The NBC theme tune sounded like a death bell for "The Jay Leno Show" this morning.
Variety reports that NBC has officially cancelled the primetime talk show after a slaughter in the ratings and a resounding decry from local NBC affiliates.
"While performing at acceptable levels for the network, it did not meet our affiliate needs," Jeff Gaspin, the NBC Universal TV chairman, told attendees of the TCA press tour. "We realized we had to make a change."
Talks with affiliates went back as far as November of last year, with some affiliates threatening to pre-empt the show as a means to show their "displeasure" with the show's performance. In other words, it got ugly...
"The intensity of the dialogue got stronger," he said. "They were our partners in this… That drove a lot of the pressure."
I soooo would have loved to have been a fly on the wall on all of those meetings.
So what does this mean for the futures of Jay Leno, NBC's late-night talk show line-up, and most importantly: the freed up time slots?
For starters, there is a deal on the table for Jay Leno to host a half hour show, followed by Conan, then Jimmy Fallon. What this means for Carson Daly? *shrugs* Gaspin's goal is to take care of the three I just mentioned. Secondly, "The Jay Leno Show" will finish it's run by February 12, which is before the Winter Olympics start airing.
The empty time slots will be filled by (THANK GOD!) scripted shows and possibly one reality offering. Some of those scripted shows will be repeats and two new shows with expanded editions of Dateline NBC to follow suit.
Also, Variety also reports that NBC will get rid of that ridiculous "infront" presentation and will return to giving upfronts like sane networks do.
So what do you guys think? Frakking Yay or Nay? Or is it too little too late for the Peacock network?
Source: Variety
[...] premiering this spring season, check here. For more information on the Leno/Conan debacle, check here and here. For Parenthood promos, check [...]