NBC Denies Report It Struck Deal For Conan's Exit
An NBC spokesperson on the afternoon of Friday, Jan. 15 denied a report on website TheWrap.com that indicated NBC had reached an agreement with latenight host Conan O'Brien to vacate the 11:35 p.m. Tonight Show.
The report follows days of back and forth between O'Brien's reps and the network after the host rejected NBC's plan to move The Jay Leno Show from 10 p.m. nightly to run a half-hour at 11:35 and shift The Tonight Show with O'Brien back to 12:05.
In a sharply worded statement released to the media Jan. 12, O'Brien said that he believed moving The Tonight Show to 12:05 a.m. would "seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting."
TheWrap said NBC would pay O'Brien $30 million to vacate The Tonight Show and that an announcement would be made later Friday.
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