It's often said that the only good thing about being in the gutter is that there's nowhere to go but up.  Sadly, NBC is proving that this isn't always the case.

In the last week, NBC has decided to make a bad situation worse with a constantly changing plan about what to do with the failing Jay Leno Show at 10pm and it's late night schedule.  And today, another major bombshell made this ugly situation even uglier.

The Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien, who is definitely getting the fuzzy end of the lollipop in this mess, released a statement today that essentially spells out the fact that he has no interest in hosting The Tonight Show if it moves to 12:05am.  You can read the full statement at the bottom of this article.

And that's basically what NBC wants to do.  Seeing the failure of Jay Leno at 10pm, that show will stop in the middle of February, and NBC has an eye to cutting Leno to a half-hour and putting him in his old timeslot at 11:35pm, pushing the entire late night back 30 minutes.

In other words, NBC has recognized that putting Leno in primetime five nights a week was a fatal error, so their solution is to screw things up even more.  I miss the old days when someone would retire from late night comedy and then actually retire.

Right now, it's as though NBC instantly regretted letting Leno go, and they just want him to come back and do The Tonight Show.  The casualty of that attitude is Conan, who spent years toiling at 12:35am in New York and finally thought he'd hit it big, moving across the country to anchor the late night lineup.

I would imagine it's incredibly awkward when your bosses are trying desperately to bring back the guy who you replaced.  It certainly isn't a ringing endorsement.

How will this end?  Well, at this point, no matter who wins, NBC loses.  If they push The Tonight Show back, Conan may walk.  If they don't, it's an empty gesture and Conan will be stuck with the knowledge that the network doesn't really want him.

Based solely on comedy, I'm on Conan's side.  Truthfully, I thought his 12:35am show was better than his version of The Tonight Show, and the man is talented enough that he won't be without work for long.

For years, NBC has been sliding into the abyss, and this could be the final straw.  Retooling its entire primetime and late night schedules on a whim isn't exactly a sound business strategy, but that's what they've decided to do.  On the bright side, at least the CW is no longer the token whipping boy of TV critics.

Here is Conan O'Brien's full official statement:

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



(Image courtesy of NBC)