According to WWTDD (link), Leno is now saying he’ll split from NBC too because of the poor way they’re handling the whole Conan thing.  If that’s true, that’s noble of him, but i think it’s too little, too late on this front.  Another piece of news I caught this morning was that apparently Conan’s deal with NBC has it worked out so that, even if he goes to another network, he still has to make his $20 million a year.  So if he went to Fox for $15 million, NBC would have to make up the $5 million.  The guy that hosts “Tosh 2.o” on Comedy Central was on KROQ this morning and said, “Conan should make a deal with Fox for $1.00 so that NBC has to pick up the entire tab.”  That’s funny and insightful, man.

What does the Leno thing have to do with Dead Tree Media you may ask?  Well, when it comes down to it, all of the shit that is happening is really about advertising.  The entertainment business is still a business after all and while you may think you’re getting your network programming for free because you can skip past the ads with your Tivo, all that content still has to be paid for, from the guy who rolls the tape at night to my constantly out of work ex-girlfriend who somehow still calls herself an AD because she once worked on “Without A Trace.”

When NBC tried this grand experiment of putting Leno on at 10pm, they basically killed the lead-in to the news and to the Late Show by doing away with five nights of hour-long dramas.  Without a good lead in, both the news and Conan suffered in the spot.  When those two lose viewers, they lose Dead Tree Media ad dollars and the whole house of cards comes down.

The guys at NBC probably thought they had discovered a gold mine… they only had to pay Jay, Conan wasn’t as expensive as Jay, and they didn’t have to do one-hour dramas anymore.  Hour long dramas can be pretty expensive, which is why really great, creative shows like “Pushing Up Daisies” and a few others don’t make it long because they cost too much to make and they just couldn’t get the advertising to cover the cost.  This, by the way, is why you get a lot of cop dramas in that spot, they’re actually pretty cheap.  They can shoot on the lot, there aren’t a lot of special effects, and outside of some rotating guest stars, the people in them are never really big names.

So, NBC really fucked over a whole hose of people with this decision, not just Conan.  All the folks that worked on the hour-long dramas, from the actors to the grips, all fucked.  The people on the news, probably just as fucked, but not as expensive, so we’re not hearing about it right now. NBC itself is probably losing a shitload of ad dollars through this mess, which means more people will be losing their jobs.  The list can just on and on.  Meanwhile the dude at the top of NBC keeps getting promoted.

[singing] There’s no business like show business… no business I know… [not singing]  Got that right.  If someone in a political office caused that much of a loss in revenue or that many people their jobs, they would be burning him in effigy in front of the White House.

J.

Related posts you might enjoy:

1. Australia KFC ad not racist, just goofy. Get the hell over it.
2. DTM Commentary: How to piss off a Brit chick in no time!
3. DTM Commentary: On sizzle, steak, and car parts (Martin Scorsese sex tape edition)
4. Remixed Tonight Show with Jay Leno promo sings a different tune
5. DTM Commentary: Chrysler, Focus On The Family, and the Superbowl