The short-lived truce between Jay Leno and NBC has ended under a barrage of new monologue jokes making fun of the struggling network.
“Speaking of T-Mobile, they announced yesterday they’re doing away with contracts,” Leno said Wednesday night. “So apparently they got the idea from NBC.”
The joke was more than a cheap shot, sources tell The Post. It was Leno’s way of announcing that talks between NBC and Leno over leaving “The Tonight Show” job next February — six months before his contract is up — have broken down, the sources say.
NBC wants Leno to take a reduced salary for the six months he’d no longer have to work — instead of the network having to pay the contract in full, they said.
Leno, who last year took a reported $5 million pay cut to keep the network from laying off staffers, is saying no.
“‘The Voice’ and ‘Revolution’ moved NBC into the No. 2 position,” Leno told his audience. “You know what that means? Between Easter and Passover, this is truly the season of miracles. We’re No. 2 ! We’re No. 2 ! And I’ve been saying that for the last week — NBC is a big No. 2. Haven’t I been saying that?”
Behind the scenes, Leno has been complaining for weeks that NBC has mishandled the transition — once again.
This time, NBC doesn’t see any reason to handle Leno with any care because — despite reports that his contract calls for a big penalty if he is moved before his contract is up — the network does not give him a windfall payout.
Famously, Leno negotiates his own deals with a handshake instead of a high-powered Hollywood agent.
That Leno has relaunched the attacks on his bosses is a tell-tale sign that things have gone from bad to worse in Burbank, Calif, where “The Tonight Show” is taped.
NBC officials would like to move Jimmy Fallon, host of the “Late Show,” into the “Tonight” show job as soon as next February — so that it can use the big audiences who tune into the Winter Olympics to promote the switch-over.
But the talks have gone nowhere in the past few days because NBC insists Leno take less to buy out his contract, the sources said.