On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 1:08 PM, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-tonight-show-troubles-20120827,0,2980008.story > > Surprisingly news-less piece, considering the story is in their backyard; it > seems to be a week old, but but the dateline reads 7:00 am this morning. > Most interesting tidbit that I had not seen before is that Leno offered to > work for free to save more jobs, but NBC refused because it did not like the > precedent it would set.
I think it's a newsless piece because they can't get anybody with any authority to tell them anything on or off the record. So they're stuck trying to parse numbers that are already publicly available and going to the usual suspects for commentary. There is a missing piece in this story and it is the meeting between NBC and Leno to iron out the cuts. If anybody who was present in the meeting ever talks about it, it will be in the distant future when it's truly history, when Leno and the current execs are no longer in the TV business. It had to be an ugly meeting. Leno was being told he has to continue his show and perform at the same level with fewer resources. Nobody leaves a meeting like that feeling happy. And the idea of Leno working for free can't be serious: first he's a WGA member and no union will allow a member to work without compensation. It's a precedent they'll take any and all actions to prevent, no matter what the member's wishes. Second, NBC can't accept the offer because it puts their value of the Tonight Show host at zero. Assuming they want to continue with a Tonight Show after Leno they will have to enter into negotiations with a successor and they need the previous salary as a starting point. The story I see between the lines is that the economics of late night TV are changing much faster than the networks can adapt. I can see CBS and NBC hanging on to Letterman and Leno even at a slight loss for a couple of years just to maintain the appearance of continuity. I don't think either wants to walk away knowing the loss of jobs of people they have worked closely over the years. I don't know what will happen at the next contract negotiations for either if what is now breaking even/slight profit/slight loss turns into steep losses. -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
