They say everything happens for a reason, and around NBC, that reason is Jay Leno. Despite being America’s blandest comedian, Leno is considered a god among NBC Executives. Now, better known for his powerful abilities to attack, conquer and defend his title as The Tonight Show host, his most recent actions supported and promoted by NBC, are just a peek at Leno’s evil alter ego, or are they?
While Leno has taken the blame and become the face of TV terrorism (i.e., destroying good and innocent shows), his persona has taken a serious hit for NBC’s shortfalls and their overconfidence in him. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno was the number one late night show for years, consistently beating out David Letterman with its kitschy monologues and caricature-like clips of dumb Americans. Yet Leno is somewhat of an anomaly, only succeeding during the 11:35 time slot, because no one exactly cared if he was funny. At the time of his retirement from The Tonight Show in May 2009, Leno’s ratings were at their peak, most likely from the buzz surrounding his imminent departure. Nonetheless, Leno had proven his relevance with the 18-49 crowd, an important demographic for ratings and subsequent advertising dollars for the network. At a time when NBC was struggling more than ever, as host of The Tonight Show, Leno was actually helping the network.
Six years ago in 2004, Leno announced his future retirement and passing of the keys to Conan O’Brien. The philosophy was that as Leno grew older with his key boomer audience, ratings would ultimately wane and O’Brien would step in to maintain a younger and sustainable audience. This turnover, at the time, seemed to be forward thinking; however, this really was a strategic move to keep O’Brien rather than lose him to another network. Five years later in May 2009, Leno was nowhere near ready to leave the show or NBC, and once again eager to hold on to talent, NBC Universal President & CEO, Jeff Zucker, decided once again to force the network into a format the public wasn’t quite ready for.
When the time came for O’Brien to take over, Zucker had nowhere to put Leno except where he could financially afford. Instead of giving Leno a weekly comedy/variety show that could slowly grow into a required destination for viewers, Zucker forced the daily late-night format into a prime-time slot. By broadcasting Leno at such a high frequency, NBC saved millions of dollars in production and promotional costs that would have (and should have) been used to develop and market five new shows. Instead of pumping $3 million each into those shows, NBC decided to push Jay Leno five nights a week at 10pm to lead into the news and, hopefully The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.
By failing to produce a proportionate number of pilots for the 2009-2010 TV season, NBC was overconfident in Leno’s abilities to stay relevant and bring in ratings at the 10pm hour. Leno did not help local news ratings nor did he help O’Brien, whose ratings were far below Letterman’s. However, NBC failed to do anything to help O’Brien. Subsequently, when NBC couldn’t hold out for Leno any longer, NBC canceled The Jay Leno Show, and as a reward for his failings, NBC pushed Leno back to his 11:35 time slot, a slap in the face to O’Brien.
As the story unfolded, O’Brien refused to be pushed back to make way for a 30- minute comedy show for Leno, who would ultimately steal viewers away. Surprising to many, NBC said O.K., letting O’Brien walk away and paid, in favor of Jay Leno.
Now, with its upfront presentation scheduled for May 17th, NBC will have to double up on pilots, convince buyers (with enough arm twisting and Neilsen ratings) that reinstating Leno was a wise decision, all the while sitting on a $44-million dollar check, payable to a Mr. Conan O’Brien. That check is not just a monetary supplement for a void contract, but symbolic of NBC’s lack of support behind O’Brien and a step backwards for the network. After attempting to save money, by pushing Leno five nights a week and keeping him around as talent to hold on to meager advertising dollars, NBC was willing to give up O’Brien and $44 million they didn’t have in favor of Jay Leno. Yes, he must be a god!
O’Brien, luckily enough, has found a new home at TBS. His new, untitled program will air four nights a week at 11pm. While many may view a switch from network to cable TV as a downgrade, this move will allow O’Brien creative freedom he otherwise wouldn’t have had with The Tonight Show. With less focus on ratings and the bottom line, O’Brien can work to focus on his core audience and loyal followers.
The move may finally be retribution for the disappointment and embarrassment O’Brien has faced, although quite gracefully, these past few months. Putting the large payout aside, there now seems to have much more value in NBC’s mistake. For someone as young as he is, to have the sizable career that he does, O’Brien is better off as a free agent, self-sustaining his own career rather than relying on a failing and bankrupt network to decide his fate.
Leno, whose ratings admittedly are decent and have beaten Letterman in recent weeks, now must use what’s left of his old (and old-aged) audience. Unfortunately, Leno, who was doing what he could in order to salvage his own career hurt his friend and took most of the blame for it. While Leno is certainly not a victim or the villain in this drama, he walked away with the short end of the stick. As his core audience matures and subsequently shrinks, Leno will once again be deemed irrelevant by NBC. History will repeat itself, and when it does, Leno should be prepared to back out gracefully.
No comments:
Post a Comment