http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/source-nbc-may-strip-leno-at-10-pm/

I knew NBC was intellectually bankrupt, but Leno on at 10pm five nights a week? Come off it, Zucker. Get real. Hire some talent, for God's sake, instead of throwing in the towel: http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/maybe-zucker-will-just-do-away-with-nbc-programming-altogether/

Unless it's all part of a master plan of deliberate sabotage to get out of late night programming altogether. Putting Conan O'Brien on at 11:35 has to be someone's idea of an inside joke. And let's not even mention Jimmy Fallon at 12:35.:thumbsdn: I give that show three months, tops.

One less reason for me to tune in NBC, I guess.... as if there have been any reasons lately...

soon they'll be going right to infomercials at 10:30. Even cheaper to produce than talk shows!

Seems none of the networks can fathom why their viewership is falling so they give us more crap few want to watch. They don't have a clue.

I'm still PO'd over the cancellation of "Pushing Daisies." It was one of the few recent shows with any originality or entertainment value. It didn't get killed over lack of audience - it had middling ratings but better than many shows that didn't get cancelled. What happened was that it "cost too much." For the money the network could air two or three reality or talk shows that nobody will watch.

Gimme a break!

just wait till conan takes over the tonite show. the ratings will sink like the titanic. i've never got him. not funny. kinda reminds me of chevy chase. he wasn't funny either. i'll give NBC some credit. they have the best nightly news.

just wait till conan takes over the tonite show. the ratings will sink like the titanic. i've never got him. not funny. kinda reminds me of chevy chase.

I like Conan and Chevy Chase both, but I agree their schtick is limited. Conan's going to have to shoot more for the middle to fill the Tonight Show shoes. Plus work on his interviews, which can be just out there and content poor.

Personally, I haven't liked the Tonight Show since Carson left. Even as a kid I would split my sides watching that stuff. Therein lies the appeal: Johnny was liked across generations and despite socioeconomic differences. Leno's an acquired taste IMHO.

I too have wondered what NBC was doing. While Leno doesn't have the appeal of Carson, O'Brien isn't even on radar and Fallon is even further away. I cannot imagine either of those two guys being successful in the new shows. I see the ratings dropping like a stone.

Well, after a year, the shows are indeed all still on, but the ratings are indeed all in the toilet.

Now I wonder what will happen when NBC gets sold to Comcast. Will the new overlords put Leno back on at 11:30 and pay off Conan? Or will Conan bump Jimmy Fallon (please, Lord, let that happen!)?

just wait till conan takes over the tonite show. the ratings will sink like the titanic. i've never got him. not funny. kinda reminds me of chevy chase. he wasn't funny either. i'll give NBC some credit. they have the best nightly news.
I agree they do have the best nightly news but that too is going to tank if they keep beating the same drum on the same guy all the time Where did GE go on NBC anyway? Is Ge selling out to comcast too?

Now I wonder what will happen when NBC gets sold to Comcast. Will the new overlords put Leno back on at 11:30 and pay off Conan? Or will Conan bump Jimmy Fallon (please, Lord, let that happen!)?
When Jay Leno's "retirement" was first announced at least a couple of years ago, I figured NBC must have felt desperate or something and made a deal with Conan O'Brien to keep him around, promising the Tonight Show to him. Then, as Leno's Tonight Show end got nearer, NBC came up with the prime-time idea to keep him from starting a new show on Fox or another network. So, now O'Brien has the Tonight Show, and it is about the same as his old show. That one was OK for a post-midnight show, but I don't think much of him as a replacement for Jay Leno. Similarly, the five-night-a-week variety format is probably not a good match for a prime-time audience. Now, neither show is doing well in the ratings. I would love to see Jay Leno move back to his old time slot, and I still prefer the format of the Tonight Show over his current show.

Har har har! Get a load of this! I knew it! I knew it!!
Leno might go back to 11:35... for 30 minutes! :lmao:
http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/nbc-indicates-changes-coming-to-jay-leno-show-due-to-affiliate-issues/

I know at least in my case, I've simply never been able to get in a habit of turning on Leno at 9 PM CST. Not that it's a particularly bad show, just not in the mood for a late night-type show at that time. Conan's sense of humor is too immature for The Tonight Show, and Fallon continues to appear like a rank amateur dazed by the lights. Never thought I would actually get into a habit of watching Kimmel on ABC or Ferguson on CBS.

I heard audio of Jay making hard hitting jokes about NBC and going to FOX and so on. I wonder if he's being cancelled as the rumors seem to be saying. I'm 43, will be 44 this year, I remember when TV had good programs and in particular, NBC had the great Brandon Tartikoff in the 1980's that brought shows like "The A-Team," "Cosby Show," "Family Ties," "Alf," as well as a kick butt Saturday lineup, "The Smurfs" were my favorite along with the various superhero cartoons based on Marvel Comics. Unfortunatly, he left NBC in the early 1990's and passed away in 1997/98. I think what one of the networks need is a latter day Tartikoff, but then again, what worked in the 1980's, can it work now? Not all programming is bad today, I do find a good nugget here and there but it is more of a dearth now as it was 20/25 years ago.

I have some good news regarding the much-hyped Jay Leno Show, and its 10 p.m. time period. NBC has decided to cancel it next month, after the Olympics end. Leno will return to his original 11:35 time slot, but the program will only be a half-hour long. It will be followed by Conan O'Brien at 12:05 and "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" an hour later. As you may have heard and read, Leno's program is being moved back to its original time slot because of complaints from local NBC affiliates that their local late news was suffering ratings-wise because of the Leno show's ten p.m. slot; in fact, some stations were even threatening outright to refuse to carry Leno if NBC kept the show at 10 p.m. EST. One NBC affiliate in Boston, WHDH-TV channel 7, actually was going to do just that if the program went on the air at that time, but NBC countered by threatening to divest the station of its affiliation with the network if it did not carry the Leno show at its scheduled time.

BTW, I am 53 and also remember when NBC's prime-time lineup was much better than it is today. I too liked ALF and most of the rest of the network's prime-time weekday fare, and the Saturday morning cartoons the network had back in the '60s and seventies (H. R. Pufnstuf, The Bugaloos, et al., to say nothing of Saved by the Bell in the late '80s and early nineties) were much better, IMHO, than the animated kids' shows NBC is now airing from the Qubo network.

ALF used to be on in reruns on WGN America, but has been replaced by newer programming. Saved by the Bell, however, is running in syndication (at least here in northeastern Ohio) on Cleveland's affiliate of the CW, WBNX-TV channel 55. The show was formerly on WGN America several years after ending its NBC network run, but likewise has apparently been replaced by other, more modern programming. I don't know if SbtB or ALF is available (yet), however, on DVD. As popular as the latter was in its heyday on the Peacock Network, I would think it will be released on DVD fairly soon.

As for Saved by the Bell, the show's relatively short network run (late '80s until about 1994 or so, IIRC) may mean that the program will not be released on DVD by virtue of the fact that not enough episodes were made. I read somewhere that a television series must have had at least 100 episodes before it would be released on any other format, including DVD. I believe this limitation goes back to the '80s if not earlier, when TV series were being released for sale on VHS video. A network or syndication company will not (and probably legally cannot) release on DVD the current season of any show if such program is still airing on the network or is still being shown in syndication. However, previous seasons of shows still in production can be had on DVD.

Note that even shows which have been off the air for years or decades may not be currently available on DVD, but are available for pre-order from Amazon.com, et al. For example, I liked the 1970s TV crime series Mannix when it was new, and wanted to get at least one season of the show on DVD. I found out, however, that Amazon.com (the firm from which I purchase most of my DVDs) was not going to release the show's third season immediately, but within three weeks or so of its advertisement on the website. I preordered the DVDs and, within two weeks, IIRC, they arrived in my mail.

There is a waiting period involved (longer than usual, in many cases), of course, when you pre-order DVDs (and it is sometimes at the mercy of such unavoidable things as unforeseen shipping delays), but believe me, the results are well worth the wait. Amazon.com does an excellent job handling all its customers' orders, including pre-orders; needless to say, they will be my preferred source from now on for my old favorite '70s TV series on DVD.

I was never a Jay fan, other then his car collection :)

Johnny was the man !

I was bummed that Johnny Carson retired and hacked that Leno took his place. Carson was the absolute and undisputable KING of late night and he was a genius. His light, Jack Benny-ish style with racy and sarcastic undertones cannot be beat. He and his writers were sharp and witty and lent intelligence to late night. I also remember stars would flock to Carson's show. There was a time that the Tonight show was as important to a career as Ed Sullivan was.

But of the group of late nighters that are here today, Leno is the best of them. He is the real comic of the group. When Leno held the Tonight show, stars liked to flock to his show too. But like Leno vs. Carson, today's stars pale by comparison to the stars of the 50's through 80's.

imho

The latest news I have seen is that Conan O'Brien is resisting a move of the Tonight Show to 12:05 AM, and may try to get out of his contract, since NBC has now officially said Jay Leno is moving to 11:35 PM. Some NBC executives are looking at having Jay Leno back on a full hour-long Tonight Show and letting O'Brien go entirely. That would be fine to me, as mentioned above.

I know at least in my case, I've simply never been able to get in a habit of turning on Leno at 9 PM CST. Not that it's a particularly bad show, just not in the mood for a late night-type show at that time.
In my case, I watch everything recorded on a Media Center computer, so the original broadcast time/date is a complete non-issue. But, yes, I agree that this type of show is much better on a daily basis as an after-the-news event.

just wait till conan takes over the tonite show. the ratings will sink like the titanic. i've never got him. not funny. kinda reminds me of chevy chase. he wasn't funny either. i'll give NBC some credit. they have the best nightly news.
Well, NBC fixed things right again. Jay Leno is back on for an hour every night after the late news. He has beaten David Letterman in the ratings every night now since he came back to late night too, just like he did for years before last year's changes.

i'll give NBC some credit. they have the best nightly news.

I agree. I've been watching NBC news as long as I can remember, and NBC-TV has been my network of choice, for the most part, for prime-time shows all that time as well.

Times have changed, however, as the way NBC shows its new prime time schedule is much different from the '70s when the networks devoted an entire half-hour late in the summer to showcasing their fall line-up. Remember "this fall, NBC has it all" (for example), and the other jingles NBC used when promoting its prime-time shows? These date back to the early and mid-seventies, when the network was still owned and operated by RCA.

NBC Universal, however, had other ideas when it took over NBC, which is why they ran through several promotions and now use the slogan "more colorful." beneath the peacock at the beginning and end of their prime-time schedule each evening. I also notice that the network has taken to promoting its current programming via a strip at the bottom of the picture, at the start of each prime-time show; I guess the network realizes its fourth-place standing in the ratings must improve, and fast, if they are to survive in today's four-network universe, and they will do anything they can to achieve that goal. Moving Jay Leno back to 11:35 and replacing Conan O'Brien with Jimmy Fallon is a step in the right direction, especially since, as another person stated in this thread, Leno is consistently beating David Letterman in ratings. If NBC continues this run of success, it could very well become, as it was 25-30 years ago, America's #1 television network, at least in late-night.

However, it won't be easy. NBC had decent ratings in the '70s because television back then meant only three networks and PBS; cable in those days was basically local stations or the nearest stations (the latter often being the case in very small towns miles away from large cities), as there was no TBS, TNT, or any of the other cable giants we see on today's digital cable. There was an Atlanta station, Ted Turner's WTBS channel 17, which was simply a satellite rebroadcast of the station's main signal. It did not appear on most cable systems outside greater Atlanta until it became "TBS", the channel we know today on cable. New York has a superchannel that is shown today (mostly in some areas of the East Coast) on cable, WPIX-TV 11, Chicago's WGN-TV is now seen nationally on most cable systems, and there may be other independent stations which have gone to satellite distribution on cable as well.

My point in mentioning those superchannels is that they were once only seen in their own markets, but are now forces to be reckoned with in cable TV channel line-ups across the US. This is a far cry, as I mentioned above, from the early-mid-seventies and earlier, when cable TV was mainly if not totally local channels, some of which were imported from other cities. The networks did not have to worry about competition for their viewers from anything but the other two networks.

Today, however, the major broadcast networks do have competition from literally dozens of cable networks; the network news programs, in particular, are facing very tough competition from CNN, FOX News, et al. NBC's late-night schedule suffered when Jay Leno went from 11:35 to 10:35 because the show was affecting ratings for local affiliates' late news. With Leno back at 11:35 Eastern, that problem has been solved, but Conan O'Brien is no longer seen on NBC, having left that network for greener pastures--perhaps FOX or one of the cable channels.

Conan O'Brien's short stint as the host of the "Tonight Show" was a ratings disaster for NBC, which is why the network decided to move Leno back to his old 11:35 ET time period--where the Tonight Show has been for years and where it belongs, IMHO. O'Brien is no Leno, as many people (myself included) found out when he was hosting "Tonight." I did not care for O'Brien's announcer (Andy Richter), either, but that's another story.

Television networks and their affiliates are and have always been in constant battles with one another over ratings; this has never been more true than it is today. In today's so-called "500-channel universe", viewers have more choices than ever; digital cable offers well over 200 channels in most markets (very large markets such as New York and Los Angeles may well offer the full "500-channel universe" in addition to seven local channels), and with entire seasons of shows now available on DVD for rental or for purchase, viewers can pick and choose what they want to watch, bypassing the broadcast and cable networks altogether if they so desire. I had my cable service downgraded to broadcast channels only (what I call "bare-bones basic") recently; most of my TV viewing nowadays is of DVDs and VHS tapes of old shows I grew up with in the '70s. Once in a blue moon a movie or program will appear on one of the networks that strikes my fancy (I saw the 2004 movie "Anchorman:The Legend of Ron Burgundy" on ABC last night), but I avoid the networks for the most part, except for NBC local and world news or nature shows on PBS.

Will cable, DVD, DVRs, and whatever else comes along in the future spell the end of network TV as we know it today? Only time will tell. One thing, however, is certain: It's certainly not what our grandfathers watched, and it never will be again.

Does GE still own NBC? It looks to me like they have been putting the gun to their heads in the last couple of years, NBC nightly news has been my favorite since Tom Brokaw took the scene, but it has become political party biased in my opinion and that leads to disgruntled viewers who have tuned them out. NOT to mention what Jeff pointed out.

Does GE still own NBC? ...

Yes. GE has had a controlling interest in NBC since 1986, when it purchased the network from RCA. However, NBC-TV is now in a partnership with Microsoft (has been for over a decade), and now with NBC Universal. MSNBC, NBC's cable/Internet news channel, is also owned by NBC, the "MS" part of the network's name standing for Microsoft. GE also operates a host of cable channels, among them Bravo, CNBC, Oxygen, et al.

There is yet another wrinkle in this story. The cable operator Comcast is poised to take almost complete control of NBC from GE before too long; I haven't heard or read anything recently (in any one of several TV industry newsletters I get in my inbox daily) about the sale, but if anything earthshaking does happen along these lines (as I'm sure it will, before too long), the story will make the business and/or entertainment sections of the nation's newspapers.

It appears that Conan is heading to TBS.

http://tv.msn.com/the-wrap/conan-going-to-tbs/story/?gt1=28103

Yes. GE has had a controlling interest in NBC since 1986, when it purchased the network from RCA. However, NBC-TV is now in a partnership with Microsoft (has been for over a decade), and now with NBC Universal. MSNBC, NBC's cable/Internet news channel, is also owned by NBC, the "MS" part of the network's name standing for Microsoft. GE also operates a host of cable channels, among them Bravo, CNBC, Oxygen, et al.

There is yet another wrinkle in this story. The cable operator Comcast is poised to take almost complete control of NBC from GE before too long; I haven't heard or read anything recently (in any one of several TV industry newsletters I get in my inbox daily) about the sale, but if anything earthshaking does happen along these lines (as I'm sure it will, before too long), the story will make the business and/or entertainment sections of the nation's newspapers.

Ok Thompson/RCA is owned By GE now along with a huge list of other companies and there is a connection between RCA and Columbia ( CBS )
I think Comcast falls in there somewhere too I wouldnt be surprised if GE doesn't already own Comcast in the first place. They probably silently own TBS LOL

Ok Thompson/RCA is owned By GE now along with a huge list of other companies and there is a connection between RCA and Columbia ( CBS )


GE no longer owns RCA, and has never owned Thomson. GE bought some of Thomson's medical systems, but never marketed them under anything but the GE name. Thomson is now known as Technicolor S.A. - and RCA televison production is part of a joint Thomson and TCL (China) owned TTE. Oh, and Audiovox sells products under the RCA name (except TVs, that's TTE)

Ain't it all confusing?

GE no longer owns RCA, and has never owned Thomson. GE bought some of Thomson's medical systems, but never marketed them under anything but the GE name. Thomson is now known as Technicolor S.A. - and RCA televison production is part of a joint Thomson and TCL (China) owned TTE. Oh, and Audiovox sells products under the RCA name (except TVs, that's TTE)

Ain't it all confusing?

yes it is because as a GE stockholder I find Thomsom/RCA Sanyo samsung Nbc universal MSNBC GE Financial GE air Ge electronics and so many more on the list of shares in ownerships.I found several joint ventures with GM and other large overseas and American companies on this list of shares.