df605c5c   
   XPost: rec.arts.tv, alt.fan.letterman   
   From: nospam@nospam.com   
      
   > So Conan's $30 million pay out doesn't mitigate the fact that he was   
   > treated shabbily by NBC and that he got screwed. NBC was obligated to   
   > pay him the $30 million penalty because they broke his contract. Just   
   > because they had to honor his contract doesn't mean they also didn't   
   > screw him over.   
      
   Shabbily? I disagree. Conan was lagging quite badly in the ratings, and when   
   Leno tanked at 10 the NBC execs and he came up with the half-hour show at   
   11:35 idea. Now, I  do agree that if Leno had any class he would have walked   
   away and let Conan ride it out. But NBC, admittedly run by a bunch of   
   incompetents, and following several calamitous decisions, was motivated   
   solely at that point to recover some of its former luster (and revenues).   
   They offered Conan the TS a half hour later, he refused, and that was it.   
   Whatever the reasons, he was not a good fit for 11:35, as Leno's return to   
   his prior audience share seems to prove.   
      
   For NBC, it's all about making money, as it is for most corporations. The   
   situation they engineered was a dog's breakfast, but Conan did have his   
   chance, and he failed. If he had blown away Dave at 11:35, he'd still be   
   there, and Leno would be playing Vegas.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)