Bowing to pressure from local stations, NBC is planning to overhaul Jay Leno’s primetime show.
Although NBC denied a report that it is scrapping the “Jay Leno Show,” the Peacock network is considering several moves to address the poorly rated 10 p.m. program, including canceling the show, moving it a different timeslot and revamping its entire late-night lineup, sources told The Post.
Leno’s show is scheduled to go on hiatus when NBC starts its coverage of the winter Olympics in February, and the network is considering not bringing him back once the games are over, sources said.
Another scenario under discussion is to give the 10 p.m. hour back to the stations for news while shifting the rest of the late-night lineup. NBC affiliates could have the 10 o’clock hour, followed by Leno at 11 p.m. and “The Tonight Show” host Conan O’Brien at midnight.
Yet another option would be to cut Leno’s show to a half-hour so that the affiliates could run their news at 10 p.m. and Leno could air from 11 p.m. to 11:30pm — the rest of the lineup would remain unchanged.
NBC denied a report today on Web site FTVLive.com that Leno’s show was about to be cancelled because of low ratings but it admitted that the show is creating problems for station affiliates.
NBC maintains that Leno’s show, which has appeared each weeknight at 10 p.m. since last fall, is generating ratings that are in line with what it guaranteed advertisers. But the show has proven to be a dismal lead-in for the late local news .
NBC affiliate stations have become more vocal in expressing their displeasure, especially after the November sweeps came back and showed huge declines for a number of stations at the 11 p.m. hour.
“As we have said all along, Jay’s show has performed exactly as we anticipated on the network,” the network said in a statement. “It has, however, presented some issues for our affiliates. Both Jay and the show are committed to working closely with them to find ways to improve the performance.”
Leno topped the ratings for almost the entire time he hosted “The Tonight Show,” from Johnny Carson’s departure in 1992 to last May when Conan O’Brien took over the 11:35 p.m. slot.
Leno himself has started joking in his monologue about not having a job soon.