NBC Ruins Late Night

After a mere seven months of the Tonight Show being hosted by Conan O'Brien, NBC decided to breech their contract with the host signed six years ago to allow him to host the show in the 11:35 slot. Since The Tonight Show first aired in 1954, the show has aired in the 11:35 slot. Last year, Jay Leno stepped down from his post as host of the Tonight Show, handing it over to Conan as had been planned for many years. However, as NBC has been doing bad in the ratings and Leno consistently beta Letterman in the ratings in previous years, NBC felt they couldn't let go of him. So, they give him a talk show starting at 10 o'clock, before the 11 o'clock news, canceling and bumping many primetime shows that NBC already had in the time slot. After seven months of this new line-up, NBC received horrible ratings beginning at 10 o'clock when Leno's show airs. This also affected the rest of the line-up, including the news, the tonight show, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. As a result, NBC has decided that the only solution to solving the destruction that bringign Leno back to TV is, to give him a show in a better time slot. This is a breech of the $80 million contract that NBC signed with O'Brien in 2004. NBC's plan they proposed was that Leno would have a half hour show starting 11:35, and the Tonight Show would begin at 12:05. This left Conan with a few options after this betrayal: he could take his $80 million and leave television, take his show to another network where NBC would fill out his $20 million a year salary, or eat crow and take the 12:05 slot. Yesterday, O'Brien released a statement saying he would not continue doing the tonight show if it were to be moved to the 12:054 slot, saying he would not stand by and watch the destruction of the greatest program in broadcasting history. There is much talk about O'Brien taking his show to Fox if NBC stays with Leno, and Leno talking over the Tonight Show. No matter what happens, NBC has made a huge betrayal to the beloved host, forever tarnishes its reputation in integrity and excellence in late night.