Saturday, January 16, 2010

Late Night Drama on NBC

As we've all been hearing since late last week, Conan O'Brien's "The Tonight Show" will be moving from its original time slot of 11:35 p.m. to 12:05 a.m. to accommodate Jay Leno's show, which will be moving from 10:00 p.m. to 11:35 p.m. Millions of Americans are showing their support for O'Brien at this time, while dedicated NBC stars, like comedian Jerry Seinfeld, stand behind the network's decision.

On Tuesday, O'Brien finally addressed the situation himself. In short, he expressed disappointment in the changes being made. He said he doesn't feel that his show will be "The Tonight Show" if it doesn't air until the next morning, and this makes him not want to do the show.

From my point of view, this situation is unfair. However, as a PR student and someone who understands that sometimes business must come before fairness, it must have had to be done. NBC hasn't spoken out much this week following its announcement, but I'm waiting to hear what its plan of action will be if O'Brien quits. Interestingly, ratings are up this week for both Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno's shows as people tune in to hear what both hosts have to say about the situation.

We will just have to wait and see what NBC will do in the coming weeks and the strategies they will use to save their network lineup and their image.

What do you think they will do? What would you do in this "no-win" situation?

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member, Ashley Kraynak.

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