Jimmy Kimmel Mocks Leno & Defends Conan

ABC's late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has entered the NBC late-night fray, nay battle, and on the side of Conan O'Brian.

First a recap of events which I have been following and reporting on for sometime now:

It appears that the end is coming for O’Brian after just seven months of hosting 'The Tonight Show' - an act he describes as a childhood dream.

The young (relatively) comedian has suffered from low ratings since his arrival, but while some criticism is merited against Conan who thus far may not have done enough to broaden his audience from his previously popular 12:35pm ‘Late Show w/ Conan O’Brian’, NBC has not given Conan much time to build a strong audience (which is not an easy thing to do in the age of cable television, OnDemand, YouTube ect...; and for such a program merits the benefit of the doubt for at least a year) and, furthermore, the network has not given Conan what it delivered for his predecessor Jay Leno: high-rated ‘prime time’ broadcasting. Leno for years advertised his show on widely watched dramas and comedy shows (ex. ‘Friends’). Conan is preceded in the 10-11pm prime slot (11-11:35 is local news) by the low-rated ‘The Jay Leno Show’.

The latter show did not work out as NBC planned. It has miserably failed to draw a significant audience and cost NBC affiliates a quarter of a billion dollars in lost ad revenue. And neither has, of course, Conan who has half the viewers Leno had - who as ‘Tonight Show’ host reigned supreme - and still trails ‘Jay Leno Show’. Thus NBC has decided to rework its scheduling:

Leno was to have a new 30-min show back at his 11:35 time slot, pushing Conan to 12:05. But shortly after announcing it, NBC backed away from the previous schedule stating only that Leno’s show has been canceled and the network is trying to figure out a new solution for him that will also have to meet approval with Conan, but yesterday Conan released a statement stating that he will no longer do ‘Tonight Show’ if it is pushed to past midnight [abridged]:

People of Earth:

In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction.

My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.

Yours,

Conan

It appears that NBC is willingly to push out Conan (if he does not agree to the time change) and return Jay as ‘Tonight Show’ host hoping that now a slightly bruised Leno can recover the #1 spot. The network will now have to pay Conan compensation for early end of contract, the NY Times reported [abridged]:

NBC executives continued Tuesday to work toward a financial settlement, though some indicated increasing impatience with Mr. O’Brien’s effort to blame the network for the three-car pile-up in late night.

The host, who saw his brief run as host of “Tonight” cut short when NBC decided to restore Mr. Leno to the 11:35 p.m. time period, has been increasingly upset about how he believes he was treated by NBC’s management.

Jeff Gaspin, the chairman of NBC Entertainment, who broached the idea last week of shifting the late-night lineup, said he was motivated by trying to retain both stars, not to drive Mr. O’Brien away. But other NBC executives indicated privately that they would be satisfied with a new late-night lineup with Mr. Leno back at “The Tonight Show” at 11:35 and Mr. Fallon settling in at the “Late Night” show at 12:35.

What happens next is still not entirely certain and Conan may survive after all. Whatever becomes of Conan he can rely on the support of a competitor - ABC's 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!'

Kimmel has made it clear what his take is on the issue and is standing up for Conan by way of mocking Jay Leno - now Conan's competitor:

If Leno would tell NBC that he has no interest in an 11:35pm show or returning to 'Tonight Show' then all would be settled. NBC's catering toward Leno is more about keeping Leno at the network than a complaint against Conan and his low ratings. Leno could just say he has had a good run, and it is now Conan's time (especially since he already has the job) and just retire. Leno could end it gracefully be just bringing his T.V. career to an end - at least on NBC. Not an easy thing to do, no doubt; but the noble thing. Placing himself in Conan's shoes is vital: What if Johnny Carson wanted his job back after Leno took over? How would Jay feel? The answer is obvious and it should inspire Leno to do the right thing.

With Leno no longer a lucrative option for NBC, it is stuck, if you want to use that term, with Conan and everything is settled. It would be selfish after having her term for Leno to knock Conan off in anyway.

Leno retire: It's Coco Time!