[Archive 2010-01-13] US TV host Conan O'Brien rejects NBC's offer to switch his show's time slot

Historical archive — originally published 2010-01-13. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

On Tuesday, United States television personality Conan O'Brien announced in a statement that he will no longer serve as the host for NBC's The Tonight Show if the network's attempt to move his program to the post-midnight time slot comes to fruition.

This move, NBC has said, would be done to accommodate the return of the previous Tonight Show host, Jay Leno, back to late-night from his current prime-time slot.

In a long statement to the media, O'Brien states that NBC has given him a "scant" seven months to establish himself as host of The Tonight Show.

Citing his view that NBC's purposed switch of The Tonight Show time slot could lead to the show's ultimate "destruction," O'Brien maintains that he would have no other choice than to step down as host—which could also include his possible move to another cable network—if this does in fact happen.

Source and licence

Text adapted from US TV host Conan O'Brien rejects NBC's offer to switch his show's time slot by Wikinews contributors under CC BY 2.5. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. Contributor history.