Conan Just Quit (The host not the barbarian)

[Werewolf]

I think I'm fairly impartial in this not being a fan or avid watcher of either.

I think it's unfortunate Jay is being made into some kind of monster over this when the fault clearly lies with NBC.

NBC didn't want to lose Conan to another network so they forced Jay into an early retirement when he was still on top of his game and ratings. Not long after NBC got a bit "buyers remorse" over Conan and wanted to keep Jay around, so they gave him a new time slot. This kept Jay from going to another network and they were able to keep him in reserves in case Conan tanked as host of the Tonight Show. Both Jay and Conan were an ill fit in their new timeslots and their ratings suffered.

It was shrewd of Conan, if not a bit of dirty pool, to paint himself as the victim of big evil Jay and blame him for his ratings sucking and NBC wanting to change their timeslots around. Props to Jay for being publically the classier of the lot and not blame anyone for his ratings, attack Conan and take all the really nasty comments and insults in stride.

And like I've said before, they're both millionaires and will get tons of money no matter how this mess turns out.

[Evel KMego]

I've never laughed at Leno once.

[ODBJBG]

Meanwhile Conan won the ratings overall on Friday. NBC is so stupid. He's been crushing Dave in the demos, but now he's winning households too. It's almost a shame this isn't some ploy to get some attention on the Tonight show.

[ODBJBG]

I think I'm fairly impartial in this not being a fan or avid watcher of either.

I think it's unfortunate Jay is being made into some kind of monster over this when the fault clearly lies with NBC.

NBC didn't want to lose Conan to another network so they forced Jay into an early retirement when he was still on top of his game and ratings. Not long after NBC got a bit "buyers remorse" over Conan and wanted to keep Jay around, so they gave him a new time slot. This kept Jay from going to another network and they were able to keep him in reserves in case Conan tanked as host of the Tonight Show. Both Jay and Conan were an ill fit in their new timeslots and their ratings suffered.

It was shrewd of Conan, if not a bit of dirty pool, to paint himself as the victim of big evil Jay and blame him for his ratings sucking and NBC wanting to change their timeslots around. Props to Jay for being publically the classier of the lot and not blame anyone for his ratings, attack Conan and take all the really nasty comments and insults in stride.

And like I've said before, they're both millionaires and will get tons of money no matter how this mess turns out.

Except... None of what you said is true. The whole "buyer's remorse" bit is nonsense. Leno pressured NBC into the 10 PM show in 2008 when he got offers from ABC to run opposite of Tonight when Conan took over. Jay made NBC offer him a huge deal, then when it failed, he blamed it on NBC and said they never should have taken him off the Tonight Show when he didn't want to leave it. Which would make sense if true, but that's not at all how Jay said in writing and ON HIS SHOW five years ago. He said he wanted to pass the torch and go out on top... Jay's 2004 Announcement from sustainabletips - Video

Leno is a jerk, plain and simple. Yeah... Leno's the bad guy.

[Werewolf]

Leno is a jerk, plain and simple. Yeah... Leno's the bad guy.

I'm not a fan of either.

They're both millionaires and both are only going to get richer out of this. The only thing I find sad or evil is how easily we, the public, are manipulated by the media. It's surreal how the media plays us and can get people so worked up and pick sides (this team Leno and team Conan nonsense) over what is such a trivial non issue.

[WannabeMego]

Did you guys see the clip of Kimmel on Leno? At first I thought he was kidding, but by the end I wasn't sure. If he really was serious it was brutal. Letterman is supposed to be commenting on it tonight.

Jay Leno's 10 at 10 with Jimmy Kimmel

[ODBJBG]

Some of the signs and antics today were pretty hilarious at the various rallies across the country. Gotta love that so many Conan fans got together, had a good time and helped raise money for Haiti relief efforts as well.

[trekman101]

Leno....Conan....NBC all new what they were doing and had their motives when they all agreed to change the line up...no one was really forced to do any thing they didn't want to,believe me...I just think none of them thought it would fall apart this fast.

[jds1911a1]

if they pay off Conan don't expect to see him anywhere anytime soon. They have him under contract so techincally they can pay him to sit at home and triddle his thumbs. If he quits and breaks his contract he probably has a no compete clause that will prevent him from doing a similiar show on another network

[johnmiic]

"No one should have to go through, what I went through to get this job!"

- Jay on screwing over David Letterman, retiring from the Tonight Show and being replaced by Conan O'Brien

Yeah, blow it out yer chalky white ar$e Leno. Yer fullovit!

[EMCE Hammer]

if they pay off Conan don't expect to see him anywhere anytime soon. They have him under contract so techincally they can pay him to sit at home and triddle his thumbs. If he quits and breaks his contract he probably has a no compete clause that will prevent him from doing a similiar show on another network

He won't quit; he'll negotiate a buy-out. His contract stipulates that he'll be the host of the Tonight Show for x-years, and his leverage is that the schedule for the show is implicit, even though the contract doesn't guarantee verbatim that the timeslot will always remain the same. If he didn't have leverage, they would just fire him. Conan may or may not push for a no conditions release. I'm sure he would want to get started on a new show while he's hot.

[The Toyroom]

It's official......Conan is done as of Friday and gets a $45 Million pay-out...he's off TV 'til September and NBC retains all "intellectual properties"

[MEMEGO]

Ifor one Love Jay Leno, he is a great Host as well as Comedian. He is not to blame for what is going on with the shows is no more Leno fault then it is Conan's. The ones who did this and are doing it are the heads of programming. So blame them not the Hosts.

[JDeRouen]

I have to disagree, Leno has a choice. He could say, no, I don't want to bump a show with the legacy of the Tonight Show, I don't want to screw over the host of said show. He should just retire from hosting and do stand up and play with his cars.

[kingdom warrior]

Leno is a Turd!! Hope his ratings plummet for being such a snake!!