Three years ago “NBC” executives announced that “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno would retire in 2009 and his replacement would be Conan O’Brien. A recent piece in “The Los Angeles Times” rumored that Leno is now having second thoughts.
NBC Universal President and CEO Jeff Zucker recently reiterated during a Q&A session that the plan is still set and O’Brien will take over for Leno in 2009.
The deal was put together three years ago in order to keep Conan O’Brien, the host of Late Night from jumping ship for another network. The strategy worked and O’Brien has been quietly cooling his heels. The recent Leno jitters are likely to be causing him some angst.
Zucker indicated that NBC would like to find Leno another position at the network and is currently having that conversation with the TV host. Jay, 57, with 15 years under his belt is not planning to head off into the sunset like the shows previous host Johnny Carson.
Back in 1992 the mood was tense as NBC negotiated with both Leno and David Letterman to replace Carson. The blood letting that ensued was legend. The network will likely bend over backwards to find Leno another creative outlet so that he will turn the reigns over to O’Brien without making waves.