NBC will officially announce on Tuesday that "The Tonight Show" host Jay Leno will take over the 10 p.m. weeknight slot starting next fall, reports Variety.
The decision to strip Leno at 10 p.m. solves one of the most pressing issue facing NBC in the coming year: How to keep ratings leader Leno at the network, and away from the competition.
The move also saves "Tonight Show" successor Conan O'Brien from having to compete against his predecessor - who was expected to land in the 11:35 slot at another network, most likely ABC. (Fox and Sony, among others, had expressed interest too.) But by keeping Leno on at 10 p.m., O'Brien may also very well wind up being overshadowed by his predecessor - particularly since Leno will air in primetime, when TV viewing is higher.
By putting Leno in the 10 p.m. slot, NBC Universal topper Jeff Zucker has just completely altered the primetime landscape going into next season.
With 10 p.m. now filled by Leno - not to mention Sunday Night Football consuming four hours on Sunday and repeats on Saturday - NBC may program as few as ten hours of traditional primetime fare next fall. With some of those hours likely to be reality shows, there's not much room left for scripted fare.
As part of his new deal, insiders have suggested that Leno could make between $40 million to $50 million a year with a 10 p.m. slot.
Also, at least for now, Leno will continue to host the new show in the same Burbank studio (connected to NBC's now vacant former west coast headquarters) that he currently helms "Tonight." That's because NBC is building a new "Tonight Show" stage for O'Brien on the Universal lot, next to NBC's new digs.
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