The late night shake-up is official. NBC is moving Jay Leno out of prime time, which will cause a dramatic shift in late night TV scheduling. INSIDE EDITION has the details.
Conan O'Brien, speaking out about the late night shakeup at NBC. When a photographer asked O'Brien what he's going to do, O'Brien replied, "You never know what's going to happen."
O'Brien is said to be "extremely upset." The demotion will push back his show a half hour, to 12:05am. O'Brien had lunch with his wife and two children in Los Angeles. The youngest gave a friendly wave at photographers.
The official news that his 10 pm show will return to 11:35 pm starting March 1st, didn't seem to affect Jay Leno's weekend. The workaholic performed at two comedy clubs over the weekend. He also indulged his passion for motorcycles, but was tight-lipped when photographers caught up with him at a gas station.
When asked how he feels about going back to late night, Leno replied, "I don't know yet. Nobody's made any decision yet."
NBC is coming under heat for the way it handled the late night shakeup, and causing embarrassing headlines for two of it's biggest stars.
Jerry Seinfeld said, "That's why people are so intrigued by this. It's like, let's take the chess pieces off the board, let's set up the board again, and see who wins this time."
Jerry Seinfeld has some advice for Leno and O'Brien, saying, "The biggest slight is being fired. As long as you still have your show and it's still on TV, does it really matter when it's on? I don't care, do you?"
But some experts are predicting O'Brien may leave NBC.
J. Max Robbins of the Paley Center For Media says, "Ultimately if he can get out of his deal I think Conan O'Brien leaves NBC, and the most likely place for him to land is Fox."
Fox has been dropping hints that it would like to develop a late night franchise with O'Brien.
"If Conan stays at NBC it's admitting failure and a demotion and I don't think anybody in the public eye wants that," says Robbins.
O'Brien addressed the shakeup during his monologue Friday night, joking, "We've got a great show for you tonight. I have no idea what time it will air, but it's going to be a great show."
Leno also continued pummeling his bosses at NBC on his show, saying, "You know if they did cancel us, it would be an easy move for me because I still haven't unpacked from the last show they canceled us."
INSIDE EDITION caught up with NBC evening news anchor Brian Williams at a television critics association event in Pasadena.
"Jay has this Boston blue collar work ethic. He's happy to have the work. Everybody's friends here and everybody will work something out," said Williams.
Conan O'Brien won't lose financially no matter what happens. His deal with NBC reportedly pays him $20 million for the remainder of his contract, even if he's not on TV.