The War for Late Night_ When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy - Bill Carter [29]
Jay, meanwhile, climbed out of the dungeon and made his way upstairs to Debbie Vickers’s office to let her know that he felt as if he had just been fired—and to tell her, “The only reason they are doing this is because they made a deal with someone else.”
On March 30, 2004, NBC announced it had reached an agreement with Jay Leno to remain as host of The Tonight Show until the end of 2009. In an interview, Jay observed, “It seemed pretty simple. NBC came to me and said, ‘We’d like to sign you for about five more years,’ and I said, ‘Fine.’ ” He had only one specific comment about the terms. “I’m still not making Dave money.”
Zucker said the deal had been negotiated “strictly between me and Jay” and added, “We decided to do it now because Jay is now the perennial leader in late night and he only shows signs of getting stronger.” At the time, late in the 2004-2005 television season, Jay, with an average of 6.2 million viewers, had been posting increases in both his overall ratings and his lead over Letterman, who was averaging about 4.4 million.
NBC made no comment about Conan OʹBrien that day, but of course the speculation was all over the press. What did it mean for Conan, whose deal was to end on December 31, 2005, now that Jay was locked in until the end of the decade?
Conan and his professional posse went along with the charade, acceding to the terms that had been agreed upon. After all, there was always the chance that the thing could blow up again, at least until Conan formally signed a contract that contained the phrase “Tonight Show.” That may have been why they didn’t shrink from flimflamming the situation a bit. Less than a week after the Leno announcement, in an extensive profile, Conan, speaking of his future, said, “A big question is looming. It’s the elephant in the room that no one is talking about: What’s next?”
He also pointed out, “No one at NBC has said, ‘Here’s what we’re going to do. Here’s the offer.’ It’s hard to figure these things out in a vacuum.”
Gavin Polone laid it on even thicker. “I was a little surprised by what NBC did with Jay,” Polone remarked in his own interview, overtly expressing surprise about how NBC had made this long commitment without first locking in Conan. “Conan has a lot of great choices ahead of him. NBC has probably only a lot of anxiety ahead of them.”
And even though all outside contacts had been shut down per the arrangement with NBC, Polone went on to describe those alleged choices: “I think Fox has to offer. I believe CBS might have to offer. And ABC obviously has to offer. You might have three companies that need new jetliners at the same time, and we’ll be the only company actually building a jet. Other people may be building washing machines. But why go to a company offering washing machines when you need a jet?”
All of Conan’s people made their uncertainly about the future sound real, since it was either that or dodge the questions entirely. If they said nothing, Jay would get six months solo on the PR stage, which might make it look as if Conan had gone cold and the quest for an 11:35 slot had become moribund. So they fudged and dissembled.
Speaking about the deal that NBC had announced with Leno, Conan said, “It’s hard for me emotionally to say, ‘How can Leno