Conan vs. Letterman

[Zerohero]

Originally Posted by WaldSkins

Can I choose Jimmy Kimmel??

no you can't

[MTK]

Conan has been ripping NBC in his monologues. Good stuff. Still not enough to make me watch though.

[SmootSmack]

I think all of them are ripping NBC. Guess Conan said last night he wouldn't move to 12:05am

[MTK]

If I'm Conan I would take the NBC money and walk. He was set up to fail. Moving Leno to 10pm and giving that show all the hype did him no justice.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Conan's press release yesterday was fan-freaking-tastic! He destroys NBC and throws Leno under the bus and personally I think he's spot on. Enjoy:

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. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

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.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

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. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

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. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. 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

[MTK]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

Conan's press release yesterday was fan-freaking-tastic! He destroys NBC and throws Leno under the bus and personally I think he's spot on. Enjoy:

lol that release is pure gold

[MTK]

NBC Confirms Deal; Conan O'Brien Speeds Toward Last NBC Show - ABC News

I feel bad for Conan, he got the shaft big time

[BDBohnzie]

While he got the shaft, he's going to sit pretty for a while and plan his next move.

NBC tried to pull a power play, and it'll cost them $42 million dollars plus the cost of producing more 10pm content. And who's going to watch Leno now? I mean, no one was watching him at 10pm, who is going to wait the extra 95 minutes to see him back in Late Night?

I may actually tune in tomorrow night and watch Conan go out with a bang...

[MTK]

Yeah his shafting is coming with a cool $40M but still, the whole thing has been such an epic mess.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by BDBohnzie

NBC tried to pull a power play, and it'll cost them $42 million dollars plus the cost of producing more 10pm content. And who's going to watch Leno now? I mean, no one was watching him at 10pm, who is going to wait the extra 95 minutes to see him back in Late Night?

I may actually tune in tomorrow night and watch Conan go out with a bang...

Jay will still have an audience at 11:35 but I really doubt that it will be as strong as what he used to have. Likewise, I doubt it will be made up of the demographic that NBC was hoping Conan would attract because they're going to follow Coco to Fox or start watching Letterman or Kimmel.

Has anyone seen any of the pictures from the I'm With Coco rallies? The shots from the one in LA are hilarious, especially some of the signs on the photos of Conan running around in the rain getting the people pumped up. If you're on Facebook become a fan of I'm With Coco and check of the photo albums.

[firstdown]

I'd be more then happy to loose my job if they paid me 32 mil to go home.

[GMScud]

How does that little turd Jeff Zucker still have a job? My boy Letterman must be loving this.

I'll miss Conan- he's the man - but I've never liked Leno at all, and I'm smirking at NBC's huge screw up here.

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

lol that release is pure gold

Did I miss something? What was so great about that release? Conan is one of my favorite TV people ever. That release was a bummer if you ask me. I agree with him in that he's getting the shaft from NBC, who has really screwed up.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by GMScud

Did I miss something? What was so great about that release? Conan is one of my favorite TV people ever. That release was a bummer if you ask me. I agree with him in that he's getting the shaft from NBC, who has really screwed up.

I didn't mean it was funny ha-ha, I just liked the way he laid out the facts and stood up for himself and really put it out there as to what a circus NBC turned this in to.

[over the mountain]

watched conan for the first time in a long time last night. man, he is really putting the screws to nbc. screw leno and nbc.