We proposed a little idea here on LR a few months ago: give Leno the 10/9c slot on the network – move Conan to 11:35pm on NBC and save a boatload of cash. Well guess what, NYT says it will happen, with an announcement coming soon.
I said then — and repeat again here — the move makes a ton of sense for the network. It saves NBC a raft of cash, and allows it to put together a pretty solid block. Some station executives will probably worry about the late news franchise, but the show will sit in a topical hammock, between two current comedy programs. Also, Oprah is a powerful early news lead-in with a similar format – and the audience is compatible. It could lead to a graying of NBC affiliates’ late news audience – but that’s somewhat inevitable at this point anyway — for all network affiliates.
TVBarn’s Aaron Barnhart has more great analysis, but Terry Heaton disagrees with NBC’s move: “This is NBC giving up,” he says.