BOB GARFIELD: What does 11:30 p.m. mean? Well now, obviously, that depends. But if I asked, what does 11:30 on NBC mean?
[CLIP]
[INTRO MUSIC UP AND UNDER]
MALE ANNOUNCER: It’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno!
[END CLIP]
BOB GARFIELD: For the past 54 years, with Steve Allen, Ernie Kovacs, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson and Jay Leno after the local evening news on NBC has always meant entertainment, celebrities and satire by monologue, leading us gently from tonight ‘til the wee hours of tomorrow.
[CLIP]:
JAY LENO: See, the Oscars are kind of a special time in Hollywood. It’s the time when celebrities take a break from worshipping Barack Obama and take some time to worship themselves.
[LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE]
[END CLIP]
BOB GARFIELD: Eleven-thirty has always been a little naughtier than prime time and more political than prime time. It’s also had a much smaller audience than prime time, yet, with enough millions of viewers to be not just a media institution but part of the national conversation. Even against the various competition from Dick Cavett, Joey Bishop, Arsenio Hall, briefly, Alan Thicke, even more briefly, Chevy Chase, and the great David Letterman, The Tonight Show has maintained its primacy. And now, soon, the next generation. On June 1st, Conan O'Brien will move from his 12:30 Late Night slot and replace Jay Leno on NBC, at 11:30. But, to repeat the question, what does that mean? The answer is, not what it used to. Leno is simply moving from 11:30 to 10 p.m., prime time, where he will not only siphon off audience from 11:30, but change the dynamic of late-night talk altogether. Conan may be superb, but he will also be oddly subordinate, all because network broadcasting is in deep trouble, and NBC, the deepest of all. This little switcheroo enables the network both to keep Leno from defecting to ABC and to run more relatively cheap programming on prime time. This isn't about the ascension of the heir to the throne. It’s about the last days of a kingdom. In more ways than one, 11:30 on NBC falls in network TV’s final hour.
[CLIP]:
[MUSIC – THE TONIGHT SHOW’S THEME SONG]
ED McMAHON: And now, ladies and gentlemen, heeeeere’s Johnny!
[APPLAUSE AND CHEERS]
[END CLIP]
