Leno: I Was Victim of NBC

(CBS)  Jay Leno is the heavy in the minds of many in the recent, nasty late-night wars involving himself, Conan O'Brien and NBC.

And that, says "Early Show" national correspondent Hattie Kauffman, is why he sat for an hour with Oprah Winfrey on her show, trying to rehabilitate his image.

Leno insisted he wasn't the one "pulling the strings" that led to his being returned to the "Tonight" helm and O'Brien being forced to step aside. And he told Winfrey he was "devastated" when he lost his coveted "Tonight" role to O'Brien.

Leno says nobody could have seen the whole scenario coming. "This is almost the perfect storm," he observed. "You have two hit shows -- 'Tonight Show' No. 1, Conan No. 1. -- you move them both to another situation, and what are the odds that both would do extremely poorly?"

When NBC moved Leno to a five-nights-a-week primetime slot and O'Brien took over "Tonight," ratings for the latter suffered greatly, and Leno's show fared so poorly that affiliates complained bitterly about the small audiences it was delivering to their 11 p.m. newscasts. That led NBC to rearrange things again, setting off the brawl between Leno and O'Brien.

David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel also got into the act, with Kimmel at one point joking that Leno has "$800 million, for God sakes. Leave our shows alone!" He was referring to his show and "Tonight" with O'Brien.

Leno's good-guy image took such a hit, Winfrey's online poll had 96 percent of respondents saying they sided with O'Brien.

But Leno told Winfrey he wasn't responsible for pushing O'Brien out. "If the numbers (ratings) had been there, it wouldn't even be an issue."

Meaning, Winfrey asked, he would "never have been asked to go back" to "Tonight?

"People think you're behind-the-scenes, pulling strings," Leno said. "There's no strings to pull."

Leno portrayed himself as the victim, Kauffman points out, because, when he first lost "Tonight" to O'Brien, "It broke my heart, it really did. I was devastated. This was a job I always wanted."

Oprah's couch is a proven place to sell books, announce love, and make a comeback.

So -- did Leno win back a nation's love?

"He connected with the American audience," says Hollywood publicist Michael Levine. "Of course, we have to see how this soap opera plays out."

Still, says Kauffman, the question remains: Has the storied 'Tonight Show" been too tarnished for Leno to bring it back?

Asked whether NBC could have handled things differently, Leno cracked, "Anything. Anything they did. If they had come in and shot everybody, I mean, it would have been, 'Oh, the people were murdered,' but at least it would have been a two-day story!"

O'Brien's NBC exit package is said to bar him from giving any interviews for now.

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Satirist Andy Borowitz gave his unique take on the late-night wars to "Early Show" co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez Friday:


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[investigationLateNight]

Here is a very interesting blow by blow dissection of Leno's interview with Oprah: http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2010/01/oprahjay.html

[investigationLateNight]

btw, it's not my blog... I just found it interesting

[baileyccc]

The solution is simple, just play reruns of Carson shows and the ratings will come back. Posted by Baileyccc

[california64]

What if Carson had a five night a week prime time show??? Leno is to blame for ALL of this mess. He has no class. It was time for him to retire. He doesn't need more money, he needs more attention and glory. Had he gone off the air as planned, Conan would be fine and the Tonight Show would be fine. Leno must have serious dirt on NBC execs to continue to get such sweetheart deals...

[iheardit]

I call BS! Leno is no victim. Jay pushed Johnny out when he was number one. And, Jay failed miserably with TTS for several years before finding his footing. He can't have it both ways. Either he was wrong then or he's wrong now. Which is it? Jay's story changes so often, I need roller skates to keep up with them. Read the transcripts of his interview with Oprah. Read with a critical mind and see how many times you count different stories just in that one interview, let alone how it conflicts with other interviews he's given. I swear, you Leno fans would back Ted Bundy because you thought he was charming. You'd believe every word out of his mouth until he bludgeoned and strangled you to death. And, you'll believe Leno until he has run an incredible franchise into the ground for the sake of his ego.

[FauxNews]

Since when do victims get millions for being victimized?

[Annie2400]

I think Leno is also being victimized by CBS and ABC. Both networks have a stake in trashing Leno. He had for years beaten them in the 11:35 slot and now he's coming back. Letterman keeps on saying he has no dog in this fight. We all know that's not true. Leno beat him out of the Tonight Show gig and in the ratings for 14 years. Jimmy Kimmel's antics speak for themselves. Both CBS and ABC have released their attack pit bulls in the form of Letterman and Kimmel on Leno hoping they can maul him enough to keep him down. Rupert Murdock is using the Wall Street Journal to do the same. I don't think they'll succeed in the long run.

[realoldcarman]

As nothingallowed said, Conan hasn't ever really been funny, and certainly not "edgy". Letterman wasn't edgy or particularly funny- just sarcastic, which is why Carson didn't pick him. Conan is an arse for blowing the best gig he ever had. I've met, talked, & watched Leno since 1997, and have always found him to be very honest and straight, and no one's fool. He is smart, but always strives to be fair, so this idea being perpetuated by those that think he runs NBC are just ignorant. Is CBS encouraging this? Does Letterman work for CBS? Did Conan screw over his 150 staffers? Yeah he negotiated $77,000 average each for them, but put them out of work, while he dances away with $33 million! Who's the jerk here? Sorry Rosie O'Dummy! If Conan had stayed, chances are very good that he would have regained his audience, saved 150 jobs, and been on top and not looking like a whinny 10 year old. Leno got fired twice to help Conan and people think Leno is the bad guy? Get real!

[Annie2400]

test

[cidaia]

Wow, yet another article all but forcing us into believing that Leno is a bad guy.

CBS is pushing this one HARD. That's what, six articles now suggesting that we should hold Leno up to ridicule?

Why does CBS want us to hate Leno so bad? Is this part of being manipulated into having "culture wars", this time splitting along the "old fuddy duddy Jay lovers" demographic and the "younger, sharper, I feel sorry for poor victimized Conan cuz he reminds me of my own unemployed self" demographic?

Then again, with unemployment what it is, maybe there's a real need to redirect the younger generation into scapegoating a figure like Jay.

[erasmus111]

by Manhattan-NYC
But if that were true, NBC would not have offered Conan to stay at at the 12:05 slot. NBC is not new to this game; they knew full well Conan ratings would build with time.


Jay Leno was #1 when he was on the Tonight Show and they gave him the boot. If Jay Leno had any say, he would have still been on the Tonight Show. NBC, just like any other network is GREEDY. They were hoping that they would get even more viewers and more money with Conan. They didn't get rid of Leno completely, because after all he was #1 and they could still use him. Now I have never been a huge fan of either of them, so I'm not taking Leno's side because I like him better. The facts are that Conan sucked. He had poor ratings. So, it's only logical that if Leno got the boot when he was #1, then Conan was sure to get the boot for being way lower in the ratings. And Leno has absolutely no say in what goes on on NBC.

I can't believe that people are so stupid as to believe that Leno had any say. The fact is that if Conan had the ratings, he would still be there.

And I really can't believe that people don't know how the networks operate. They have gotten too big for their britches. It's time for everyone to unite and SHUT THE DAMN TV OFF! That should straighten them out pretty quick.

[erasmus111]

Things are no longer the way they used to be, years ago. Now if a show isn't doing REALLY well, they will pull it immediately. Or they will put a show on hiatus and stick some other show in it's place to see how well it does. If it does better, the other show is history. And if they aren't putting a show on hiatus, then they are constantly moving it's time slot so people can't find it. And then they wonder why the show has low ratings.

It's just all a big game. And we are the suckers.

[Manhattan-NYC]

I wrote, "Jay Leno took advantage of that". I did not say, "Leno has a say in what goes on on NBC" (as you say).
There is a big nuance difference in those two statements. If Jay would have stood up for himself five years ago he would have had support. Nice touch getting all emotional with your opinion and calling people stupid BTW. We're crushed.