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NBC Nearing Deal for O'Brien to Leave Network & Leno to Resume Former Duties
The late night TV drama at NBC appears to be nearing an end. On Friday, the network neared a deal with "Tonight Show" host Conan O'Brien to leave NBC, which would make way for Jay Leno to resume hosting duties on the show he hosted for 17 years.
A person close to the talks between top NBC execs and reps for O'Brien said that they were close to settling a deal for his departure on Friday. Allegedly, Universal Studios president and COO Ron Meyer was amongst those involved in the talks.
The focus of the negotiations was how much O'Brien would be paid for leaving, and what kind of limits the network would put on his future employment at another network. O'Brien had signed a 4-year contract with the network, and still has over two and a half years left on it. Reports on his salary range from $10 to $25 million per year.
The deal that they are working on supposedly would provide a settlement of more than $30 million, and would permit him to start a new show as early as this fall.
Despite the progress in negotiations, O'Brien didn't back down from hammering NBC during his "Tonight Show" monologue. In a direct jab, he quipped:
"In the press this week, NBC has been calling me every name in the book. In fact, they think I'm such an idiot they now want me to run the network."
Since the late night drama broke out, ratings have been up. One can't help but wonder if Leno returns to the 11:35pm slot if ratings will once again slide.
The late night TV drama at NBC appears to be nearing an end. On Friday, the network neared a deal with "Tonight Show" host Conan O'Brien to leave NBC, which would make way for Jay Leno to resume hosting duties on the show he hosted for 17 years.
A person close to the talks between top NBC execs and reps for O'Brien said that they were close to settling a deal for his departure on Friday. Allegedly, Universal Studios president and COO Ron Meyer was amongst those involved in the talks.
The focus of the negotiations was how much O'Brien would be paid for leaving, and what kind of limits the network would put on his future employment at another network. O'Brien had signed a 4-year contract with the network, and still has over two and a half years left on it. Reports on his salary range from $10 to $25 million per year.
The deal that they are working on supposedly would provide a settlement of more than $30 million, and would permit him to start a new show as early as this fall.
Despite the progress in negotiations, O'Brien didn't back down from hammering NBC during his "Tonight Show" monologue. In a direct jab, he quipped:
"In the press this week, NBC has been calling me every name in the book. In fact, they think I'm such an idiot they now want me to run the network."
Since the late night drama broke out, ratings have been up. One can't help but wonder if Leno returns to the 11:35pm slot if ratings will once again slide.
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