• Again, it’s certainly looking like Conan has the emotional upperhand, even as his show goes down the tubes thanks to NBC. While NBC Sports executive Dick Ebersol (who, as proven by his stay on SNL, wouldn’t know funny if it hit him in the face) savaged Conan in a New York Times article, saying “what this is really all about is an astounding failure by Conan,” Conan put his show up on Craigslist – a joke funnier than anything Jay Leno has come up with in about a decade. We hope Comcast fires Ebersol and Jeff Zucker, execution-style. source

• NBC is like a guy with two girlfriends who doesn’t know which one he’s going to marry on Jan. 15. And the longer you wait, the madder they both get.
• Jay Leno • In a 1992 interview with the New York Times, where he made a big to-do about potentially losing “The Tonight Show” to David Letterman. Sound familiar, Jay? Just sayin’. source

• “It’s completely wrong, uncalled for, and I don’t quite know where it’s coming from.” This is what Entertainment Weekly’s unnamed source said about Conan’s recent outbursts on the network over the last few days. May we explain it to you idiots who run the NBC network?

• 1. You gave him seven months to run a show that had been run by his predecessor for seventeen years. And you put his predecessor in prime time, which ruined the ratings, of everything that came afterwards. Idiots.
• 2. Your ratings were completely screwed up, and you then decided to make Conan the fall guy, and expect him to take it lying down. He didn’t.
• 3. You didn’t let him bring innovative sketches like the Masturbating Bear (right, thanks to Robert Simmons for the illo) onto your show. You neutered him. Now, he wants out. What is wrong with you jerks that you have to blame Coco for your failings? Team Conan for life! source

• NO Conan won’t go back to 12:05 quietly source

• 
  Leno trashes In case anyone’s wondering where Leno stands in the wake of this whole situation, here’s your video proof. He’s clearly unhappy about the whole thing. Our respect for him goes up after watching this.
• 
  Conan’s options Not to be outdone, the pompadoured redhead ripped on NBC even harder than Leno did, with a hilarious list of options the late-night host has after the late-night debacle. Our favorite is the last one. Easily.

• What did the network do to him? I don’t think anyone’s preventing people from watching Conan. Once they give you the cameras, it’s on you. I can’t blame NBC for having to move things around. I hope Conan stays, I think he’s terrific. But there’s no rules in show business, there’s no refs.
• Comedian Jerry Seinfeld • Criticizing the idea of Conan O’Brien possibly switching to another network after the Jay Leno debacle. Seinfeld thinks that was a good idea too, saying, “I also think this was the right idea at the wrong time. I’m proud that NBC had the guts to try something.” Also, he made some weird comment about the AOL/Time Warner merger which made him sound like an idiot. Remember, this is the guy who did the terrible Microsoft commercials with Bill Gates. source

• For us right now, instead of trying to reinvent, going back to basics is probably the smartest play.
• NBC Universal Television Chairman Jeff Gaspin • Regarding the changes to the network’s late-night schedule (which, by the way, he confirmed), but in a broader sense, the entire network. NBC has spent the last few years trying to shake up its business model – getting rid of the traditional television upfront, working on innovative advertising deals and coming up with ways to save costs that turn the traditional network television model on its head. “The Jay Leno Show” was really the crux of a long period of corporate thinking. Gaspin’s basically admitting the whole idea was a failure. Wow. source

• $80 million paycheck to Conan if he gets bumped source

• A lot of rumors are going around about Jay Leno’s fate today. TMZ is reporting that Jay Leno – who we think is as funny as watching Dennis Miller analyze an NFL game – could get his old time slot back, at a severe cost to Conan O’Brien, who won the gig over five years ago, only to see NBC pull the trap door from under him with their Leno antics. So, how did we get here?

2004: Conan’s early confidence bet

• what? NBC, in a show of confidence for a guy they’d shown little love to in the ’90s, gives Conan O’Brien “The Tonight Show” slot – five years in advance.
• why? Because the last time they handed out “The Tonight Show” slot, they also screwed it up. Heir apparent David Letterman went to CBS. He still hates Leno.
• later … Later, Jimmy Fallon was tapped for the “Late Night” slot vacated by Conan. “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels wanted him since ’04. source

November 2008: Uh, we’re not so sure …

• Jay’s new time Instead of ditching Leno like everyone expected, NBC announced months before the switch-over that they were keeping Leno on in a 10 p.m. slot, effectively stealing Conan O’Brien’s thunder.
• Why? Economics.A late-night talk show is cheaper to produce than a high-quality drama like “E.R.” or “Law and Order,” so NBC execs thought they could ride a wave of low ratings through the recession. source

September 2009: The reviews! The reviews!

• ‘The Jay Leno Show’ is of course not the ‘brand-new hour of comedy’ its promos claim; it is brand-old to the bone.
• Slate reviewer Troy Patterson • On Jay Leno’s first night. Like most reviewers, he disliked “The Jay Leno Show” due to the fact that it was exactly the same routine as his boring schtick on “The Tonight Show.” Leno got lucky, though, by grilling Kanye West immediately after his VMAs incident, which created pretty much the best moment on the show, ever. It was all downhill from there. source
  

Late 2009: That didn’t work out so well …

• 18 million viewers watched the first episode of “Leno”

• 53% the decline in Leno’s ratings on the fourth night – that was fast source
• 1.5 the ratings threshold Leno was given for the show to remain profitable
• 1.6 Leno’s average ratings since starting the show in September – which NBC execs expected

Late 2009: Residual effects

• D-F the grade local affiliates gave Leno as a lead-in to their local news broadcasts; it had a direct effect on their ratings source
• 47% drop in Conan’s ratings a month after Leno took over the 10 p.m. slot; he regularly gets trumped by Letterman now source

• Oh, and show-producers were pissed, too. One show in particular, “Southland,” nearly died as a result of “The Jay Leno Show,” due to the number of slots the show took up. (It later found a home on TNT, and goes back on the air this month.) Show creator John Wells, who also worked on “E.R.,” said at the time his show was canceled, “I wish NBC and Jay Leno well; personally, he’s a very nice guy, but I hope he falls flat on his face and we get five dramas back.” Ouch! (But we totally agree with him.) source

Early 2010: So, what’s next?

• olympics On February 1, the Winter Olympics hit NBC, completely blowing up their schedule and conveniently giving them a chance to give low-rated Leno a break.
• later? Word on the street is that Leno will be losing his spot and going after the local news; Conan would likely come after, then Fallon, and maybe Carson Daly at like 3 or so. source