The Chronicler's Web (TCW)

by DAN CALLOWAY
Published 22 January 2010 @ 22:28 UTC

HOLLYWOOD, CA – When Johnny Carson, the undisputed king of Late Night television, stepped down on May 22, 1992, it set up the first high-profile late-show shuffle as both Jay Leno and David Letterman lobbied for the position.

Of course, Jay Leno won the battle, got the position, Mr. Letterman left, and a then-unknown, Conan O’Brien, emerged to replace David Letterman on ”Late Night,” setting the stage for the upheaval currently underway at NBC.

David Letterman, thought to be Johnny Carson’s successor on the “Tonight Show,” lost his battle to Jay Leno who took over the show on May 25, 1992. Jay Leno has been a host of the “Tonight Show” since 1986.  In January, 1993, David Letterman announced a deal with CBS to create a rival program.

 In August, 1993, David Letterman opened his “Late Show” with David Letterman on CBS and quickly moved up the ratings. However, the ratings settled and Mr. Letterman remained in second place behind the “Tonight Show” ever since.

Conan O’Brien took over “Late Night” as Mr. Letterman’s successor and quickly began to rise in the ratings where he found his niche, especially among young viewers, and became a valued property to NBC.

 Then, NBC announced, in September, 2004, that Conan O’Brien would replace Jay Leno as the host of the “Tonight Show” in 2009. It was thought at the time that Jay Leno would retire since he had always kept a very busy stand-up schedule and, as a result, would leave late night television.

As the deadline for the “Tonight Show” changeover drew near in December, 2008, Jay Leno made it perfectly clear to NBC that he was not ready to retire. In an attempt to appease both Mr. Leno and Mr. O’Brien, NBC made a brave move and devoted its entire 10 pm time slot to a new comedy show starring Jay Leno.

Conan O’Brien taped his last show of the “Late Show” with Conan O’Brien in February, 2009 and moved his entire operation to Burbank, CA to begin his hosting of the “Tonight Show.” Mr. O’Brien continued to draw fans from the younger set, but he quickly lost overall audience appeal giving Mr. Letterman the win over largest viewing audience with his “The Late Show” with David Letterman program on CBS.

In October, 2009, David Letterman became embroiled in an alleged extortion attempt with “Late Night” staffers just as his show had reached the top of the ratings overtaking the “Tonight Show” on NBC.  However, while embarassing, the scandal drew significant ratings and made for good television.

On January 7, 2010, NBC announced a reorganization to move Jay Leno back to the 11:35 pm time slot and bump the “Tonight Show” up to the 12:05 am time slot as a result of angry affiliates and a drop in ratings. This entire plan, however, hinged on Mr. O’Brien’s cooperation, which reportedly was a proposal with which Mr. O’Brien was unhappy. On January 13, 2010, Mr. O’Brien openly rejected NBCs proposal and announced that he would leave as host of the “Tonight Show” if NBC moved the show to the 12:05 am time slot since it was not the show he agreed to host.

 Finally, on January 20, 2010, Mr. O’Brien announced that he would be leaving as the host of the “Tonight Show” whose final airing as host will be seen on January 22nd. It is reported that Mr. O’Brien has settled for $32M to break out of his contract so that he can return to television on another network in eight months.