NBC Gives Leno Nightly Prime-Time Show

Comedian Will Fill One-Hour Slot At 10 P.M., 5 Nights A Week

(AP)  Jay Leno is staying at NBC, and he's moving to prime time.

The network announced on the "Today" show Tuesday that Leno will host a show on weeknights at 10 p.m. EST, after he leaves the "Tonight" show. The network had announced earlier that Conan O'Brien would move to the "Tonight" show and succeed Leno.

The deal not only prevents Leno from moving to another network and competing with O'Brien, it also has the potential to be a big cost savings for NBC.

Dramas at 10 p.m. EST used to be a mainstay of network schedules, but they have been fading - particularly on NBC. One reason is digital video recorders; more people are watching shows they taped earlier than the live 10 p.m. shows.

The deal was first reported Tuesday in The New York Times.

NBC is owned by General Electric Co.

[thisandthat1]

Take that, Conan! By the time people get their fill of Leno every night, they can go to bed and not to have to waste their sleep on the unfunny O''Brien.

[blogthis1]

Now I get the best of both worlds. Leno at 10pm and Letterman at 11:30pm. Conan is too goofy

[matrixrx2003]

I think Leno is BORING, BORING, BORING.

[hitoyou11]

Conan will be gone on 60 days if he last that long. Here I come Letterman. NBC amd Conan at 11:30 will go to 3rd place. Conan belongs next to the UAW, in the street.

[greeneyes222]

Conan is dreadful. I don''t know who at NBC committed to giving him the Tonight Show, but he needs to stay on late late tv for the college kids.

Oh well, I''ll appreciate the extra hours of sleep.

[oldsoftee]

I''m in full agreement with the Conan crucifiers. He''s about as funny as a root canal.

[rafterman1]

You all must be at least 80 years old.

[wango2007-2009]

I was hoping Leno would take Letterman''s slot on CBS. That would have been a major deal.

Letterman used to be better, but he has become boring and predictable. In the last couple years I started to flip channels during "Great Presidential Speeches" and forgot to flip back to Letterman.

That''s when I discovered Leno was at least interesting, despite his mis-shaped head.

[puzzler125]

I love Conan but he''s so "late-night" that middle-America is not going to watch him in droves. Jay Leno is far more middle-of-the-road and I think the 11:30 slot is going to go down the drain this coming May.