Posted on 08/18/2012 12:04:35 PM PDT by SMGFan
Angela Weiss/Getty Images UPDATED: The direct cause is not yet clear, nor are the exact areas of programming that were hit by the downsizing.
NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno has laid off about 20 employees, a network source confirms to The Hollywood Reporter.
The direct cause of the shakeup at NBC's late-night staple is not yet clear, nor are the exact areas of the program that were hit by the downsizing. While the Jay Leno-hosted talker regularly tops the late night ratings, its core audience has aged as competition from such younger-skewing shows as Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report has siphoned away viewers. The move comes as executives at NBC owner Comcast continue to evaluate the assets the company bought in early 2011. THR has reported that Leno is paid approximately $30 million. He last reupped his contract in 2010 after reclaiming the Tonight Show from Conan O'Brien. The show currently employs between 150 and 200 people, according to a network source.
(Excerpt) Read more at hollywoodreporter.com ...
I only watch Johnny Carson reruns.
Wealthy liberal Leno gets richer while workers lose their jobs. Jay is a good progressive.
Through Netflix, I've been watching the early shows again and I'm amazed how after 37 years, it continues on with the same producer (Lorne Michaels) as such a high level. The show is also like a time capsule. It's so topical that if you watch, say, a 1977 show and weren't around at the time, you won't get half the jokes because you had to actually be in that time and place to get them.
My only real beef with SNL is that their musical guests almost always suck. Lorne Michaels might have a genius for comedy but has awful taste in music. But that gives me time to go to the kitchen and fix a late night sandwich.
Johnny Carson was okay but his show dragged most nights as he usually had boring-as-hell guests (Tony Randall for instance) and I never got the Ed McMahon thing - that guy always irritated me with his sycophant chuckling.
Jay Leno could have been great and I get the impression he might be a closet conservative, but his political correctness and his reluctance to use liberal sacred cows as a source for his comedy makes him rather dull to watch.
Same here. They are not funny anymore
Yes it did.
My favorite:
"Siss, boom, baa. What does and exploding sheep sound like?
“No can do... What do you look for when tracking a nocan?”
Regardless of what you think of Jay Leno’s show, the man is a mensch.
Karnak could have seen this coming —
NBC has two bulletproof assets: the most successful late-night franchise in history, “The Tonight Show,” and the most successful morning show: “The Today Show.”
Their primetime lineup, however, is a shambles, so the new owners, Comcast, is cleaning house all around.
Comcast fired Keith Olbermann off his low-rated MSNBC show the day Congress approved the sale. Incompetent network head Jeff Zucker soon followed.
Now Comcast wants to see if Leno’s show can pull in the same ratings with fewer employees. If the numbers slip, they’ll be hired back.
Comcast is not gonna risk damaging the most successful late-night franchise in TV history, now that even the morning “Today” show is starting to slip.
Watch for Matt Lauer’s exit from “Today” in 2013.
Leno stays till he decides to retire.
HaHaHaHaha
My first best guess is that they are laying off these employees so that they can keep the “precious” employees on their “precious” news shows which are whirling around the toilet. Since Leno is late night, they don’t much care about the ratings then.
Right you are GG! How have you been? :-)
Doing well all things considered...Hope you and yours are doing fine also. :O)
Carson had some talented people working for him..bet a lot were conservative that the industry won’t hire anymore..PC you know..
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