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by Mark_Thompson from los angeles

Last Post 22 days, 6 hours Ago


Color me surprised
May 15, 2008 | 12:01 AM
Category: Entertainment
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I don't get it...you can believe it or not, but the fact is Jay Leno is dominating Letterman and Kimmel in key demos during late night.

I'm not necessarily a Leno fan or detractor but I certainly don't see how the network justifies cutting him loose when he's leading the ratings field in dominant fashion.

Now, the fact may be that NBC thinks Conan can command the same audience more or less, but if you are NBC, when you are winning the game so handily, why would you turn Leno loose???? Why not cut Conan a check for 40 million--his penalty if not given the show (which you will make up in 2 months of Leno's show) and march on into the next decade.

Am I missing something??? All you armchair execs help me please :)


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Member Comments Total Comments: 15
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HowardM
May 15, 2008 | 8:53 AM

To my dismay, NBC execs are looking long term. As Leno ages (he'll be a jurrasic 60 next year) the execs feel he'll contiunally lose the 18-34 yr old demographic. I don't think there is much weight in that theory as Carson made NBC tons of money w/o that demographic (and Carson had ownership in his shows).

This is a classic example of 'out with the old, in with the new.' I've liked Leno since the days I saw him in small 100 seat venues in Santa Monica (early 1980s). Not too many comics can pack a house like Leno, keep the audience's attention for 90 minutes and not utter one profanity. Let's hope Rupert Murdock makes him a deal he can't refuse and gets him on Fox starting in 2010.
ddain read my blog view my photos
May 15, 2008 | 9:35 AM

None of this would have happened of course if Leno didn't announce a couple of years ago that 2009 was going to be it for him.

I agree with Howard...Conan has a different, younger audience than Jay, and if they're going to fight David Letterman in the late night ratings, NBC needs to keep the younger people away from Letterman. Conan does that.

I have more issues with Jimmy Fallon. He's untalented and not funny. Anyone else would have been a better choice.
_Bella_ read my blog view my photos
May 15, 2008 | 12:29 PM

I am also dismayed at the thought of Leno leaving, he is the "Top Dog" for sure. But C'MON....Conan???? Letterman will kill Conan in the ratings, of course at first you may see a hike in the ratings(for Conan)purely out of curiosity from the viewers, but then as time goes by they'll drop...I have no doubt!

Conan just doesn't have it....he is boring and in my opinion just not funny. Craig Ferguson however is hilarious and very entertaining, now that's who I'd like to see fill Leno's seat, he has "it" he would make a great replacement....to bad he works for Letterman. I'd love to see those two go head to head. I think Ferguson would get higher numbers than Letterman.
sebar read my blog view my photos
May 15, 2008 | 12:49 PM

Wow Markei Baby, you aren't panning my entertainment blogs much. I nailed this twice already and my last blog on it is still here... http://community.myfoxla.com/blogs/sebar/2008/04/25/Var
iety_on_Leno_and_what_FOX_could_do Yeah they ought to keep Leno, cause Conan's dry slapstick ain't cutting it much either plus most people who watch him as well are working the graveyard shifts and are middle aged. The younger scene is into other things these days. I said it once and I'll say it again. Mr. Murdoch and coompany should give Leno whatever he wants and get him over to the network for America....FOX!

American Author, Poet, Songwriter and Filmwriter
"Mark Paul" Sebar
The Power To Write The Best!
marv read my blog view my photos
May 15, 2008 | 6:51 PM

mark, have you considered the possibility of Leno doing a M-F 10PM-11PM show?
craftyguy read my blog
May 15, 2008 | 7:15 PM

Leno did it without writers and did it better then the ones with them..he is a true talent.. and worth what he asks..and can call his own shots he doesnt need anyone.. wherever he goes his fans will follow
sebar read my blog view my photos
May 15, 2008 | 9:55 PM

Yeah that's right crafty and he did it without a lot of monkeys and tack hammers too! That's my reply to your crappy union, exit stage left, cause I know I just got under your wooden skin!
sebar read my blog view my photos
May 16, 2008 | 12:43 AM

FOX should grab him and if they don't and he exits the small screen we all lose. End of topic, it's up to Jay and FOX to get him back on air while Conan pawns on the entertainment dust heap.
Al_Kaplan read my blog
May 16, 2008 | 9:37 AM

i think Lorne Michaels is Conan's mentor at NBC. i'd prefer Jimmy Falon at 11:35 over Conan. i am not addressing your economic analysis regarding Leno because i do not enjoy his program.
sebar read my blog view my photos
May 16, 2008 | 1:01 PM

Well sorry to burst you little bubble Al, but I do think Jay is great talent and I also think like a majority of folks that this is a grand opportunity for FOX to nab a super talent that will give the network high ratings, so I will stand on my position and say they should do everything within their powers to nab Jay Leno and stiff NBC = (No Bonus at Christmas) in the process. NBC is a joke based on truth that Jay coined up.

American Author, Poet, Songwriter and Filmwriter
"Mark Paul" Sebar
The Power To Write The Best!
Abe_Oltulever read my blog
May 16, 2008 | 3:19 PM

mark, i like the simpsons, TMZ, married with children in the late night. sebar you are so delusionally opinionated that i feel i should do the opposite of everything you want.
marv read my blog view my photos
May 16, 2008 | 4:17 PM

abe, let's not make this a sebar blog. sebar is a bright guy. he just doesn't remember "Thick of the Night", Joan Rivers, Arsenio Hall." as a programing genius, i would focus on an althernative to talk shows. we could develop a bathing beauty contest every night and ask the contestants funny questions. i probably saw something like this in Rome but since i could not understand italian i had no idea what everyone was laughing about. however, the sexy women got my attention, i was actually sexually arroused by the program. yes, i am thining outside your box.
more_cowbell read my blog
May 17, 2008 | 10:01 AM

There is one person who could rule late night above all others. His name is John Stewart. He has honed his craft on cable TV and is now ready for the prime-time.

With Stephen Colbert as his sideman, there is no stopping them!!!
mystere read my blog view my photos
May 23, 2008 | 11:42 AM

I just figured out what NBC stands for: No-Brain-Cuckoos! They have a way of wrecking their own line-ups both nationally and locally: they got rid of Christopher Nance because he had a Bible in his office cubicle (Nance spoke about this with talkshow host Paul McGuire on KBRT), and they're doing this to Leno now. What a bunch of geniuses!!! Wait until they really shoot themselves in the guts...they just shot themselves in their stinkers, after numbing themselves first...wait 'til the painkillers wear off! And it won't take long for Conad to do that!
OldFriend
May 28, 2008 | 9:25 PM

two words: Jerry Seinfeld. Left at the top too leaving fans with fond memories and wanting more.
Jay will be back. "indie prod" sounds right.
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Mark_Thompson

On the nightly FOX 11 10pm News with occasional appearances on Channel 13 and even Good Day L.A. I am brimming with thoughts that will both entertain and bore you all in the same instant. I look forward to getting your thoughts too.

Member Since: 7/4/2006


 

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