NBC Exec Dick Ebersol Lashes Out At Conan
Ouch!
NBC executive Dick Ebersol believes that Conan O'Brien has no one to blame but himself when it comes to The Tonight Show fiasco because the ratings weren't great!
Referring to Conan's jabs at Jay Leno, Ebersol said that it was “chicken-hearted and gutless to blame a guy you couldn’t beat in the rating" and that “what this is really all about is an astounding failure by Conan.”
You know, Leno's ratings weren't all the great when he first started The Tonight Show! It takes time to develop an audience at a new time slot not to mention Leno had decent lead-in programming!
Ebersol said he also met with Conan about making the show more accessible to the whole country saying, “I like Conan enormously personally. He was just stubborn about not being willing to broaden the appeal of his show.”
He also said that the other late-night hosts and comedians blaming Jay is inappropriate:
“Jeff [Zucker] and I are big boys. When we do something big in the public forum and it doesn’t succeed, we know we’ll be the butt of criticism. But you don’t personally attack someone who hasn’t done anything. We bet on the wrong guy.”
Pretty harsh words about Conando, but we're pretty firm on our Team CoCo stance!
Thoughts?
[Image via WENN.]
Taylor Momsen Running Her Mouth Again
Brit Brit Heads To Court!
TEAM COCO TEAM COCO TEAM COOOOOOOOCOOOOOOO
All the way team COCO!!!!!!!!!!!
I LOVE YOU CONAN!
You'd think these incompetent NBC execs would have enough shame to shut the fuck up and lay low. How much damage do they have to do before they realize that they are the problem? These guys are so full of shit that they should be politicians.
THANKS FOR LIVING UP TO YOUR NAME..DICK!
"He was just stubborn about not being willing to broaden the appeal of his show"
You mean he wasn't willing to sell out? GOOD!
Team Coco all the way
"…bet on the wrong guy"? u executed contracts and first and second restated agreements for both parties. and if jay's show got cancelled then he should do what other ppl do when they get cancelled. who else on nbc got to take over someone else's show because their show was cancelled? lemme see…matt lablanc? eh eh!
of fuck you perez
you don't know shit
you certainley are not the "queen of all media"
anyone can do what you do
you know why?
because you take these stories off of other blogs/news websites
and you copy and paste them on here and then add your little opinions to it
ANYONE CAN DO THAT!
this blog is not original so stop pretending like everything you post is "exclusive" because its not.Only when it comes to your wifey lady caca its exclusive because her publicist tells you everything.
F**k Dick Ebersol!! His beautiful son died in a plane crash and he is ranting about Conan? F**k him!!!!!
CONAN IS DONE FAT BOY!! DEAL WITH IT. SAYS SOMETHING WHEN YOU HAVE A LOSER (PEREZ) BACK ANOTHER LOSER (COCO)… 2 PEAS IN A POD. NO WONDER UR A DUMB ASS BLOGGER REPORTING ON EVERYONE ELSE WHO HAS A LIFE. JUST SAYIN.
everyone who got cancelled by nbc probably got banned from the friggin' lot!
the only show that was good in recent years was "studio 60 on the sunset strip."
not counting "the office" and "parks & recreation" and maybe "30 rock". otherwise, nbc is craparoni!
Conan has my full support!!! I'M WITH COCO!!!! If he doesn't end up hosting the Tonight Show by the time this mess ends, I will NOT watch NBC ever again and all my fave shows come on NBC!
conan needs to start a new show in the 10 -11 oclock slot to keep fucking over the news affiliates
team coco
I agree with Dick. When Jay came on the air, he was a nobody so hence the poor ratings at the beginning. Everybody knows Conan, cause he had a show already, so you either you watch him or you don't . And people did not.
Dick's a little bitch. I
NBC is to blame - NOT Leno…NOT Conan
.
NBC didn't realize how upset the affiliates would be by taking away a drama for the 11 PM lead-ins. LENO'S rating were good from the standpoint that NBC corporate was making money. It was the affilitaes who were LOSING money.
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CONAN'S show sucked but nto little fault of his. It takes time to develop a following and NBC only gave him 7 months. LENO took TWO years! Eventually, CONAN would have brought in the ratings.
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Let's grade these knuckleheads:
Conan: B (he shouldn't blame LENO)
Leno: A- (he hasn't aired any dirty laundry other then through his monologue).
Letterman: A- (takes the heat off of his sexual indescretions).
Kimmel: B- He shouldn't have knifd LENO in the back last night. he was INVITED on - that alone is the best advertising his show can get.
NBC: D have they admitted they made a mistake in programming???
.
I agree with what he said. This is not Jay's fault. Jay works for NBC just like Conan does. Jay was smart enough to employ a smart agent that put a quareentee time in Jays contract. Conan should fire his agent! Besides if you want to keep your job you have to bend with they're demands just liek the rest of us have to do. I think Conan has gotten to big for his pants. and let his pride take over, Thats his age talking. where Jay just goes with the flow. I've tried to watch Conan and I just don;t think he's funny, he seems to have a dry sence of humor. I'm sorry this is happening to him, but he should have just gone with the flow like Jay did. Jay found out about what was happening just like the rest of us did…..
NBC has only itself to blame. O'Brien was a terrible choice. period. there were lots of hosts who would have cost less money and done a much better job. Did they ask Dana Carvey? There are lots of standup comics who are witty, smart, edgy, interesting….Johnny Carson wasn't a sophomoric buffoon the way Conan is. Just sayin……Conan is terrible. Great writer, bad host. Fallon is bad too.
Team Conan. if Leno wasn't the EGOMANIAC that he clearly is, he would have retired to count his money and drive his cars when he agreed to go 5 years ago and not put NBC in the position of agreeing to run 2 lame-arse tonight shows back to back.
Ouch….but come on this is totally the execs decision and Leno just wants the paycheck…he's got to keep up with those cars somehow. Chin Wins and has better lawyers apparently.
Both Leno and Conan can blame themselves, and their own writers, for not being funnier.
Typical how everyone is bashing their "enemy". So stupid
Team Banana is Team Conan! Jay blows. Always has, always will.
TEAM COCO!!!! WHAT A TOTAL ASSHOLE!!!!!! I had already read the other INAPPROPRIATE stuff he said about Conan, and am aghast at how unprofessional that is!!! NBC NEEDS A PR TEAM QUICK because they are GOING DOWN!!!!!!!!!!! Way to show no loyalty or patience, and Perez is totally RIGHT that he needed more time to RAMP UP, hello!?!?! How ridiculous!! NBC is just fingerpointing their troubles away but it's just getting them in deeper doo doo! Conan deserves a serious public apology for this SHIT!
Leno's is a nice guy but a bit of a tool. Lame humour. Tired jokes. Team cocococococococococo!
Yep. NBC is off the watch list — from the Today Show to the Tonight Show — won't be watching anymore. Bummer, since I love my Today Show and Law & Order and 30 Rock and The Office — but NBC sucks it!
At least I still get to watch Medium on CBS!
Shouldn't Ebersol have said,"Jeff Zucker and I are big boys. Every time we make yet another step to destroy NBC, we step up to the plate and make someone else the fall guy so we can collect our seven figure salaries for doing something a monkey throwing crap against the wall can do better."
I really can't understand that Zucker and company have destroyed NBC and made them closer to The CW in ratings than any of the three other networks and yet they act like Conan is responsible for destroying NBC. At the beginning of the millenium, NBC was the premiere network with most of the shows in the top ten while Fox was the joke network. A decade later, Fox is actually is the premiere network and NBC is the joke. Yes, it is all Conan.
I really like Conan and Jay. The whole things sucks, but the way I see it, the execs made Jay give his show to Conan, then felt bad because his ratings were actually good and gave Jay another show to make up for it. So now, what, Jay should be blamed? It's stupid. Conan failed, his numbers didn't compare to Jay's Tonight Show ratings. I actually liked Jay's new show. It was funny. Loved Adam Carolla spots and JMZ. It is a good show. Leave Jay alone.
Not watching NBC besides 30 rock. Cancelling my comcast and getting Fios.
Re: contrarianchick – Dana Carvey. WTF?? Is there anyone more irrelevant???? NBC sucks. Feel sorry for the guy who refuses to ruin 60 years of the Tonight Show and Jay has more money than God. go home and try to look at Mavis for a minute. Or better yet, get in a green car and drive away. Kimmel rocked and you could tell it was set up. Jay will only let what Jay wants on his TV show. Jay runs NBC or any other market he wants now.
Ebersol is 100% right! Leno is NOT to blame on this one. And Conan's show was just plain awful; it's why hordes of viewers went to Letterman. Team Jay, all the way.
Unfortunately for all you Conan fans, Ebersol is 100% correct. Seven months is long enough for a show to gain a following and any other show would've been yanked months ago. Unless Letterman, Kimmel, Ferguson or Fallon retire…Conan's tv career is DONE. Fox might give him a shot but when the ratings don't hold, he'll be yanked immediately. Look at their history with late night shows if you don't believe me.
How much money do you really need? Jay Leno is just a greedy, selfish pig….what comes around goes around….the giant chin will eventually fall!!
So it is Conan’s fault that Leno’s 10:00 comedy project didn’t work out too? That is the reason this is happening – not because Conan would not do what NBC wanted – it is because Leno’s show sucked.
Big time TEAM COCO!!! I quit watching the Tonight Show the last time Jay took over and I'm done again. Hurry up Conan and strike a deal somewhere you will be greatly missed!!
God those NBC execs sound SOOOO IMMATURE to be running a network!!! What a RIDICULOUS STATEMENT! "Jeff and I are big boys." Boy that is RELATIVE big time!!!! Just to make a public statement like that is RETARDED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've never heard of such unprofessionalism blatantly coming from execs. They're not even supposed to make unchecked and monitored statements like that. Very amateur and sophomoric boys! COCO sue the shit out of them, rape and pillage them for all they are worth and move on to a grown up network for god's sake!
They didn't give Conan enough time to prove himself, and Conan's lead-ins weren't as strong as Jay's were. Jimmy Kimmel pummeled him yesterday on Jay's own show with the 10 question segment…it was really uncomfortable!
The TONIGHT Show should have been Letterman's…he was the heir to Carson, and it's never been the same since. Conan has always looked uncomfortable in his own skin, and even though he's a talented writer and a likeable guy, he's not the guy for the job. NBC should have given the TONIGHT Show to Dave, kept Jau as permanent guest host or given him Late Night, and left Conan to write for The Simpsons.
Re: joe schmoe – 7 months is long enough? Maybe you should check Leno's old ratings to see when he started doing well. It took a lot longer for him to beat Dave. Took a controversial Hugh guest to put him over the hurdle. Jay also had popular dramas to lead in, unlike Conan who had a different horrible talk show leading him.
Know what you are talking about before you post.
Re: JustcallmeDeDe – Also, it is Jay Leno's 10:00pm show that is being cancelled - not the Tonight Show with Conan - therefore - Jay should move on.
OK, Dick, so Leno's 10pm show was such a failure that the affiliates demanded a change. Don't you think Leno's tanking had a profound effect on Conan's ratings? I do. Jay Leno's ratings are never going to be what they once were, because he and NBC have destroyed the public's good feelings towards Jay with their horrible treatment of Conan.
FU NBC! I only watch the Today Show now. NBC if bought by Comcastneeds to clean out the "kids in charge" pdq or have a loser
Sour grapes. They are just in denial about the fact that the execs' decisions are the problem with NBC. They clearly don't know how to program or have a clue as to what the public wants to watch and when. And now that Conan won't kiss their asses, they are going to trash him publicly. Very classy. I hope Conan gets a huge payout!!
THIS IS IMPORTANT! Its not Conans fault about the ratings at all. Its not that he didnt have time to prove himself. Jay was the lead in for the local news, but the local news is the lead in for Conan. If the local news were complaining that Jays low ratings were making their newscasts decline, which they did, then they didnt have as many viewers automatically watch the Tonight Show, so its ratings declined. Jays show brought down the whole night, including Conan. All the other talk shows had an ah-ha moment that raised their ratings. Conan would have had something in his future for sure. When you think the Tonight Show you think always, years, but months - no. This scandal is now Conans ah-ha ratings boost.
Dick Ebersol is an idiot and so is Jay Leno. The only people to blame are you and your "big boy" who made the wrong decision of creating another show for Jay Leno in the first place. What does the word retirement even mean anymore?! That whole shpeal about this is really about an outstanding failure by Conan is just ridiculous. The outstanding failure was the new jay leno show during primetime television. Bottom Line: When Leno announced retirement he should've done just that, RETIRE! Taking his original timespot back from Conan because his new show SUCKED is lame. STOP BEING SUCH A BABY LENO AND GO OUT WITH DIGNITY
I like Conan and watched him, but he always acted like he was (and probably is) smarter than everyone else in the room. You have to be corny and play well in Iowa, not just the coasts, to do well on the Tonight Show. That's why NBC picked Leno over Letterman years ago. Holds true in 2010 as well.
Team Coco all the way!
Assholes. Cock Ebersol should shut his pie hole. THEY fucked everything up but do you think THEY'LL take the blame? HELLS NO. It's Conan's fault? Conan wouldn't dumb down his show for the fucktard Americans and geriatrics that watched Leno's show? Good for him. I hope Leno comes back and bites a big dick in the ratings. Selfish son of a whore. Why doesn't he retire already? Besides that HE'S NOT FUNNY! NEVER WAS! I love you, Coco, you red headed monkey! There's better things coming for you!
JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT NBC COULDNT SUCK ANY HARDER…. WHAT AN ASS… IM GOING TO DELETE NBC OFF MY TV AND WATCH THE OFFICE ONLINE! : P ♡CONAN
Team conan.This asshole better learn real quick, the customer is always right and at the end of the day him not liking something verses watchers not liking something, his opinion verses polls don't matter. I mean they could,but he'll lose. What a douche. And Jay wasn't that great when he started out and his show isn't doing well. if it were why move? Oh wait because Jay is sucking dick too. Oh well he'll see when Jay gets his slot back and it doesnt make a difference.
Leno was such a stink bomb at 10PM, even local news were losing ratings and ad money. Jay's crappy show also affected Conan's ratings. Jay is still a douche for not retiring after his show "ended" last year and again when getting canceled. But no, he had to be a weasel and push Conan out of his gig. I will never again watch that stupid tonight show (I use to on occasions over the years)
team Jay all the way I would'nt feel sorry for either one of them they are both rich as hell and its not like Conan won't get another job he'll be on Fox before you know it I can't blame Jay for thing about himself here this is his life you have to fight for yourself!
Team Conan.
One hundred percent.
Forever.
And ever.
and ever.
Re: blmo54 – I'm from Iowa and Iowa loves Conan, I don't know what you are talking about.
Leno's show sucked. Nobody wants to watch him anymore. He needs to quit and go play with his cars and make public appearances every now and again. Conan has a family to take care of and was doing fine in the job. I would watch Dave one night, Conan another and maybe Kimmel the next. But I would NEVER watch LENO when he was up against Dave or Kimmel. EVER. Leno was stupid and he sucked. I would switch over to Conan after Dave before Conan got the Tonight show. Perez, seriously get the NBC exec's email for us!
Ebersole is wrong.
Sorry but Conan is not funny. I tried watching once and wow, just awful…so I could care less if he has a show or not.
NBC is just passing some of the blame off… they know the f'ed up royally and they're going to end up paying for it in the ratings… so what do they do? start asserting blame. And Conan may have been a weaker host before (I've always loved him, though), but now he's going to be more successful than ever. The Office is the ONLY reason I watch that channel anymore… once that's done… SUCK IT, NBC! you guys act like 13-year-olds who can't decide what lipstick to wear to the sock hop.
… and if it's Conan's fault for having low ratings, is it also his fault that the local news ratings fell so much? No, it's not… NBC couldn't figure out what they wanted to do, made a knee-jerk decision, and ended up costing them one of the only hosts that the 18-24 demographic watches. Plus their 10pm scripted shows. And the local news. Oh, right, and the typical line-up that makes the Tonight Show successful. Which is why Conan didn't get high ratings– they took away the time-honored line-up of drama and news before the tonight show.
Boo Hoo…. Conan will be crying all the way to the bank. He'll get $80 million for sitting on his ass.
Re: tchliek@verizon.net –
And why shouldn't he? They took his shit away from him. He signed up for a certain thing, they changed it. And they changed it to where he will more than likely fail even more. So why not take it? He deserves it. He didn't chose to sit on his ass. They in essence made him. tank or walk. I'd rather walk.
LEAVE CONAN ALONE!!!
NBC is trying to take the heat off Leno but I see this whole thing as Jay's fault. He is the one that said he was retiring and then decided to come back. How would he like if Johnny Carson left his show and then put on a Here's Johnny show at 10 pm? Jay is a jerk, plain and simple and I will NEVER watch him again. Hope Conan finds a good place to go. He seems like a good guy.
let's see, Leno had one of the top leads (ER into successful late night local news) and still struggled at first; Conan had Leno bleeding the lead dry. NBC (*and* Leno) screwed O'Brien's chances from the get go by scheduling what was, essentially, an earlier version of Leno's tonight show which started just months after Leno retired to do some stand up. Ebersole's statements just show he's as much a schmuck of the rest of the NBC execs that have run the network into the ground. Does he not realize how lame it is that this is the second year in a row they've had to replace their failed schedules with second runs of shows they canceled/exiled to a cable network?
Conan is so much more funny than Leno. By broaden his (conans) appeal they meant be cheesy and stupid so he would get more viewer. So the 80 year old Leno fans from the midwest would like Conan more. TEAM CONAN.
Please, why is Jay a jerk? Conan stole his show in the first place. Jay's Tonight Show ratings were good. NBC messed up. Jay should be pissed. Jay didn't give Conan the reins to his show, NBC did. Jay took the opportunity NBC gave him and made a decent show, it really was good. I like Conan, but couldn't believe he would just take Jay's job like that. No one would do that to any of the other Tonight Show hosts. Oh yeah, sure, they'll just hand Dave's show over or hand Jimmy's show over to a successor. It was ridiculous.
Jay never said he was retiring. NBC said they weren't going to renew him 7 years before his contract was up. It was stupid. Jay knew for seven years that he would have to give his show to Conan and still came in every night and did a good show and kept the ratings up. NBC sucks
Conan's not amusing in the least and he is one of the worst interviewers out there. I want to hear what the guest has to say, not Conan turning the interview into a conversation about him.
I'm with Coco and the Marshmallow
Re: dee506ha – - leno has just as much blame as nbc. leno got cancelled.
a parent doesnt take food from one child and give to another because the other is finished. if u're cancelled, ur contract is pretty much void.
they didnt cancel conan.
Re: liltrix09 – honestly the best comment on this post you are one thousand percent right and i can't even add my own thoughts on this post specifically cuz you said everything i wanted to say! NBC Sucks!!! How do you like Southland now you fuckers?! Made a mistake w/leno & conan and southland hate nbc!!
Team Conan! Zucker and Ebersol are to blame, but it's also typical Leno - he's to blame too…showing his true colors again!!
I tried watching his show…I really did…but I just can't stand Conan Obrien. There's a reason his ratings weren't good.
team conan
This NBC executive blames Conan for this failure but Jay Leno also failed at the the 10pm hour, yet they are sticking with him. Why doesn't this executive blame Leno as well for the 10pm failure. It's completely the NBC executive's fault for what happened with the Tonight Show and the Jay Leno Show. They never should have changed their times.
Re: dee506ha –
"Jay was smart enough to employ a smart agent that put a quareentee time in Jays contract."
-
-
What is "quareentee"?
There is no such word.
Do you by any chance mean "guarantee"?
team coco all the way.
Why would you be on the say side as someone who doesn't even care about anyone but themselves?? Conan is pissed because he couldn't succeed and blames Jay Leno?? Gimme a break..Conan is Lame and makes more money..what a miserable and sad person….Team Leno
SPELLLLLLLLING !!!!!!!!!!!!!
The last time I saw anyone act out like this was grade 8.
Team Zucker.
This guy is so full of crap!
And then the brainiacs sit back and wonder why NBC SUCKS…it's because of douchbags like this guy and Zucker.
I say to NBC…to save this network FIRE: LENO, ZUCKER AND THIS BOOB.
Dear NBC Executives:
You say you are "big boys". Both your use of the term and your behavior as of late demonstrates that you are just that. Big, yet boys. Children, in fact, who throw tantrums and point fingers, juveniles who had to have it THEIR WAY but couldn't take responsibility (the adult thing to do) and own when things didn't go according to plan. Boys, you f***ed with your proven formula. You threw out the drama and threw in a "retiree", expecting everyone to fall at your feet and kiss your ass as usual. But your viewers, not to mention your affiliates, weren't having it. So instead of admitting your mistake, you are blaming the very man you screwed over in the first place.
Well let me tell you something, Mr. Zucker: it is time that you learn the lesson your parents obviously neglected to teach you. It is time to pull your head out of your a**, see the error in your ways, and own up to your mistakes and stop saying "It's not my fault, it's HIS." IT IS TIME TO GROW THE F*** UP!!! And until you do, please don't count on anyone in this household watching your drivel. We have cable for a reason.
You are no longer in kindergarten.
Dear NBC Executives:
You say you are "big boys". Both your use of the term and your behavior as of late demonstrates that you are just that. Big, yet boys. Children, in fact, who throw tantrums and point fingers, juveniles who had to have it THEIR WAY but couldn't take responsibility (the adult thing to do) and own when things didn't go according to plan. Boys, you f***ed with your proven formula. You threw out the drama and threw in a "retiree", expecting everyone to fall at your feet and kiss your ass as usual. But your viewers, not to mention your affiliates, weren't having it. So instead of admitting your mistake, you are blaming the very man you screwed over in the first place.
Well let me tell you something, Mr. Zucker: it is time that you learn the lesson your parents obviously neglected to teach you. It is time to pull your head out of your a**, see the error in your ways, and own up to your mistakes and stop saying "It's not my fault, it's HIS." IT IS TIME TO GROW THE F*** UP!!! And until you do, please don't count on anyone in this household watching your drivel. We have cable for a reason.
You are no longer in kindergarten. It is time to act accordingly.
Screw Dick Ebersol, et al. NBC mismanaged this whole thing and they need to take responsibility for it. Conan signed on to host the Tonight Show - a show which has always immediately followed the late news, not a show that follows another show that follows the late news. The Leno 10pm show was an ill-advised experiment that failed, period. It needed to be canceled and Leno now needs to move on. For Conan to have to pay for all of these other mistakes in terms of moving his time slot is ridiculous, and he is completely justified in his anger and indignation.
Is he the only fool that doesn't see what the hell he has done!How stupid can he be!Everyone has and thats why there going after Jay and them,at least they should-off showed a little RESPECT SAY THE LEAST.TEAM COCO ALL THE WAY!
WTF ever! If NBC gave Jay the time to gain an audience give the same to Conan you dumb s***s. Give 'em hell Conan. Team COCO.
Well the name fits, he's a DICK indeed!