Conan O’Brien May Have Options at Fox
By BILL CARTER AND BRIAN STELTER


The future of NBC’s late-night plans may wind up in Conan O’Brien’s hands.

One day after NBC executives said privately that they were contemplating a plan to move Jay Leno back to 11:35 p.m., representatives of Mr O’Brien made it clear the comedian has not accepted NBC’s plan and was likely not to agree any time in the near future.

At the same time a new possibility may be emerging for Mr. O’Brien — at a rival network. The Fox network apparently wants Mr. O’Brien — and the public — to know that it thinks very highly of the late-night star.

“We’ve always been interested in late night and we’re always looking to bring great new talent to Fox. While Conan would be a great fit for Fox, he’s still under contract with NBC, so we’ll just see how all of this plays out,” said a Fox employee who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record about the issue.

Several news organizations published similar comments Friday afternoon.

And one Fox executive amplified by saying a late-night show has always been at least loosely on the network’s agenda. “We love Conan,” the executive said.

Mr. Leno has already made an oblique reference to the possibility of an opening at Fox. On Thursday night, Mr. Leno joked in his monologue: “If we did get canceled, it will give us time to do some traveling. I understand that Fox is beautiful this time of year.”

Unlike Mr. Leno, Mr. O’Brien made no jokes Thursday night about the public speculation about both men’s late-night careers.

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Point of interest: Bill Carter is the author of The Late Shift, the book about Leno and Letterman's battle over The Tonight Show


Conan's $45 Million Dilemma

by Kim Masters

With Leno reportedly moving back to 11:35, NBC has humiliated Conan O’Brien. Will he get a $45 million payout for his troubles? Kim Masters reports on the latest latenight ripples.

You could say Conan O’Brien is now The Biggest Loser on NBC. If you call it losing to get millions of dollars no matter what happens next.

Hollywood is still in awe as the drama at NBC continues to play out. What seems to be set is that Leno will go on the air at 11:35 p.m. after the Olympics. What’s not set is the fate of O’Brien, who is said to be enraged at NBC’s clumsy handling of the matter. His option appears to be to remain as the man in the chair on what would still be called The Tonight Show but would begin at 12:05 a.m.

What’s mesmerizing the entertainment industry is that O’Brien has a contract requiring NBC to pay him a staggering penalty, reportedly $45 million, if his circumstances as host of The Tonight Show change. It is unclear is what would trigger that penalty and whether pushing the show out of its time slot would do the trick.

“If they put themselves in a position where they have to pay him if they move him, they’re the biggest idiots ever,” says an industry veteran who, despite being well-connected to the key players, doesn’t know the exact details of what would active that payout clause.

If O’Brien wants to stalk off, his options may be limited. The perception at this point is that he’s been damaged by his less-than-successful run at 11:35. “So many people like Conan at 12:30,” says this source. “But it’s not working at 11:35. There’s something that makes people antsy about Conan at that time.”

ABC is not believed to be pursuing O’Brien. Fox—seen as the more youth-oriented network—is still a question mark, although it seems likely that they would at least want to price out a deal. But a source with first-hand knowledge of Fox’s thinking seems to feel that O’Brien will probably stay at NBC after exacting a huge payment in exchange for his fealty. “However humiliated you might feel you are, however sleazy you might feel NBC is, wouldn’t that go a long way toward making you feel better?” this executive says. “It’s only moving the show by half an hour.”

Meanwhile, another executive says Leno is more than willing to do a 30-minute show. “Everybody’s so surprised,” he says. “But he gets to do his monologue and a guest. He doesn’t like the other stuff he has to do now. He doesn’t like the program.”

A top executive at a rival network puts it this way: “Good deal for Jay. Gets paid for an hour. Works a half-hour.”

Meanwhile, NBC is left with a gaping chasm at 10 p.m. It takes lots of time and money to rebuild a schedule so short-term, these might be good times for Dick Wolf, who has his handy Law & Order shows that could fill the gap. (The most obvious candidate to put back into a 10 p.m. slot is SVU, which had to move from its Tuesdays at 10 position to Wednesdays at 9 because of Leno. There’s also the so-called mothership, the original Law & Order, which could move back to its Friday at 10 hour.)

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