Kim Masters Confirms Conan is Out at NBC

Kim Masters writes on The Daily Beast:

The NBC-Leno-Conan war is close to ending, according to a knowledgeable source. According to the outlines of a settlement, Conan O’Brien will leave NBC and the network will make an as-yet unspecified payment. The comedian will be free to appear elsewhere on television well before his contract expires, despite earlier threats from NBC that it would prevent him from working anywhere else.

There is still opportunity for the negotiation to fall apart, but clearly, at this point it is in NBC’s interest to put an end to this dismal episode.

Hm. What nobody has brought up yet is that NBC is fourth-place these days. Fourth. They’re getting brutalized by – wait for it – Fox in the number one spot. So, NBC, like the current Republicans out of power and the Democrats before them, they’re eating their young. Doing wacky, desperate, Hail Marys to end up back on top. Which is impressive when it works, but super interesting when it doesn’t.

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