Posted on 03/20/2013 6:44:21 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
It has become clear that Jimmy Fallon is going to become the host of The Tonight Show, but sources say an internal debate among key players is underway regarding the timing.
According to these sources, some top executives at NBCUniversal are leaning toward a February launch to take advantage of the promotional platform of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Others, including Late Night executive producer Lorne Michaels, are said to have concerns about rushing the transition.
STORY: Sources: NBC Discussing Jay Leno Exit Plan
Moving more quickly not only would provide a high-profile launch for Fallon but effectively would keep Tonight Show host Jay Leno from moving to a rival network until his contract expires in September 2014.
As The Hollywood Reporter first reported, an announcement is expected to be made at the May upfront presentation to advertisers. With Fallon expected to launch as host in September 2014, Tonight will move from Los Angeles to New York, according to sources.
(Excerpt) Read more at hollywoodreporter.com ...
H/T to the Drudge Report.
My prediction? CNN fires Piers and hires Leno.
Who cares? Ain’t never been funny since Carson left. They passed over some great comedians to settle for Leno. I don’t watch any of the so-called nite-time comodians . . .
WAR! All Eyes on Jay Leno’s Show Tonight as NBC Sends Message 30 Mins Before Taping
03/20/13 6:57pm Roger Friedman
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WAR! All Eyes on Jay Leno’s Show Tonight as NBC Sends Message 30 Mins Before Taping
All eyes will be on Jay Leno’s “Tonight” show tonight. The reason? With one hour to go before Wednesday night’s taping, NBC sent Leno a clear message and used the media to do it. The Drudge Report is blaring “Fallon In, Leno Out” as GQ magazine released a special issue with heir apparent Jimmy Fallon on the cover. The Hollywood Reporter seized on a quote from Fallon producer Lorne Michaels that “Jimmy Fallon” is the closest thing he’s seen to a Johnny Carson. Wow. (I think Fallon is more like Jack Paar or Steve Allen frankly.) The New York Times’ expert on this subject, Bill Carter, followed with a story about a Fallon Tonight show moving to New York. Leno, with a quick trigger temper, will be exploding at these statements. With hints that he may be forced out by February 2014, Leno is sure to blow a gasket. When The “Tonight” show begins taping at 4pm Pacific, 7 Eastern, look for Tweets etc about his monologue. Yikes. Fallon, meantime, who’s a nice guy, is said to be reaching out to Leno to calm him down. Good luck. Conan O’Brien was a nice guy too. Leno is Patton when it comes to the Tonight Show.
Barely watch Leno.
I like his Car hobby.
Who is this new guy?
fallon stinks!
Didn’t they go down this road before?
Jay Leno retirement coming in 2014, Jimmy Fallon to take over 'Tonight Show' - report
Some have seen him,....I don't think I have.
Steve Allen started the show many years ago.
Considering what I’ve read about NBC’s ratings, I wonder if the network will even make it to 2014. Hope it does go belly-up! Same with all those late-night talk shows. I used to watch a bit of all of them, off and on. But when Letterman made that ‘rape’ joke about Palin’s underage daughter, I was so mad I just said “to hell with all of them” and stopped watching each and every one. Haven’t watched a single minute of any of those shows ever since. And I sure haven’t missed them!
He comes on after Leno!
I change chanels as soon as he comes on, I can’t stand him!
Others, including Late Night executive producer Lorne Michaels [SNL], are said to have concerns about rushing the transition... Moving more quickly not only would provide a high-profile launch for Fallon but effectively would keep Tonight Show host Jay Leno from moving to a rival network until his contract expires in September 2014.
Is Jimmy Fallon a homosexual? If not, he won’t suit. A transsexual would be OK, but I he may not be one of those either. The homosexuals buy stuff too, you know, NBC needs to market to this audience. Look how well that’s worked for Penny’s.
NBC should get rid of its top brass and buy a chimp to throw darts at 8 x 10 glossies of various celebrities in order to cast shows.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Tonight_Show_conflict
Is that a trick question? Fallon is a liberal douchebag and he sucks...just hard enough to get him on the tube!
Didn't the show move to California to have a larger guest pool to draw from? Looks like they're going to reinvent the wheel on this one. My guess is that Fallon insisted on a NYC location as part of his contract demands.
Jimmy Kimmel is the only late night guy that is even watchable. Fallon stinks.
I would have no idea. If it’s not on ESPN, or involve some auction of junk/antiques, I do not watch and am therefore in no position to comment.
Exactly...not too long ago, NBC was scared to death that Conan O’Brien would jump ship, and they’d be stuck with Leno and declining ratings. So, they gave O’Brien The Tonight Show, and stuck Leno at 10 pm eastern, five nights a week. Gee, how did that work out? O’Brien bombed, and Leno was back at 11:30 barely nine months later.
Now, barely three years later, NBC is going to do it again. Fallon is supposedly the next “superstar” of late night, the host who will juice the ratings at 11:30, especially among the 18-49 demographic.
I’ve been out of broadcasting for decades, but I understand that the audience at 11:30 is much different than the crowd that tunes in at 12:30. A lot of the younger crowd is on-line, partying or otherwise engaged during the late news and the first half hour of Tonight. Conversely, the viewer who stays up for Leno’s monologue is usually asleep by the time Jimmy Fallon hits the airwaves. Much of Fallon’s current audience won’t follow him to 11:30, just as Conan O’Brien’s didn’t.
Also worth remembering that Conan and Jimmy look good(in part) because of the lead-in that Leno delivers. Despite a general decline in viewership between 11:30 and 12:30, Leon has consistently won the late-night wars for 20 years.
Fallon will flop on The Tonight Show, just as O’Brien did. And a year or so down the road, NBC will be writing another $40 million check to buy out Fallon and his staff.
Someone once observed that baseball managers, politicians and network TV executives are the only jobs where you get a chance to make the same mistakes, over and over and over again—and make a good living to boot.
In its long history as a TV network, NBC has had only one programming executive (Pat Weaver) who was a true geniue (he created both the Today and Tonight shows), and another who was close (Brandon Tartikoff, who brought the network back from the dead in the 80s). Both of those gentlemen are now deceased, and NBC is pretty damn close.
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