PROBLEMS FOR JAY LENO AND CONAN O'BRIEN

Conan O'Brien

NBC has big problems and now have to figure out how to fix it. Plagued with low ratings for both "The Jay Leno Show" and Conan O'Brien's "Tonight Show," the network is said to be considering returning Leno to his 11:35 p.m. EST slot and moving "Tonight" to midnight - a change that NBC's hard-hit affiliate stations would welcome. Many stations are complaining that the ratings for their 11 p.m. newscasts have plummeted because Leno's 10 p.m. show is such a weak lead-in. "I think Jay Leno's a great performer. He's just at the wrong place at the wrong time. There's nothing wrong with making mistakes. There is something wrong with not correcting them," according to Bob Prather, president and chief operating officer at Atlanta-based Gray Television Inc., whose station group includes 10 NBC affiliates. We think the New York Daily News writer David Hinkley said it all."If NBC's Jay Leno Shuffle isn't the worst programming blunder in TV history, it might be the most embarrassing".

Editors Extra: Certain shows are meant only for New York City. They work because they have New York audiences and the New York edge. Many shows have failed by moving to Hollywood. Conan belongs back in New York, he is a New York icon. I remember many times in good weather, I would be sitting on my park beach on Central Park West, and like clockwork everyday, Conan would drive by with his chauffeur heading to the studio, but riding in the front seat. The guy is a New Yorker and does not belong in La La Land....
Photos By: Sara De Boer/Retna