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Jay Leno may get 'The Tonight Show' back
by Ishita Sood - January 8, 2010 - comments
Jay Leno, hearing all the rumors, acknowledged regretting that he was moved to the prime time show and preferred to stay in 11:30
New York, January 8 -- Television network NBC announced Thursday its plans to consider moving Jay Leno back to his old time slot.
Leno will be back for 11:30 slot, and comedian Jimmy Fallon will be given 1:05 a.m. time slot.
Leno was replaced last year September by Conan O'Brien. However, Brien has not performed well and is now expected to be put to the midnight slot.
NBC’s latest statement said, “We have the best comedy team in the business. We remain committed to keeping Conan O’Brien on NBC. He is a valued part of our late-night line-up, as he has been for more than 16 years and is one of the most respected entertainers on television.”
According to NBC's executives familiar with the same situation, the company is facings sagging ratings these days.
Jay Leno never a strong contender for 10 p.m.
“The Jay Leno Show” is losing its audience since O'Brien replaced Leno and it is now clear that the show was never a contender for the 10 p.m. slot.
FTVLive even reported NBC had decided to cancel the show. However, it was later told that the network won’t be cancelling the show as it was a success financially, in spite of its falling ratings.
This season, the show had 5.34 million viewers for 10 p.m., a 29 percent drop from the same period last season.
But Jay Leno has always been a crowd puller. “Jay Leno is one of the most compelling entertainers in the world today. As we have said all along, Jay's show has performed exactly as we anticipated on the network,” said an NBC spokesperson on Thursday.
“It has, however, presented some issues for our affiliates. Both Jay and the show are committed to working closely with them to find ways to improve the performance.”
Leno’s reaction
On hearing all the rumors, Jay Leno said he regretted he was moved to the prime time show and would always prefer to stay in 11:30.
The stand-up comedian also joked, saying that all the rumors were a sign that NBC believed in “Never Believe Your Contract.”
He went on, “Would I have preferred to stay at 11:30? Yeah, sure.”
Leno said that he had been hosting the “Tonight Show” since past 17 years and if given a chance to take it back he would.
“If it were offered to me, would I take it? If that's what they wanted to do, sure. That would be fine if they wanted to," he said.