This is interesting, because I think Zucker -- by escalating it to this level -- has turned this *immediately* into a referendum on him, rather than a referendum on Jay vs. Conan. He's the CEO of NBC Universal, but he does answer to the CEO of GE and a board, right? Awesome.
I also have to wonder how Comcast feels about jumping into bed with all of this. By the way -- I was juuuuust thinking that now's about the time for Wikipedia to apply the anti-vandalism cloak to the Jeff Zucker page. Current lead: *Jeffrey "Jeff" Zucker* (born April 9, 1965) is an American<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States> television <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television> executive and the current President and CEO <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CEO> of NBC Universal <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC_Universal>, as well as being the douchebag that almost single-handedly ruined NBC's brand name. ====== AIM/Gmail Chat: damonbeau www.facebook.com/damonbeau www.twitter.com/damonbeau On Thu, Jan 14, 2010 at 14:34, Michael King <[email protected]> wrote: > Zucker's finally lost it. > > ZUCKER THREATENS TO ICE CONAN! Says "I'll Keep You Off The Air For 3 1/2 > Years"; Conan Reps Counter: "This Will End Up In Front Of A Judge If NBC > Doesn't Wise > Up"<http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/jeff-zucker-threatens-to-ice-conan-ill-keep-you-off-the-air-for-3-12-years/> > By NIKKI FINKE <http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/> | Category: > Uncategorized <http://www.deadline.com/category/uncategorized> | Thursday > January 14, 2010 @ 8:22am > COMMENTS > (0)<http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/jeff-zucker-threatens-to-ice-conan-ill-keep-you-off-the-air-for-3-12-years/#respond>EMAIL > THIS <?subject=ZUCKER%20THREATENS%20TO%20ICE%20CONAN%21%20Says> | PRINT > THIS<http://www.deadline.com/print-post/?posttoprint=22488&KeepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=500&width=750> > | [image: Bookmark and > Share]<http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&pub=xa-4a92b9d818cb896c> > > *BREAKING NEWS!* *EXCLUSIVE! 2ND UPDATE*: NBC Universal, faced with Conan > O'Brien's defiance, is taking what insiders tell me is "a super tough > threatening position" over his refusal to host *The Tonight Show* at 12:05 > AM instead of 11:35 PM. "Someone's got to show NBCU that big greedy > corporate dickheads can't win," one of Conan's manager-agent-lawyer-public > relations "Team Conan" representatives told me. And while Jeff Zucker has > not stepped up and taken responsibility for this mess he set in in motion in > the first place -- by replacing Leno with Conan O'Brien as host of *The > Tonight Show *even though Jay was No. 1 in his time slot at the time -- > he's been busy behind the scenes. I've already reported how Zucker has been > privately blaming Conan for the current debacle, saying "He let me down" > because *The Tonight Show* for the last 7 months since O'Brien took over > has been losing out to David Letterman in both eyeballs and > advertiser-coveted demographics. (Bullshit, Zucker, you can't keep blaming > others for your Zuck-ups.) Bad enough that Zucker made Conan hear about the > planned move in the first place from the media. > > But now the NBCU chief has been talking tough during the negotiations with > Team Conan. To counter O'Brien's principled public statement which the late > night host issued this week, Zucker "is threatening to ice Conan", according > to his reps. "Zucker said, 'I'll keep you off the air for 3 1/2 years.' > Which doesn't have a chance in hell of happening. What I really think Zucker > wants is to hold him off the market for at least six months to a year until > the dust settles and Leno is secure and Conan is squelched." One rep even > compared Zucker to "Darth Vader" because the NBCU chief "has been so evil" > about this. > > According to NBC's stated plans, *The Jay Leno Show* would leaves its > unsuccessful primetime 10 PM time slot on February 12th, and then move to > 11:35 PM after NBC finishes broadcasting the Vancouver Winter Olympics on > February 28th. That's when *The Jay Leno Show* arrives in late night, and > Conan's show pushes back by 1/2 an hour. To NBC's way of thinking, it can > kill two birds with one stone: it won't have to pay Jay that hefty $80 > million penalty for taking*The Jay Leno Show* off the air because the > program has "merely" moved timeslots. And it won't have to pay Conan that > fat $60 million penalty for removing him from* The Tonight Show* because that > program, too, has "merely" moved timeslots. But, as David Letterman so > succinctly put it this week, "At 12:05 AM, that's not *The Tonight Show*, > that's *The Tomorrow Show*! As I've written previously, the Pottery Barn > rule is applicable here: "You break it, you buy it." It could and it should > cost NBC. > > But I've learned O'Brien's reps now believe that Zucker wants to jettison > Conan altogether and put Jay back at *The Tonight Show* at its usual > starting time. So, to prevent O'Brien competing at NBC or elsewhere with > Leno's attempt to lure back his late night audience, NBCU's Zucker has come > up with this plot to "ice" Conan for the length of his NBC *Tonight Show* > contract. > It's dastardly, it's cowardly, and it could be damn effective. But there's > no way Team Conan says they're going to let that happen. Bad enough NBCU > horribly humiliated Conan and, as he so rightly pointed out in his > statement, will damage *The Tonight Show *by moving it down a half-hour. > With the 12:05 AM start, its ratings will never recover. After NBC made that > decision, the phones at his WME agency rang off the hook with calls from > every network, cable, and pay channel looking to hire O'Brien. And there's > every reason for him to flee. But, if Conan exits voluntarily or > involuntarily, it will take at least a year before a new show is readied and > on the air. He risks losing his fan base during that time. And he'll be > forever tagged by the failure. So now it's open warfare between NBC and > O'Brien's reps. > > Zucker's hardline stance became evident during that 1:45 PM Tuesday meeting > at NBC Universal this week shortly after Conan issued his statement of > defiance. On one side of the room were NBCU bigwigs Jeff Gaspin and Marc > Graboff. On the other were O'Brien's reps: manager Gavin Palone, WME > agent and board member Rick Rosen, and the newest member of Team O'Brien, > Hollywood litigator Patty Glaser, who was hired last Sunday and is WME's > legal shark of choice. Not attending were Zucker (hiding back in NYC), or > WME boss Ari Emanuel (leading the WME retreat in Rancho Mirage). One of > Hollywood's toughest negotiators and the model for *Entourage* agent Ari > Gold played by Jeremy Piven, Ari. Even so, Gavin can be as mean as a rabid > dog, Rick's agency reps 60% of the TV talent, and Glaser is a pitbull. For > them, this kind of mano-a-mano negotiation is bloodsport. But even they were > shocked by Zucker's scheming. > > "Patty came in and said, 'You can't do this.' They claim they can legally, > but everyone knows it's ambiguous. The contract is not clearly expressed and > they are misinterpreting it," one of my sources related. "So everything now > is at a standstill. There's been a proposal, and a counter-proposal. This > will end up in front of a judge if someone [at NBCU] doesn't wise up." > > I'd learned both NBCU chief Jeff Zucker as well as Gaspin were told about > Conan's statement publicly promising to protect the integrity of *The > Tonight Show* he'd inherited. It made Zucker furious. O'Brien's reps > didn't want O'Brien to speak out. "They were not thrilled. They told him it > would undercut his negotiating leverage," one source revealed to me. "But > Conan wouldn't listen to them. He wanted to make it." And yet, because of > the controversy, O'Brien's *Tonight Show*ratings have risen. While Leno > hasn't received a similar bump, Conan's number went up to 1.9 in the > overnights. Certainly, that has to give NBC pause, right? Apparently not. > Sources tell me there's only "the slightest of chances" that Zucker will > relent and keep O'Brien and *The Tonight Show* intact at 11:35 PM. As for > Conan, if he's released, he wants to ensure his executive producer Jeff Ross > and other staff who moved out from New York to Los Angeles "are taken care > of". As for himself, "he's not thinking about strategy. He's saying, "I just > want enough money to feed my family.'" > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "World News Now Discussion List" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] <wnndl%[email protected]>. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/wnndl?hl=en. > >--
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