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Jay Leno Tops Ratings In First Week Of Sweep; Why Is NBC Dropping Him Again?

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Thursday May 9, 2013 @ 3:25pm PDTTags: NBC, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, TV Ratings

Looks like Jay Leno is going out on top. In his final May as host of The Tonight Show, Leno is No. 1 on the late-night heap for the first full week of the sweep and drawing some of his best ratings in months. That’s a success story that could prove awkward for NBC at next week’s upfront presentation as it sets the stage for Jimmy Fallon to take over The Tonight Show next year. It’s a situation made all the more uncomfortable because NBC has been boasting about Leno’s results, and the struggling network’s only other heavyweights right now besides Leno are The Voice and Sunday Night Football. Then there’s the fact that Fallon is in a far tighter race in his current 12:35 AM time slot than Leno is at 11:35 PM. With 3.4 million viewers on average for the week of April 29-May 3, The Tonight Show easily bested CBS’ The Late Show With David Letterman (2.8 million viewers) and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2.5 million viewers). ABC ran a Kimmel encore show on May 3 as it usually does on Fridays. Over the frame, Leno matched his ratings result of the comparable week last year with a 0.8/3 among adults 18-49. That translated into 1.039 million viewers in the demo last week compared with Letterman’s 0.6/3 (766,000 viewers) and Kimmel’s 0.6/3 (820,000).

Related: Jay Leno Slams “Cheap” CBS, Calls Out Les Moonves: Video READ MORE »

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Matt Lauer Addresses ‘Today’ Criticism, Kathie Lee Gifford’s Support On Jay Leno

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday May 2, 2013 @ 11:03pm PDTTags: Jay Leno, Matt Lauer, NBC, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

“It’s been an interesting year — no question about it,” NBC‘s Matt Lauer said to Jay Leno on Thursday night. Understatement much? But, the embattled Today host told the embattled Tonight host, “I am not a guy who complains — I love this job, I … Read More »

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Speculation On NBC’s Jay Leno-Jimmy Fallon Transition Intensifies As Fallon Plans To Move ‘Tonight Show’ To New York

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday March 20, 2013 @ 2:46pm PDTTags: Big Deals TV, Jay Leno, Jimmy Fallon, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, NBC, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Nellie Andreeva

Somehow, another NBC late-night transition has turned into a public drama. And this time, the two hosts involved are not even feuding. The network has found itself in a groundswell of speculation surrounding The Tonight Show host Jay Leno and Late Night‘s Jimmy Fallon. The network is staying mum on its plans, but a few things appear settled: Fallon is poised to replace Leno on The Tonight Show. When he does, he is not expected to copy his predecessor Conan O’Brien’s cross-country move from New York to Los Angeles. I hear Fallon and his producers had been lobbying for staying put in New York. Fallon’s current studio is being renovated, which sources say was part of a planned refurbishing of 30 Rock, and it will likely house the future Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, marking the show’s return to the East Coast after more than four decades in Burbank. Leno’s current contract, which is up in September 2014, will likely be late-night host’s last one. In an interview with GQ, Late Night executive producer Lorne Michaels also hinted at the inevitability of Fallon’s anointment as new Tonight host. “I’m not allowed to say it — yet,” he said. “But I think there’s an inevitability to it,” He added: “He’s the closest to Carson that I’ve seen of this generation.”

With the players and the framework set, the biggest uncertainty in the transition appears to be the exact timing. There is speculation that NBC brass may have settled on an end date for Leno and that Leno and Fallon, who regularly chat on the phone, have discussed the issue in a call initiated by Fallon — though all sides are denying that there is a plan in place. For now, sources at NBC indicate that the network has no plans to announce Leno’s Tonight exit at NBC’s upfront presentation in May, though the rampant speculation may force their hand in the decision-making. An announcement of Leno’s retirement is tied with the introduction of Fallon as new Tonight host, something he has not been contracted for yet. I hear NBC has not started or is in very early stages of making Fallon’s deal for The Tonight Show. Read More »

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Jay Leno Stokes NBC Feud For Second Night In A Row

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday March 20, 2013 @ 12:09am PDTTags: Jay Leno, NBC, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

NBC Jay LenoJay Leno isn’t letting up. On Tuesday night the The Tonight Show With Jay Leno host took another shot at his NBC overlords: “A 28-year-old woman from Serbia has a rare brain condition where she sees everything upside down”, he said in his monologue. “The good news? She’s now been given a job at the White House as President Obama’s economic adviser. Isn’t that crazy and unbelievable? She sees everything upside down. In fact, she thinks NBC is at the top of the ratings!” The joke comes a day after Leno called NBC’s executives “snakes” (watch it below) and brings him back to the target that sparked his recent feud with NBC’s Bob Greenblatt: NBC’s abysmal ratings. Read More »

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Jimmy Kimmel Tops Leno & Letterman In Demo In New Time-Slot High

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Friday January 11, 2013 @ 10:57am PSTTags: Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, TV Ratings

On the third night in his new 11:35 PM time slot, Jimmy Kimmel garnered his highest viewership so far and beat both The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and Late Show With David Letterman in the key adults 18-49 demo. Although Kimmel’s total Thursday audience of 3.167 million was up over Wednesday’s 2.859 million and his Tuesday debut’s 3.097 million, Leno topped last night with 3.4 million and Letterman was second with 3.289 million. However, in the 18-49 demo, Kimmel’s 1.241 million was up solidly –  32% over Tonight Show’s 938,000 and 34% over Late Show’s 929,000. On Kimmel’s first night in his new slot, Tonight Show drew 1.084 million adults 18-49 versus Kimmel’s 887,000 and Letterman’s 683,000. Read More »

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UPDATE: Jimmy Kimmel Pulls In 3.09 Million In 11:35 PM Debut; Tops David Letterman

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Wednesday January 9, 2013 @ 11:25am PSTTags: Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Night With David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, TV Ratings

UPDATE: 11:25 AM: On its first night in its new time slot, Jimmy Kimmel Live had more viewers than The Late Show With David Letterman but fell short of topping The Tonight Show. ABC’s Kimmel pulled in 3.097 million viewers Tuesday night compared to 2.882 million for CBS’ Letterman and 3.274 million for Leno. The Tonight Show got 1.084 million in the Adults 18-49 demographic compared to Jimmy Kimmel Live’s 887,000. But Kimmel solidly bested The Late Show among demo, getting 30% more than Letterman’s 683,000.

PREVIOUSLY, 8:28 AM: Jimmy Kimmel had a very good night Tuesday. In his 11:35 PM debut for his ABC late-night talk show, the host beat now-rivals Jay Leno and David Letterman in  households and in the key adults 18-49 demo. In 25 markets with local people meters, Jimmy Kimmel Live earned a 1.0/5 rating in 18-49, besting The Tonight Show’s 0.8/4 and Late Show’s 0.6/3. Among Nielsen’s 56 metered markets (with Memphis and Salt Lake City excluded), Kimmel’s move from midnight to a half-hour earlier saw his show receive a 2.8/8 household result, compared with Letterman’s 2.7/7 and Leno’s 2.4/6.

Related: Kimmel Jokes About Hosting ‘The View’ In Move To New Slot Read More »

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Jimmy Kimmel Slams Jay Leno Again

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Friday January 4, 2013 @ 3:29pm PSTTags: Jimmy Kimmel Live, Rolling Stone, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Jimmy KimmelSeems Jimmy Kimmel is still no fan of Jay Leno. “As a comedian, you can’t not have disdain for what he’s done. He totally sold out,” the ABC late night host tells Rolling Stone in the mag’s latest issue. Kimmel, whose decade old Jimmy Kimmel Live, is moving to the 11:35 PM slot on January 8, sticks it to The Tonight Show host various times in the article, which comes out on newsstands today. At one point Kimmel refers to Leno as “a master chef who opened a Burger King.” This latest slam against Leno by Kimmel comes less than three weeks after the ABC host compared the NBC host to Jason from the Friday The 13th horror movies. He also said that “as much as he would like it, Jay Leno can’t stay on television forever,” in reference to rumors of Jimmy Fallon eventually moving up to host The Tonight Show himself. In the Rolling Stone article, Kimmel calls Fallon “a very worthy competitor” for the next generation late night king.
Read More »

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Jimmy Kimmel Slams Jay Leno: “Can’t Stay On TV Forever”

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Wednesday December 19, 2012 @ 11:35am PSTTags: ABC, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Jimmy KimmelJimmy Kimmel today said Jay Leno reminds him of Jason from the Friday the 13th horror movies. “Just when you think he’s dead, he comes back,” said the ABC late night host Wednesday on a conference call about his show’s move to 11:35 PM next year. Kimmel was addressing rumors that Jimmy Fallon could replace The Tonight Show host in the next few years. “The fact is that NBC is going to make a decision someday. As much as he would like it, Jay Leno can’t stay on television forever and Jimmy Fallon is the heir apparent,” Kimmel said of his soon-to-be direct rival come January 8, 2013. While Kimmel admitted that he didn’t like what he perceived as Leno scheming against his hero David Letterman over who would take over The Tonight Show from Johnny Carson back in 1992 in the end “Jay’s just another guy doing a TV show.” Kimmel also said that The Tonight Show’s move to a minute earlier at 11:34 PM doesn’t worry him much either. “It tells me that they are a bit concerned,” said Kimmel on a conference call Wednesday. “I’ll be curious to see how long that goes on. That’s a trick designed to bring up their ratings in the first month,” he added. “What really matters is how you do in May and that’s when we’ll know where we stand.”

Related: Jimmy Kimmel Books Heavyhitter Guests For 11:35 PM Move

Kimmel said today that not a lot will change on his show when it moves to 11:35 PM. “It will pretty much be the same show we’ve always been doing,” he said. There’s this idea that you need to broaden the show or make it more wholesome, and I think that is outdated,” he added. “The jokes will remain exactly the same,” he said. “We’re moving 25 minutes earlier. From a Standards and Practices standpoint it’s not a huge difference.” Read More »

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Obama Gives ‘Tonight Show’ Best Wednesday Since Leno’s Return

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Thursday October 25, 2012 @ 8:40am PDTTags: Barack Obama, Ratings, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Obama Jay Leno Tonight ShowPresident Obama’s visit to The Tonight Show last night gave the show its best Wednesday ratings in more than two and a half years … Read More »

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VIDEO: Obama Mocks Trump On Leno

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Wednesday October 24, 2012 @ 7:54pm PDTTags: Barack Obama, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Talking to Jay Leno tonight, President Obama blamed the bad blood between himself and Celebrity Apprentice host Donald Trump on youthful “constant run-ins on the soccer field” in Kenya, according to the White House press reports. Earlier today, Trump offered to donate $5 million to Obama’s charity of … Read More »

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Obama Books ‘Tonight Show’ This Week

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Monday October 22, 2012 @ 8:24am PDTTags: Barack Obama, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

President Obama will be in Los Angeles on Wednesday for a quick visit with Jay Leno, the White House announced today. Two days after the last Presidential debate set for tonight, Obama’s appearance on The Tonight … Read More »

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Chat Ratings: Obamas Score On ‘The View’, Ann Romney Can’t Top First Lady On Leno

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Wednesday September 26, 2012 @ 1:20pm PDTTags: Ann Romney, Ratings, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The View

The Democrats beat the Republican in the TV talk battle yesterday. President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama’s first joint visit to The View pulled in 4.3 million viewers, the highest viewership the ABC daytime talk show has seen since President Obama appeared solo on the show May 15 and the second-highest it has drawn since May 2011. The show also had four-month highs in key demos: up 30% among total viewers and 34% in adults 18-49 season-to-date. Yesterday’s show garnered 1.1 million adults 18-49 and a 0.9 rating, 1.4 million viewers and a 1.2 rating in adults 25-54, 793,000 viewers and a 1.2 rating in women 18-49, and 1 million viewers and a 1.7 rating in women 25-54.

Related: Jon Stewart Rips Obama For Appearing On ‘View’, Not Meeting World Leaders: Video Read More »

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Mitt Romney “Suffering” On Leno Says David Letterman, Extends Another Invite To ‘Late Show’: Video

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Friday September 21, 2012 @ 9:08am PDTTags: Late Show with David Letterman, Mitt Romney, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Despite what Mitt Romney thinks, the late-night host really doesn’t hate him. In fact, David Letterman thinks the GOP presidential candidate is “delusional” to believe that and he wants … Read More »

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‘The Tonight Show’ Lays Off 20 Staffers And Host Jay Leno Takes Pay Cut To Save Jobs

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday August 17, 2012 @ 8:45pm PDTTags: Big Deals TV, Comcast, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, NBC, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Related: Tonight Show Cuts Latest In Wave Of NBC Layoffs & Cost Trims Imposed By Comcast

SATURDAY UPDATE: Jay Leno’s spokesman has now issued this statement: ”Jay’s foremost concern is for the wonderful people who work for The Tonight Show. He did what was necessary to ensure their well-being.”

BREAKING… EXCLUSIVE… FRIDAY 8:30 PM: NBC insiders tell me The Tonight Show went  through ”downsizing” today and that 20 staffers lost their jobs. Others tell me the number is more like 25, and producers were forced to take pay cuts or lose their jobs. I’ve also learned that Jay Leno took what is being described as a “tremendous” pay cut to “save as many people’s jobs as he could”. Leno’s Tonight Show is consistently the #1 late night talk show in both households and demographics, except for some anomalies when Leno does get beaten. And that’s despite the fact Jay Lenothat the network’s primetime ratings have been dismal for many years or that Leno himself was harshly criticized by the media for that January 2010 standoff with Conan O’Brien. Even so, The Tonight Show has been and still is a cash cow for NBC. So what happened to merit the downsizing? “I don’t think ad sales are off. I just think the people who bought this company, Comcast, wants to go through everything at NBC and get their money back,” an NBC insider tells me. ”It’s hard to go through those kinds of cuts. It’s more a network issue than a late-night issue. And I would say that Jay doesn’t get credit for digging out of a gigantic hole every single night. He’s a very valuable guy to NBC and someday everyone will understand that. He does a great job.”

Related: Gabby Douglas & Michelle Obama Give ‘Tonight Show’ A Bump

The downsizing also comes just 5 days after First Lady Michelle Obama appeared as a guest for the third time on The Tonight Show: high unemployment, job creation, and taxing the rich vs the poor all are issues in the 2012 president campaign. Leno has said publicly that he’s able to bank his entire Tonight Show salary and live on the hefty fees he makes from his hectic personal appearance schedule. Leno’s new salary is reportedly $27M-$30 million a year. He reportedly brings home another $15M-$20M a year from his other gigs. Read More »

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Jimmy Kimmel Bests Leno & Letterman

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Thursday May 17, 2012 @ 9:24am PDTTags: Jimmy Kimmel Live, Ratings, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Jimmy Kimmel RatingsIt was a very good week for Jimmy Kimmel. Last Thursday, Jimmy Kimmel Live! had its first in-season victory over The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. Even though he doesn’t come on until midnight, the ABC host beat his NBC rival by 4% in adults 18-49 on May 10. The fact that Kimmel’s Nightline lead-in had its highest rating for the week as well helped. Kimmel also beat out David Letterman at CBS in adults 18-34: Jimmy Kimmel Live! topped Late Show With David Letterman on May 7 (+5%), May 9 (+60%), and May 11 (+20%). The May 11 show, a Friday, was a Kimmel repeat vs. a new Letterman. Read More »

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Mitt Romney Books ‘Leno’ For Tuesday

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday March 22, 2012 @ 2:47pm PDTTags: Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Mitt Romney Jay LenoAccording to NBC, this is Mitt Romney‘s first sit-down appearance on late-night TV since entering the 2012 presidential contest. Not since December 1st, 2010, has Romney been a guest on The Tonight Show — maybe because Jay … Read More »

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UK Lawmakers Call For Government Reaction To Jay Leno Joke

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Thursday January 26, 2012 @ 8:55am PSTTags: Golden Temple, Mitt Romney, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Jay Leno & NBC Sued Over Mitt Romney Joke

Jay Leno’s now-infamous Mitt Romney joke has spurred a lawsuit, formal complaints, hurt feelings, an avalanche of commentary and, today, a motion in the British Parliament. Last week, Leno performed a Tonight Show bit that showed a photo of a building cited as “Mitt Romney’s summer home.” In reality, it was an image of the Sikh holy shrine Golden Temple in Amritsar, India. On Tuesday, Leno and NBC were sued for libel in California over the matter, and now British Labour Party lawmakers Virendra Shrama and John McDonnell are seeking an apology from Leno and NBC to all Sikhs “for this disrespectful depiction of the Golden Temple.” The MPs are also calling for Prime Minister David Cameron’s government to “make representations to the U.S. government that while recognising principles of freedom of speech there should be more understanding and respect shown to the Sikh faith.” The full motion: Read More »

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Hilary Swank On Her Ill-Fated Chechnya Trip: “I Should Know Where I’m Going’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Saturday December 3, 2011 @ 1:10am PSTTags: Chechnya, Hilary Swank, Ramzan Kadyrov, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Nellie Andreeva

Hilary Swank tonight kicked off her image-rehabilitating campaign after a disastrous paid appearance at tyrannical Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov’s birthday party with a visit to The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. The backlash from the October 5 appearance in … Read More »

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Henry Cavill Talks New ‘Superman’ On Leno

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday November 8, 2011 @ 1:51am PSTTags: Henry Cavill, Immortals, James Bond, Man of Steel, Superman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Twilight

The Immortals star confirms on The Tonight Show that he almost became the new James Bond (“down to Daniel and me”) and was Stephenie Meyer’s first choice for Twilight (“she apparently was very keen on me playing it, but by the time it came around to casting I was too … Read More »

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