With the paper of record breaking the news that NBC has thrown in the towel awarded Jay Leno with a new contract that will keep him with the Peacock Network five times weekly next fall, theTVaddict.com thought we should take the fair and balanced approach by posting both the winners and losers with regards to this landmark deal.
Winner: Jay Leno
Even though this move will mark the beginning of the end for NBC (more on that later), we don’t begrudge Jay Leno one bit. Not only is he one of the hardest working men in Hollywood, by all accounts he is one of the nicest and most genuine as well. We congratulate Jay on this historic move and truly wish him the best of luck.
Loser: The Audience
10 PM on NBC used to mean something special. Yet now, rather than continue to redefine genres in the ways in which HILL STREET BLUES did for the police procedural and ER did for the hospital drama. 10PM will now be the home of Jay’s trademark segments such as “Headlines”, “Jay-walking” and Kevin Eubanks. Must See TV, not so much.
Winner: NBC
You got to hand it to NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker. From a financial and competitive standpoint, this move is a masterstroke. Not only will NBC save hundreds of millions on development and production of pricey shows that have little chance of success. Zucker more importantly gets to keep Jay from jumping ship to ABC (as rumored) and/or Sony and FOX.
Loser: The Audience (Yes, we’re really getting screwed on this one!)
Fans of quality fare such as FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, LIFE and CHUCK best be starting their “Save Our Show” campaigns in 3… 2… 1… Because with five hours less of television to produce per week (17, instead of 22), theTVaddict.com has a pretty good idea which low rated shows will be the first to get the axe.
Winner: Celebrities
Between Conan, Jimmy Fallon’s new show (which you can preview online here) and the ever-expanding gabfest that is the TODAY show, celebrities and musicians alike will now have about 21 hours of television per day to shamelessly promote their next big movie, TV show, fad diet, album and/or latest cause célèbre.
Loser: Conan O’Brien & Rosie O’Donnell
Conan O’Brien waits his entire career to step out of Jay’s shadow and get his shot at the hallowed 11:30PM spot only to be overshadowed by Jay once again. Ouch! Not to mention poor Rosie, who we can’t help but feel cost herself a shot at Jay’s 10PM deal with her trainwreck of a Variety show last month. Double Ouch! 
