Why Leno Leaving Prime Time Hurts All Broadcast TV

[JaneAusten]

Interesting Article that was posted at TV by the Numbers.

http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=141629

[DRW50]

There was nothing innovative about putting Leno in primetime for 5 nights a week. It was one of the laziest programming moves ever and if it had succeeded, would have sent a wrecking ball to primetime and probably driven away more viewers. They forget that Leno not only hurt affiliates, he also sent ratings spiraling down for some of NBC's previous stalwarts, like Special Victims Unit.

[bellcurve]

I don't think the idea for Leno in primetime five days a week was wrong. I also think they expected numbers to goose when buzzworthy guests appeared(i.e. Leno's Kanye interview could win them the timeslot for that night or if he brought on Sarah Palin or Barack Obama).

The problem with NBC's efforts is that they used Jay Leno, of all people, for this bold experiment. When I first heard about Leno doing 10PM, I thought it would be a good way for him to branch out and do something different, even Tom Snyder-esque(with longer interviews) but more entertaining and with a studio audience. But his 10PM experiment has proven that he can't do anything remotely different. He sticks to the same old shtick and does nothing to branch out.

Dateline would have been a perfect show from the NBC franchise to test this cheaper, five day a week experiment with, given how great Nightline's numbers are these days. We live in an age of news and politics where people want to get their fix from somewhere. Regardless of how biased that news is. I think part of Nightline's success(especially with the changing format) is how much people want to watch the news during the latest scandals, elections, and disasters. Dateline would probably deliver 10 million a night for the Haiti crisis, given how much people are concerned about it. It could have strengthened NBC's News Division even more. And then, not to forget they could play their Chris Hansen Predator/Scammer specials during sweeps months. Dateline would have ran into slow nights as well, but not nearly as many as Leno because people want to see the news when a natural disaster or some big soap opera(like Britney Spears or Casey Johnson) plays out.

[JaneAusten]

Part of the problem aside from the show being a complete retread of Leno's Tonight show, were guests also. The other networks indirectly refused to allow anyone from their network to appear on the show. So you saw the same tired guests on Leno's show that you saw everywhere else.

What it highlighted to me was how boring and tired Leno's Tonight Show actually is. Maybe latenight is a better place for tired, old, stale jokes and interviews. Maybe people watching at that time are too tired to even care.

But what someone posted on one of the websites is interesting. For all the complaining about Conan's ratings, Leno's ratings on the Tonight show actually dropped pretty significantly over the past 3 years, more than Letterman's to the point where the gap between he and Letterman had gotten narrower. For 2006-2007 demos were 2.0 for 2007-2008 demos were 1.8, for 2008 to 2009 the demos were 1.4. You could say Conan's ratings just followed a trend already established. People yammer about how Conan's ratings for Late Night were down before he took over the tonight show but no one mentions that Jay's numbers were falling too.

[bellcurve]

Have you been reading Television Without Pity too?

Jay is toast when he returns to The Tonight Show. He has returned as damaged goods to a damaged show. That levels the playing field. Would not surprise me if Nightline keeps kicking Leno's ass too.

[JaneAusten]

Hell yeah.

Nightline is the best thing on Late Night. They reinvented the show and it's working. I personally can't watch any of the late night talk shows. I was a huge Letterman fan for years but honestly the shows are all the same. COnan was never my cup of tea. I never felt this format and type of show fit him. He actually might have been more able to make a show on primetime work than Leno. Conan does have talent and creative ability. Leno is just old and stale.

[Sylph]

Correct!

Conan needs to get back writing for The Simpsons.

[JaneAusten]

I think I'd be kind of psyched if I heard he was going to be writing and producing and working on new projects perhaps for someone like Adult Swim who knows. I realize it would probably a huge paycut, but to me him going back to a talk show is a waste of where his best creative talents are.

[Ann_SS]

ITA. Leno is done. The younger folks to suffer through Leno to wait for Conan will bail. I expect Leno's ratings to tank after the first couple weeks of the Tonight Show. Letterman will wax him and if FOX is smart and comes through with a show for Conan, Leno is doomed.

NBC should have been brave and dump Leno. It now has a failing Tonight show and no young heir apparent. NBC will have to pay through the nose to contract the next host because no one will ever trust their word again.

[bellcurve]

Another Nightline fan!

I like how they highlight different stories and how some of the reports really get me pissed off or fired up. It's definitely not an ideal lead-in to Jimmy Kimmel, but he should be grateful for not only this late-night scandal giving him buzz and attention, but Nightline's second wind feeding him some love.

And to think, they almost canceled this show for Big Jaw!

[alphanguy74]

I have to admit.. nightline is what I watch most in late night. I find it interesting every damn time.