Since when did Katie Couric find herself in Conan O'Brien territory? Or, actually, when did O'Brien find himself in Couric territory?
The two A-list network faces — she of CBS, he of NBC — find themselves at various ends of their networks' mixed feelings about them.
In the case of O'Brien, NBC promised him Leno's timeslot in 2004, making O'Brien a sweetheart deal to keep him around, or keep him from going to a competitor, and give him the 11:30pm time slot in 2009, when Leno would move on. Now they've got buyer's remorse; in NBC's work to keep Conan, they're ditching Jay, who continues his ratings dominance and has no intention of going quietly into retirement — he'll likely go to another network and compete with NBC.
With Couric, CBS put her in the anchor chair in September 2006, only to watch her ratings sag. What they thought was a sure bet to revamp their news broadcast has turned into a short-lived evening news revolution that's sunk back to standard fare and fewer viewers.
So what if either network wants to go back on their decision?
It's going to cost each of them $40 million.
If NBC decides to resign Leno beyond 2009, the deal they signed with Conan means they'll owe him at least $40 million in penalty fees.
And Couric's contract at CBS? Same thing: $40 million to cut her loose, says the latest gossip. Her deal promises her a "pay or play" scenario, which means they can't just keep her around at CBS, not anchoring the Evening News, and let her deal run out; either they keep her in the anchor chair, or they pay up.
Editorial Director
I have a solution. Put Couric on in a different format. Give her a Larry King-like show on CBS at a prime time, say 9 or 10PM, maybe not every night, it's way too much, but a couple of times a week. And as far as O'Brien goes, alternate him nights with Jay Leno. That way the are both on the air.
The decision to dump Jay Leno at the top of his game has to be one of the most stupid and dumb decisions in television in years. Just stupid. And here's what will happen: Viewers will NOT go to O'Brien as they have to Leno, precisely because O'Brien does not have the widespread mass popular appeal that Jay Leno has. It will not work. Ratings for "Tonight" will tank. And if Jay Leno goes over to ABC for an 11:30 show, it will beat both "Tonight" and David Letterman. Letting Jay Leno go at the top of his game was just stupid. And who on earth thought Katie Couric would increase ratings for CBS? Another dumb move. And that's no offense to Katie Couric–but she's just not an evening television hard-news anchor. That's just not her. The ratings for CBS' evening news show will continue to tank as long as Couric stays. They should put her on "60 Minutes." And give the anchor chair to a veteran newsman–someone who has real, actual, hard-news journalism experience. It's that simple.
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you must be old because conan is by far the most popular late night guy in the ages 18-34. conan is going to do great and leno is overrated. and hms do you really see conan and leno alternating nights as an option? if you do then you must be an idiot. conan is the man and if nbc screws him over he will be popular wherever he goes
O'Brien is declining, I'm sorry to say. Like Letterman, his shtick was awesome but grows weary compared to the consisten but not edgy Leno. I was a huge O'Brien fan for many, many years, but find myself watching Kimmel more now.
I wonder why they don't try to score John Stewart for network late night. He'd have broader appeal than Conan, though much less than Leno.
conehead is a bore. he does the same jump and says how excited he is about every show even though he had the same guests on before. Replacing Jay with him will be the biggest bomb in TV history. Cone head always seems surprised when people even laugh at his jokes.
I cannot believe NBC executives can make such an incredibly stupid decsion to guarantee an idiot like Conan Obrien 40 million dollars…..He is the least funny or interesting person to be given that kind of money….Unless there are some caveats that would give back some of the money if he tanks, and he will !!!, NBC just pissed away 40 million dollars….Nice going IDIOTS !!!