Conan O’Brien will likely get a sweetheart offer from a rival network when Jay Leno returns to the coveted 11:35 p.m. perch — and Fox could be leading the charge, sources told The Post.
“[Fox] will pick up the phone and lure him away,” said one television industry source. “Conan’s a young guy and fits better with Fox’s audience anyway, and the funny part is they can put him on at 11 o’clock and pre-empt Leno by a half-hour.”
While a Fox rep had no comment, sources at the network, which like The Post is owned by News Corp., didn’t dismiss the idea of making a play for O’Brien.
“We’ve always been interested in late night, and we’re always looking to bring great new talent to Fox,” said a network insider. “While Conan would be a great fit, he’s still under contract with NBC, so we’ll just see how all of this plays out.”
O’Brien’s contract calls for a $45 million payday if he stays at the network but is no longer host of “The Tonight Show.”
Any contract offer made by another network would likely have to top that amount to get him to walk away.
“This is the best opportunity Conan has ever had,” said the TV industry source. “He has a good 20 years left to work, so he can go to another network, plant roots there and thrive.”
Sources previously said that NBC had become so disenchanted with the low-rated 10 p.m. Leno show that they have decided put the lantern-jawed funnyman back in his old spot after local news at 11:35 p.m.
Apparently to appease O’Brien — who was handed the keys to the legendary “Tonight Show” with great fanfare last June — Peacock brass offered him the choice of having his program start at either midnight or 12:30 a.m.
But one source close to the situation told The Post that Leno isn’t interested in a truncated half-hour show — and O’Brien would leave before being once again relegated to the lower-profile 12:30 a.m. time slot.
Insiders believe the sudden move to abort the Leno prime-time experiment came because his show proved to be such a weak lead into the 11 p.m. news — a big moneymaker for local stations — that the network affiliates were upset about taking a huge hit.
Last night, Leno joked about the situation in his monologue and even dragged former late night rival David Letterman into the mix by making a veiled reference to his recent sex scandal.
“I guess you heard these rumors that NBC is talking about canceling our show,” he quipped. “You know what that means? I didn’t sleep with any of my staff for nothing!”
He also took a jab at the network that is toying with his fate.
“To be fair, NBC is working on a solution, they say, in which all parties will be screwed equally. That certain NBC touch.”