The Jay Leno Show

Did You Know?

• The domain name thejaylenoshow.com was registered in 2004 by a Texas real estate agent and was the subject of a cybersquatting dispute, which was ruled in favor of Leno.
• The show's "Green Car Challenge" segment was based on the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" segment from the British automotive series Top Gear.
• NBC had considered moving The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson to 10 pm in 1981.

History

NBC announced in 2004 that Jay Leno would leave The Tonight Show in 2009, with Conan O'Brien as his replacement. Leno, who wanted to avoid a repeat of the acrimonious transition when he inherited Tonight from Johnny Carson, initially said he would leave while still doing well. However, he began to regret his decision in 2007, and several networks and studios including ABC, Fox, Sony, and Tribune expressed interest in his services. Jeff Zucker, then-President and CEO of NBCUniversal, sought to keep Leno from defecting to a competitor. Leno rejected several NBC offers for daytime slots, subscription TV slots, a series of specials, and a half-hour show at 8 pm. Zucker, who had offered Oprah Winfrey an hour five nights a week at 8 pm in 2007, now offered Leno an hour five nights a week at 10 pm. Leno was announced on December 9, 2008. At least one station, then-affiliate WHDH-TV in Boston, stated it would not carry the program, claiming Leno would be detrimental to its 11 pm news. NBC said such plans would violate the network contract, and WHDH backed down on April 13, 2009. Leno was not the first Tonight alumnus to move from late night to a prime time talk show; Steve Allen and Jack Paar had done so previously.

Content

The Jay Leno Show aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT from Studio 11 of the NBC Studios in Burbank, California. The format began with a monologue of eight to 12 minutes, followed by one or two celebrity guests. Musical segments appeared only twice a week, in the middle of the show. Comedy segments were reserved for the last 15 minutes, though toward the end of the run some segments like "Headlines" were moved to after the monologue. Segments included "Headlines" and "Jaywalking" from Tonight, the "Green Car Challenge" where celebrities drove an electric Ford Focus on an outdoor track, and "Ten at Ten" where a guest answered ten rapid-fire questions via satellite. Comic correspondents such as D. L. Hughley, Dan Finnerty, Mikey Day, Rachael Harris, and Jim Norton did pretaped segments. A planned segment called "Stories Not Good Enough for the NBC Nightly News" featuring Brian Williams was dropped before air. The network aired no commercials after the show and urged local affiliates to do the same so local news could start immediately.

Impact

Leno had a five-year contract for the show, with NBC reportedly having an option to cancel after two years but committing to at least one or two years regardless of ratings. The network later chose to end the show after less than five months. Leno could have earned up to $30 million each year depending on ratings, compared to a $20 million annual salary during his last years at Tonight. NBC expected to benefit by offering an inexpensive comedic alternative to procedurals and dramas at 10 pm, with new episodes 46 weeks each year versus 22. Each airing cost about $350,000 to $400,000 versus up to $3 million for an hour-long drama, saving NBC $13 million each week. Those costs included 22 writers. McDonald's became the first advertiser, with a "Million Dollar Roll" segment during commercial breaks in October 2009. Leno did not expect to beat competing first-run episodes but to do better than reruns. A television analyst predicted Leno would finish in "a safe third place" every night. NBC research before the debut indicated that fans would watch Leno two to three times a week.

International broadcasting

In Australia, The Comedy Channel aired the show weeknights at 7.30pm AEST, and 7Two aired it at 6.00pm on a 30-hour delay, moving to middays on January 18, 2010 until September 24, 2010. In Canada, Citytv simulcast Leno with NBC during the 2009–2010 season. In Portugal, SIC Mulher aired the show Monday and Tuesday at 00.30am. In Israel, yes stars Comedy aired it Sundays-Thursdays at 8.00pm. In Finland, MTV3 MAX aired episodes three days after the American broadcast due to subtitling. In Sweden, Kanal 9 aired episodes one week after the original airing. Westwood One provided audio of the monologue as a short-form feature titled Last Night on The Jay Leno Show to radio stations in the United States and Canada.