the younger generation of watchers, who actually like Conan's brand of humor, are actively turning on their TV sets and tuning in to his Tonight Show, whereas before they'd simply watch the prior night's show on websites such as Hulu.com, or simply watch highlight clips, leaving the all-important TV ratings unaffected.

You're also ignorant of the fact that a huge element of this whole debacle is that neither Leno's "new" variety show nor Conan's show were doing particularly well, hence the network wanted to move Leno's show back, consequentially bumping back the other evening talk shows, which Conan refused, leading to Leno's return -- and so, I'll throw your question right back at you; "What happened to all of the fans he already had from his years on TV?" In this case, they didn't follow him to "The Jay Leno Show" -- I doubt the lack of celebrity appearances was the source of the problem.

I'm happy for you that your favorite talk show host is returning to his previous throne, but I disagree with your notion that NBC made a mistake by replacing Leno. Change is good, but it's something that must naturally occur. What happened here was an instance of NBC not pouring their resources into the new 'Tonight' show, and not sticking to their guns, as they should have. Seven months is no time to judge a fledgling show, legacy or not... and I think time will tell where NBC has truly made a misstep.

I love them both - but I think Conan should keep the "Tonight Show." Let Jay Leno have a weekend show or something. They are both great, people will like Conan in time. He's been in New York - he has to adapt to the Hollywood vibe, he will or would have. I love NBC and am shocked that this has happened. I hope they work it out so everyone is happy - the people and the network and the audience. Hopeful.

conan is the only nbc show im watching, and when its done i will not tune into that network again. call it a boycott if you want..

I have always been a fan of Jay Leno because he has been a true gentleman both on and off his show. If any of you look at publicity on Leno, you'll not find Leno anything but gentlemanly and gracious. As much as my husband and I admired and enjoyed Johnny Carson and hated to see him leave, we came to love Jay Leno. He has done a great job as host of the 'Tonight Show.'

I am 56 and my husband is 60. We have never liked Conan O'Brien and do not find him funny. Neither do many of our friends who fall in the demographic age group that his show is supposed to reach. The TV pundits don't always have it right when they try to bump out fan favorites in order to bring in someone they think will appeal to the 18-49 age group.

Some of you complain that Conan wasn't given time to build a fan base. What happened to all of the fans he already had from his years on TV? Did they not follow him to the 'Tonight Show'? And as for Jay wanting his show back now, he mentioned years before he left the show that he would still have liked to stay on as 'Tonight' host. Also, what caused a problem with his prime time ratings was that none of the other networks would let their celebrities be guests on his show opposite their network prime time shows. NBC did not foresee this happening.

NBC made a major mistake and I hope they have learned a lesson. Don't mess with it if it works well. Jay Leno was great as 'Tonight Show' host. Let another network put Conan on late night and give everyone a chance to chose who they want to see. I wish them both well. Let's just have some peace already.

I want to get paid $30 million to leave a job!

Actually, I'll leave any job for just one million!

Why be greedy... no, I'll leave the job for just half a million....

Conan started his show on June 1st. Leno's did not debut until mid September. Conan's ratings were already down so the "domino" effect cannot be blamed on Leno. Conan's soaring ratings now would not have lasted. People just want to hear about the feud. If it were resolved, and he went back to doing what he had been doing, Conan's ratings would have gone right back down.

Well I guess you better get ready Tim and Angie because Conan is getting paid 30 million to leave the network

First of all, I'd like to see Conan have his chance. With that said, when Leno made this announcement it was clear that it wasn't him who said "Hey i want to retire in 5 years, please give it to Conan". I'm not sure why everyone is bringing up this video? Yes he said a lot but it was after NBC structured the contract and when they WANTED Conan. It doesn't surprise me that he was all for NBC wanting to bump Conan and give him 1/2 hour show. I think way too many are just spewing Leno hatred.

I also think Conan has blame for not just taking the 1/2 hour bump and seeing how things worked rather than appealing to everyone how he's such a victim and how his people moved from NY to LA when in the end it's him that sacrificed their jobs while he'll probably still have a nice payday.

Again, I think the show should be Conan's but I'm just tired of the boo-hoo attitude.

Leno's a suck.

Bobaloo Leno pasted to torch to Conan. Then Jay Leno immediately came out of retirement to host a show before Conan to act as a lead-in and have some ratings share with the Tonight Show audience that were diehard Leno fans. If Carson came out of retirement 2 months after Leno took over Leno would not be around. Jay Leno passed the show over and 4 months after his new show didn't have the ratings he makes multiple statements saying he would like to host the tonight show again.

Then NBC plans to put Jay on at 11:30 effectively bumping everyone 30 minutes. The Late show that Conan took over from Letterman, and passed over to Fallon would be unfairly killed at 1:05am timeslot and lets not forget about Daily. Leno elbowing his way into the Night spot is unfair to everyone, and Conan is the only one that is willing to stand up for them. Leno is making himself look like a money hungry douche, that wants to take over the tonight show and do nothing with it for another 10 years.

Conan is going to CBS, because Letterman is leaving,retireing and they have no backup that can fill his shoes.

leno had 5 years to decide where he would go. did he need to go to primetime? it wasn't an ill advised decision, he simply didn't want to leave the spotlight. then nbc offers to move him back to 11 30 and push the tonight show to 12 05 and he says yeah i could go with that?

nevermind the fact that it's no longer the tonight show but the next day show to borrow letterman's words. that's greed if i ever saw it.

you're taking correlation to imply causation and a bad correlation at that. many things are necessary to produce ratings, one of those things is a good lead in. the lead in for late night shows is typically the local affiliate news, which gets their lead in from prime time television.

the fact remains the local affiliates were complaining about THEIR sinking numbers and wanted to take Jay Leno out of primetime. Conan's numbers were directly impacted by the lack of numbers from primetime which impacted local news numbers which produced low numbers for Conan.

he simply was never given the chance to succeed, leno back in 1993 was facing the same situation and publicly chastised NBC saying: don't give letterman the show give me time and i'll pull in the numbers! they gave leno his shot and pushed letterman to cbs where he continued to kick leno's ass until the hugh grant scandal which finally gave leno an edge.

I don't understand why people feel the need for a villain in this. Having worked in broadcast, I just don't see it, except some serious miscalculations on the part of management. Leno is innocent of wrongdoing. Conan, based on some strong beliefs, refused to begin the "Tonight" show at 12:05. Leno, in an ill-advised move to 10PM, simply found himself in the wrong place. With all that's happening in the world, I don't get why people are so exercised over some career moves by celebrities, or the machinations of a money-driven business.

his ratings might be down in comparison, but as in any dynasty, you time for it to mature. Conan wasn't given enough time to build his fan base. Jay had years to do this and NBC with the "I NEED IT NOW" attitude, will be shooting themselves in the foot. Jay if a classy guy, will back down and let this be and NOT take over the Tonight Show. Even if he does come back, I feel the image of the network, the show, and LENO has be too damaged to recover. This turmoil fortunately falls in favor with Conan and his fan base along with the new ones he made in the last few weeks will show this.

Of course the ratings fell... NBC cannibalized the available audience by putting a crappy talk show on at 10pm as a lead-in to Conan's show. Who the hell wants to watch ANY late night talk shows after struggling through the crappy Jay Leno show? The old Tonight show audience never had a chance to get used to Conan by giving them a familiar face at 10pm and I think its clear that once you take the brand of the 'Tonight Show' away from Leno, nobody really wants to watch the guy.

How else can you justify the guy being the #1 late night show with the Tonight Show name to getting canceled without it? It's not like his crappy 10pm show is any different than his old show. Besides of course the new new race segment which I would argue is a tremendous improvement to any of the old crappy bits he used to do anyway.

Actually, Conan's weren't because his direct lead in, the local late news, was down in ratings because of nobody watching Jay Leno's on the local affiliates. It's a domino effect.

uhh you guys are stupid. Look, conan's ratings fell when he took over so nbc has to make a business decision to reinstate jay leno. jay did not ask for this.

Why don't they get rid of all the crappy talk show hosts. The list is WAY to long to type. But I'm sure Conan is better than any of those morons.

It does sound crazy that Conan could end up on the Wb....because that network doesn't exist anymore. You probably mean the Cw.

Well, I must ask, did Jay lie to us? To Conan? Sounds like it...

I hope once this is over that nobody will watch Jay Leno. I have a feeling this will happen. They are forcing Conan out and it was the plan all along. He will be back after a while I'm sure. Someone will offer him something on another network. WB late night? Sounds crazy...but it could work.

If Conan gets the boot i suggest a NBC Boycott, especially if they limit Conan from having a show at another network.