Late-night gets a prime new parking space.<p>NBC announced four years ago that <font color=yellow>Jay Leno</font> would be leaving <I>The Tonight Show</I> in 2009, to be replaced by <font color=yellow>Conan O'Brien</font>. With the change happening next May, NBC had to decide what to do about Leno. He is the top-rated late-night host, and they did not want to risk losing him to a competing network.<p>The solution, reports <A class="link" HREF="http://www.reuters.com/home">Reuters</a>, was to give Leno a primetime slot. The new show, tentatively titled <I>The Jay Leno Show</I>, will premiere in the fall of 2009. It will retain some aspects of <I>Tonight</I> (such as "Jaywalking" and "Headlines"), but the format is still a work in progress.<p><I>Leno</I> will air in the 10:00pm timeslot five nights a week. This will put it in competition with scripted programming that includes <I>CSI: Miami</I> and <I>CSI: New York</I>. While NBC does not expect <I>Leno</I> to draw an audience as large as such shows pull each week, they feel there are benefits to putting a late-night host in primetime.<p>The production cost for a full week of <I>Leno</I> will be comparable to a single episode of a typical scripted drama. Airing the show five nights a week will decrease NBC's additional primetime hours from 22 to 17, which will enable the network to devote more money to other programmes. A draw for advertisers could be that, as a topical news show, viewers are less likely to DVR <I>Leno</I> to watch at a later time.<p>"We are looking to change how broadcast television works in this new media landscape, and we were looking to keep Jay Leno in the family. With this we have accomplished both," <font color=yellow>Marc Graboff</font>, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment, said in a news conference. Leno explained, "It just seemed like the time was right for this. Would I do this at the beginning of my career, no. But after 17 years of being on <I>The Tonight Show</I>, it's fun to try something different."<p>The original information is from <A class="link" HREF="http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN0926481820081209">Reuters</a>.<center></center>
Judging by the fact that Jay will leave the Tonight Show in May 2009, there might not be as much competition over the summer since most shows are on hiatus. However it will be interesting to see what will happen by the fall.