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Jay Leno has made a new deal with NBC, which gives him “The Tonight Show” from 11:35 – 12:35 … sources tell TMZ.

As we first reported, under the contract Jay had been working under, he was guaranteed the 10 PM hour. By moving him to 11:35, NBC was in breach of his contract and needed to negotiate a new deal. That is now done, sources tell TMZ.

So Conan O’Brien is out, and Jay is restored.

so how did we get here? Well, it all started with a letter:Conan O’Brien Says He Won’t Host ‘Tonight Show’ After Leno – Media Decoder Blog – NYTimes.com

People of Earth:

In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over “The Tonight Show” in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004, I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my “Tonight Show” in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the “Tonight Show” to 12:05 to accommodate the “Jay Leno Show” at 11:35. For 60 years, the “Tonight Show” has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the “Tonight Show” into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The “Tonight Show” at 12:05 simply isn’t the “Tonight Show.” Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the “Late Night” show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard, and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of “The Tonight Show.” But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet, a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the “Tonight Show,” I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.

Yours,

Conan

Why Do Comedians Love Conan? | Columnists | Mediaite

It’s pretty obvious that the comedy world is Team Conan. David Letterman, yes, but also Jimmy Kimmel, Patton Oswalt, NBC stars, the Internet — and few have come out in support for Jay Leno (Paul Reiser, Kevin Smith, weakly from Jerry Seinfeld). But this may be the most earnest response yet: A song written by Upright Citizen’s Brigade co-founder Matt Besser, called “King Zucker & the Soldier” (really).

I don’t see any divided loyalties in the comedy community. All comedians who care about comedy love and respect Conan. Not only are Conan and his staff comedic geniuses, they are also students of the art form of comedy. That’s why Conan respects the tonight show too much to ruin it. Leno obviously doesn’t give a shit. The only good bits he does, he stole from Howard Stern. Leno defines hack. And he’s also an asshole for not knowing when to walk away.

Conan Slams NBC — Again — And, This Time, Leno | TV | Mediaite

Tonight, again, his monologue was laced with jokes sticking it to NBC — plus the first salvos that seemed intentionally aimed at Jay Leno. Until tonight, Conan’s mentions of Leno himself were benign, instead focusing on NBC’s plans with respect to both their shows — which Leno has echoed emphatically on his own show. Tonight, that ended.

Was This Conan O’Brien’s Final Tonight Show? | Online | Mediaite

“My name is Conan O’Brien and I may soon be available for children’s parties,” said O’Brien to start the monologue. He hit NBC hard immediately, saying they are “no longer just screwing up prime time,” and “When I was a little boy, I remember watching the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and thinking, ‘Someday I’m going to host that show for seven months.’” His first bit was about how the rest of the world somehow cared about the “programming changes at NBC.” Clips of Qaddafi, Ahmadinejad, Castro aired, with related subtitles (apparently Qaddafi didn’t think Leno at 10pm was working for him). There were also the asides. Mentions of NBC ended with O’Brien muttering sarcastically “they’re good people, they’re very good people.” Then came a surprise cameo – Howie Mandel. What did NBC Entertainment think of one of its biggest stars coming on to explore Conan’s options through a mock Deal Or No Deal segment (video below)? “This makes about as much sense as anything else these days,” said O’Brien. Models came out with six different briefcases for O’Brien to chose (although as Mandel noted, NBC must have fired the real models), and he selected one. What was in his briefcase? “Two tickets to see Jay Leno perform stand-up at the Luxor Casino in Las Vegas.”

Even ‘Team Leno’ Is For Conan? | Online | Mediaite

Yes – the URL “teamleno.com” leads to a site that exists, not only drive traffic to the TeamConan.com, but to somehow question the sense of humor for anyone who deigns to classify themself as a fan of Jay Leno.

Everyone Hates Jay Leno? Kimmel Mocks With Scathing Impersonation | Online | Mediaite

As we pointed out yesterday, Jay Leno would like you to know that this is not his fault. But judging by the reactions of his fellow comedians, there is no love lost between Leno and his late-night peers. Given the histories between Leno, David Letterman and of course, Conan O’Brien, it makes sense that there would be some tension in the evening monologues. But when innocent bystander Jimmy Kimmel gets in the act, and goes out of his way to crap on Leno? It might signal that, in fact, Leno doesn’t really have many pals in Hollywood.

Letterman Goes To War Against Leno, NBC Over Late Night Woes | TV | Mediaite

last night David Letterman seemed to relish pounding his former network more than others who had taken on the subject before – complete with a Jay Leno impression and a Top 10 list. When Letterman made his very public announcement about having sexual relations with former staffers, other comedians made a few jokes. But Leno went with a full court press – and now it was payback for Letterman. He started with a breakdown of what happened at NBC. He told his audience that “Jay ‘Big Jaw’ Leno” told NBC “I’m having trouble staying up this late,” so was moved to 10pm. To drive the point home further, he described “our friend” Conan O’Brien and “likable young person” Jimmy Fallon. This was an attack on Jay Leno and NBC, only. O’Brien and Fallon were spared. (Not so for Carson Daly, who people haven’t been talking about much. Letterman: “He’s like the Pluto of talk shows. It’s like, is it really a show?”)

Jay Leno Would Like You To Know That This Is Not His Fault | Columnists | Mediaite

Everyone has spent the past few days wondering, what does Conan want? But the other question that no one has asked is, what does Leno want? He has made the point repeatedly that he left late night at number one — does he really want to come back like this?

Paul Reiser: A Teachable Leno Moment

“You know, the extra amazing thing about Jay is — whenever they ask him to try something, he almost always says ‘Sure.’ They asked him to step down and make room for the other funny guy, he said, ‘Sure.’ They asked him to put his show on earlier at night and he said, ‘Sure.’ Then they said, ‘Oh, boy, I think we made a mistake — would you mind going back to where we had you in the first place? That would really help us.’ And you know what he says? ‘Sure.’”

Jerry Seinfeld Toes NBC Company Line; On Team Leno? | Online | Mediaite

What did the network do to Conan? I don’t think anyone’s preventing people from watching Conan….Once they give you the cameras it’s on you. So, I can’t blame NBC for having to move things around. Conan has a chance to destroy everybody. Go ahead. You’re out there. Take it. I don’t think anyone’s done anything to Conan.