NBC late night is about to get a controversial shakeup as Jay Leno will reclaim his 11:30 PM time slot, this according to sources for TMZ. According to the sources, The Jay Leno Show goes on vacation February 1 and Jay will be back in his old 11:30 PM stomping ground after the Olympics. Still up in the air is what will happen to Conan. It’s possible Leno’s show will only be 30 minutes and Conan will just be bumped back a half hour, but it may also be the case that NBC will say goodbye to Conan O’Brien.
UPDATE – TMZ is now reporting that Jay’s show will be a half hour and Conan O’Brien has been given the option of either taking the midnight to 1AM slot or pack his bags. “Our sources say Conan has not decided what he wants. We do know he’s pissed, because he was given no advanced warning this was coming. Conan’s people told NBC they are considering the offer. … We’re told if Conan gets another offer, even though NBC could block the move, they will let him go and give Leno the full hour.” Ouch.
All of this stems from The Tonight Show‘s ratings struggles with O’Brien at the helm. Though he had a great deal of success following The Tonight Show, Conan just hasn’t had much luck maintaining viewership, especially with David Letterman seemingly stirring up some new huge controversy every month – the Sarah Palin fiasco and then the extortion attempt have only helped the CBS late night veteran and hurt O’Brian’s attempts to get an 11:30 PM foothold.
UPDATE – CLICK HERE to see a video clip of Conan making light of all the Leno rumors on The Tonight Show January 8.
Here’s Jay addressing the issue… well, sorta… OK, not really:
