As TMZ first reported, after the Olympics, Jay Leno will get his 11:30 PM time period back. We're told network execs have told Conan they will let him decide if he wants the midnight to 1:00 AM time slot. If he does, Leno's show will only be a half hour. If Conan walks, Leno will get a full hour, informed sources tell TMZ.
Our sources say Conan has not decided what he wants. We do know he's pissed, because he was given no advanced warning this was coming. Conan's people told NBC they are considering the offer. Translation: Mr. O'Brien -- I have Rupert Murdoch on line one, Stephen McPherson on line two, John Landgraf on line three, Jeff Wachtel on line four ...
A decade ago NBC tripped over themselves to make Leno a success and it resulted in David Letterman giving The Tonight Show it's first successful competition since Steve Allen replaced the test pattern. Leno would have just been the next Arsenio Hall if he had been the initial pilot of "The Late Show" on CBS. Like Dave before him Conan will take his small but loyal audience to Fox where an early start will work well with affiliates. And NBC will again get to practice that idiot look that they've mastered the past 15 years.
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