Late Night Wars

NBC's decision to create a primetime platform for Jay Leno was observed with rabid speculation last summer, and after only a few months the outcome is clear: the show is a failure, and NBC is has decided to change their late night lineup again.  Leno gets his own show at 11:35, the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien gets moved to 12:05 (which technically means it doesn't air "tonight") and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is on at 1:05.  Apparently, no one's too bothered about the fate of Last Call with Carson Daly.

Earlier this evening, Conan released this statement wherein (no surprise here) he reveals that he does not want to see the Tonight Show's timeslot changed.  I think he's right.  NBC needs to give Conan time to develop his show and audience, and seven months just isn't long enough.  And Leno is starting to seem like a jerk.  It's time for him to move on, perhaps to another network.

Maybe Conan won't get the same numbers Leno did, but he has lowered the age of Tonight Show viewers, which is supposedly what advertisers all want, and he waited patiently to get this gig.  He has behaved honorably, and that should be returned.