O’Brien Officially Leaving NBC and Tonight
Conan O’Brien and NBC have finally reached a departing agreement, which has ended the ongoing, public feud. The recent events are leaving the show’s staff without a job, but paving the way for another network to pick up the comedian.
According to sources, the exit agreement includes a $32.5 million payment to the now former Tonight Show host. However, NBC has also set aside another $12 million in severance payments for the 200 staff that are losing their jobs now that Jay Leno is taking back his spot as host of the show on March 1.
All of this is due to the network’s reshuffle of a program schedule that simply didn’t work as they had liked. Jeff Zucker, NBC chief executive, said that they tried to correct what didn’t work; they aren’t denying that. In an attempt to shake up their prime time lineup, NBC tried to replace scripted drama shows with the Jay Leno Show at 10pm, but the viewer response was less than they had hoped.
Fox executives are said to be interested in picking up O’Brien for their own late night show. However, the comedian isn’t allowed to work at a rival network until September due to the exit agreement he signed.
Despite all the bad that has been going on in this feud, this decision is probably for the best for both parties (maybe not for the staffers though). NBC will get to go back to getting the ratings they had before they tried something different, while O’Brien will get to work for another network that, here’s to hoping, won’t go back on their word.
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