So What’s Jay Leno’s New Show Gonna Be Like, Anyway?
Now that reactions to Jay Leno's upcoming move to the 10 p.m. slot have poured in from the furthest reaches of the talk-show circuit, it's time to take a step back and start to think about the creative changes that will be necessary for The Jay Leno Show to make when it starts up in the fall of 2009. Just kidding, no one really cares about the creative process! During yesterday's press conference in Burbank hosted by Leno and NBC co-chiefs Marc Graboff and Ben Silverman, the major motif was one of fiscal re

Hard Times Force Golden Globe Parties to Go On With Recycled Diamonds [Awards]
The collective shrug over a possible SAG strike gathered a few more shoulders today, with representatives for Hollywood's influential Party Planning Mafia acknowledging that no labor impasse (or recession, for that matter) will prevent it from restoring the Golden Globes afterparties to their long-dormant luster. To wit: Press conferences are out, and "plasma screen-outfitted water walls" are in! And that's just for starters.Elsewhere at the NBC Universal party, expect jewels shipped in from sponsor Cartier

Just be glad Leno didn't get the 8pm slot instead
Filed under: Late Night, Industry, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-FreeI'm sure a lot of "end of the year" lists are going to have to be scrapped and started again because of this whole last-minute, December-to-remember announcement about Jay Leno getting the 10pm time slot every single night on NBC. In a year that saw the writers strike, the Fey/Palin stuff, and the election, this might turn out to be an even bigger story. But it could have been a rather different story if Leno had

Moonves: The Model Ain't Broken
Days after rival NBC Chief Executive Jeff Zucker bemoaned the broadcast television model and gave five prime-time hours over to Tonight Show host Jay Leno, CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves arrives with another story. "I'm here to tell you the model ain't broken," he said to a room full of investors at UBS'

Les Moonves Confident 'CSI' Will Crush Leno: 'By A Lot' [Les Moonves]
As Jeff Zucker foists his last hopes for NBC on Jay Leno and his arsenal of funny little newspaper-clipping typos, his arch nemesis—future galactic despot Les Moonves—couldn't help but hijack the opportunity to engage in a favorite pastime: an old-fashioned, TV honcho dick-measuring contest! Talking today at the same New York media conference where Zucker dropped jaws with his plan to scale back on programming hours, Moonves temporarily blinded the audience with a smile, before pledging that it

The Boss, 'Office' to Battle 'Wipeout' in Super Bowl of the Soul [Stunts]
Chalk up another victory for the creative class: ABC's obstacle-course competition hit Wipeout will return for two episodes on Super Bowl Sunday, directly challenging both NBC's halftime show featuring Bruce Springsteen and a special postgame edition of The Office. It's the biggest such counterprogramming battle in five years, and as with everything else pertaining to the network these days, the Peacock might be in trouble.Though it looked for a while like Wipeout may have its lowest-common-denominator lice

‘Jay Leno Show’ Takes Competitive Pressure Off, Graboff Says
The host of “The Jay Leno Show” doesn’t expect to beat first-run versions of the scripted drama it will compete with at 10 p.m. weeknights starting in fall 2009. He doesn’t have to, said Marc Graboff, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, at a Burbank press conference the day after it was learned that Mr. Leno, who had been assessing his options for after Conan O’Brien takes over “The Tonight Show” June 1, decided to stay with NBC. “We are not trying to compete,”

Dear SAG: Strike Away! Love, NBC [Hollywood Strikewatch]
So SAG's fucked. Wait—did we say "fucked?" There we go again—needless doomsday prophesying where Obaman cool-headedness is clearly required. What we meant to say is: "SAG's probably fucked." Yesterday brought a confluence of Pop Culture Doomsday events that not even a walrus blowing like Bird could have foretold:First, there was the mushroom cloud hanging over Burbank, as Jeff Zucker announced NBC would be scaling back production of hours of original programming, then proceeded to shitcan about

A women's group called New Agenda is campaigning ... [Chris Matthews]
A women's group called New Agenda is campaigning against Chris Matthews aka my secret celebrity crush, because of what it feels are his sexist attitudes. According to Politico's Michael Calderone, they've sent a letter to Matthews' boss, NBC Universal head honcho Jeff Zucker, asking for "a meeting to discuss Matthews’ attitude toward women." In addition, New Agenda is sending letters to Democratic party officials in Pennsylvania, as Matthews is rumored to be contemplating a run for office in the Keystone

Leno to 'Jaywalk' to 10 P.M. in 2009
Last night, The New York Times' Bill Carter broke the news that NBC will be moving Jay Leno to 10 p.m. in 2009. According to Mr. Carter: The new show, which will begin next fall, is expected to be set in Mr. Leno’s longtime studio in Burbank, Calif. Mr. Leno is expected to retain many of the most popular elements of his 'Tonight Show,' including his monologue and bits like 'Headlines' and 'Jay Walking.' One 'Tonight Show' staff member said the new program would not be a variety show. Under the new arrange

Zucker says NBC may scale down programming hours
A terrible fall season at NBC is forcing the network to consider scaling back the number of hours it airs programming, Chief Executive Jeff Zucker told an investor conference. NEW YORK — A terrible fall season at NBC is forcing the network to consider scaling back the number of hours it airs programming, Chief Executive Jeff Zucker told an investor conference. While N

Jay Leno to Stay at NBC in All-New Time Slot — Right Before Conan!
Wow! Despite a July USA Today interview in which he claimed "I am definitely done next year — with NBC," Jay Leno will remain with the Peacock on his own nightly 10 p.m. talk show when he cedes his 11:30 slot and the Tonight Show to Conan O'Brien next summer, reports Vulture buddy Nikki Finke, who seemingly has Jeff Zucker's office bugged these days. This comes after ceaseless speculation that Leno would move to ABC, which pretty much means NBC is paying him heretofore unimagined amounts of money. Th

Buyer: NBC’s Leno Strategy Reflects Broadcast Erosion
A leading ad buyer says NBC’s decision to put Jay Leno into the 10 p.m. time slot is a sign of the times, reflecting the erosion of broadcast audiences, the effects of the digital video recorder and NBC’s strategy of managing for margins, rather than for ratings. The broadcast networks have long garnered premium prices for commercials because they were the only way to reach a mass audience of viewers. But Laura Caraccioli-Davis, executive VP at media buyer Starcom, says the days of being able to reach

Winners And Losers of the Jay Leno Switch [Television]
Jay Leno is moving to 10 p.m., every god damn night of the week! That sure is something. You never realize how many people love Jay Leno until something like this happens (or until you find yourself in a comedy club in Winston-Salem, talking to the owner, Roy). NBC is obviously happy about it—and so is Jay, or he would have taken his middling act elsewhere—but, as in everything in showbiz, some people got screwed in this deal. After the jump, the biggest winners and losers of the Return of the C

Helen Mirren, Nazi Huntress [Trade Roundup]
· Helen Mirren will trade in her two-piece for a gun in The Debt, a remake of an Israeli hit about a Mossad agent who comes out of retirement to track down a war criminal. [Variety] · TNT fell for the old "Buy a Bruckheimer, Get a Wahlberg For Free" trick, not realizing it negotiated for Donnie's new Boston cop procedural Bunker Hill. Gotta read those contracts, gang. [THR] After the jump: Salma Hayek storms Fox, Jeff Zucker reassures nobody, Earl's preem crashes. · Completel

NBC-Leno: Answers, and Questions
NBC made its Jay Leno announcement official today, holding a press conference and issuing a press release that spelled out—somewhat—what Leno's 10 p.m. E.T. scriptkiller will involve. From the release, in which Jeff Zucker actually uses, a la Robert Huggins, the phrase "new paradigm":    Leno will sign off as host of The Tonight Show on May 29, 2009. His new show will showcase many of the features that have made Leno America's late-night leader for more than a dozen years. Signature elem

Jay Leno Stays On NBC, Now Sort of Prime Time
Put a mark in the corner for Jeff Zucker: the NBC chief managed to hang onto both Jay Leno and his replacement, Conan O'Brien, while simultaneously answering the problem of how to cut down on those expensive prime time shows: by moving Leno to the 10PM time slot, where his lazy jokes about Paris Hilton being a slut can better reach his geriatric fans. Leno was supposed to go over to ABC, which, unlike NBC Universal, isn't making those company wide budget-cuts (quite yet), so that was

Jay Leno moving to Prime Time 10pm on NBC
Jay Leno is taking over the 10 p.m. slot weeknights on NBC. The move is a huge for NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker, who has long said he wanted to keep both Leno and his replacement, Conan O’Brien, in the NBC family.The network will announce Tuesday that Mr. Leno’s new show will appear at 10 o’clock each weeknight in a format similar to “The Tonight Show,” which he has hosted since 1993. Source You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not

Jay Leno takes his act to prime-time TV
NBC Entertainment Co-Chairman Ben Silverman (L) speaks next to talk show host Jay Leno during a news conference in the Universal City area of Los Angeles December 9, 2008. (Gus Ruelas/Reuters)Reuters LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comic Jay Leno will launch his own nightly talk show in prime time next year in a landmark television deal that keeps him from moving to a rival network after his planned departure as host of "The Tonight Show," NBC said on Tuesday. The new one-hou

Leno's Move to 10 p.m. Could Set Off Prime-Time Domino Effect
NBC's groundbreaking deal to move Jay Leno to 10 p.m. weeknights promises to radically alter the rules of prime time, even as it promises significant ramifications for numerous other aspects of the TV business. Already reeling from NBC's Monday massacre of the network's executive ranks, industryites were surprised by the news that Mr. Leno had agreed to stay with the network in order to host a nightly comedy and talk show in prime time. NBC was expected to make Mr. Leno's deal official in a 10 a.m. PST new

Jack Cafferty: Palin's "Pathetic" Video Doesn't Deserve an Excuse
Jack Cafferty is one harsh bitch: After the CNN commenter made some vaguely racist remarks towards the Chinese during the Olympics, he is now prepping for a comeback by launching not-so-vague insults in Sarah Palin's direction. Here's Cafferty on the Palin/Couric interviews:   "That is one of the most pathetic pieces of tape I have ever seen from someone aspiring to one of the highest offices in this country," he continued. When Blitzer tried to be diplomatic, Cafferty shot back

NBC May Scale Back Shows; Heroes, Knight Rider Disappoint
A terrible fall season at NBC is forcing the network to consider scaling back the number of hours it airs programming, NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker told an investor conference in New York on Monday. While NBC will continue to fund the creation of pilots, Zucker told analysts at a media investor conference sponsored by UBS that NBC is considering cutting the number of hours or perhaps even the number of nights it provides programming. "Can we continue to program 22 hours of

Local TV Profoundly Affected by Downturn, NBC Says
The U.S. economic downturn has had a severe effect on broadcaster NBC’s local television stations but the company has not yet seen an advertising slowdown at a national level, its chief executive said. “It’s had a profound effect on our local TV stations, which were highly dependent on auto and retail advertising,” NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker told a conference of Britain’s Royal Television Society in London on Friday. “We haven’t seen an advertising slowdown on

It's Time for NBC to Fire Ben Silverman
There are several reasons to think NBC's decision to give Jay Leno a nightly 10 p.m. show will backfire. The slot may prove too early for late-night viewers, who tend to be creatures of habit. It could create an unsustainable booking logjam as three different NBC talk shows fight for the same guests. It could sour the network's relationship with Conan O'Brien, who not so long ago was considered more important to its long-term prospects.But let's say it works. It's still a sign that the time has come to fire

Jeff Zucker says GE committed to NBC Uni
NBC Universal president and CEO Jeff Zucker reiterated the strength of parent GE’s commitment to the media company Friday, calling it “profound” despite the recent financial turmoil and the profit warning issued Thursday by GE. “I think it’s looking at it backwards,” he said, when asked whether GE was under renewed pressure to sell NBC because of the tightening of liquidity in financial markets. “NBC’s significance only increases if there is less coming from