Tuned In

…Or Will NBC Send Conan Walking?

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Whoa—things are getting interesting at NBC, or at least in the NBC rumor department. TMZ is now reporting that the network is moving Jay Leno back to 11:30 after Feb. 1. The open question, it says: will Jay take the Tonight Show back, or will he get a half hour, followed by Conan O’Brien? (Or, will Conan be screwed, or will Conan be really screwed?)

[Update: Kinda screwed!, reports the New York Times, which tonight says NBC plans to move Jay to 11:30 and Conan to midnight. Still no official word from NBC.]

If any of this is true, it raises all kinds of questions. As discussed earlier: what does NBC put in five hours of primetime? (When, as it is, Mercy, Trauma and other timeslots are shaky.) What does Conan do in response? If Conan leaves, how much longer would NBC keep Jay in late night? Is the move in part a way to make good on a contractual commitment to Jay (as well as keep him from going to ABC)? Is it driven by the new overlords at Comcast? Can Jay get ground back against David Letterman, or is his brand tarnished and Dave on top for good?

These and other questions will be open if it’s true. (NBC still denies an earlier report today that it is considering dropping The Jay Leno Show.)And, if it is, sympathies to the badly-used Conan.

[Update: Bill Carter of the New York Times, who literally wrote the book on the Tonight Show, reports that NBC “did not deny a report posted by the website TMZ that NBC was considering making the switch.” And when you do not deny you’re considering that you’re replacing your Tonight host to Bill Carter…]