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CoCo/Leno/Zucker: Getting serious now!


Jangler

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http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/jeff-zucker-threatens-to-ice-conan-ill-keep-you-off-the-air-for-3-12-years/

ZUCKER THREATENS TO ICE CONAN! Says "I'll Keep You Off The Air For 3 1/2 Years"; Conan Reps Counter: "This Will End Up In Front Of A Judge If NBC Doesn't Wise Up"; UPDATE: NBC Boasts About CO's Latest Ratings; 2ND UPDATE: Secret Negotiator

BREAKING NEWS! EXCLUSIVE! 7TH UPDATE, THURSDAY 6:45 PM: During tonight's monologue, the for-the-moment host of The Tonight Show referred to my scoop that NBCU chief Jeff Zucker was threatening to put him on ice for 3 1/2 years. "Hi, I’m Conan O’Brien, NBC’s 'Employee of the Month'. There’s a rumor that NBC is so upset with me, they want to keep me off the air for 3 years. My response to that is, if NBC doesn’t want people to see me, just leave me on NBC."

Bada bing. "No matter what happens, it’s been a real honor to sit in the same chair as Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, and Jay Leno."

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http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/jeff-zucker-threatens-to-ice-conan-ill-keep-you-off-the-air-for-3-12-years/

Instead of a prolonged and ugly battle, NBC has given in to Team Conan who've insisted their guy exits only with a lot of cash and freedom. How much cash? "Zucker's NBC spin puts it at $25 million. But it's a lot closer to $40 million than $25 million," my insider says. "And Conan was adamant that NBC take care of the people close to him -- [executive producer] Jeff Ross and the staff who moved out to Los Angeles." According to the pact, Conan leaves The Tonight Show on January 22nd, and The Jay Leno Show ends its 10 PM primetime run on February 12th when NBC starts its coverage of the Vancouver Winter Olympics through February 28th. That Monday, Leno commences his Tonight Show do-over. Conan, meanwhile, is free to go anywhere and compete with Jay. This is that Ron Meyer-negotiated deal (which I first reported yesterday at 3 PM). The Universal Studios president/COO was asked to step in secretly by WME agents Ari Emanuel when Team Conan and NBC were so far apart they weren't even on speaking terms. "They [NBC Universal] were lucky to have Ron." I'm told the deal might close as soon as Saturday. And NBC's PR nightmare will end.
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http://www.thrfeed.com/2010/01/nbc-to-keep-cocos-masturbating-bear.html

As a deal nears for Conan O'Brien's exit from NBC, one thing is certain: the characters and recurring comedy bits O'Brien originated during his 16-plus years on "Late Night" and "The Tonight Show" will not follow the host when he leaves NBC.

The Peacock owns the intellectual property behind such popular O'Brien characters as Pimpbot 5000 and Conando, as well as recurring segments such as In the Year 3000 and Desk Driving. Sources involved in the settlement negotiations say NBC is keeping the copyrighted and trademarked elements of O'Brien's shows as part of the deal. That means the bits and characters will likely never be seen after O'Brien's "Tonight" ends its run Jan 22. ‬

While the vast majority of the characters O'Brien introduced are said to owned by NBC, it's unclear who controls Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, the crass canine puppet that is perhaps O'Brien's most popular recurring bit. Triumph was originated by writer and longtime O'Brien pal Robert Smigel, whose reps declined to comment on whether Smigel or NBC owned rights to the character.

In 1993, David Letterman got into a dustup with NBC when he departed "Late Night" for CBS's "Late Show." NBC attorneys attempted to prevent Letterman from taking intellectual property originated on "Late Night" to the comic's new home. Letterman responded by dropping certain bits and renaming other recurring segments--"Viewer Mail" became "CBS Mailbag" and frequent guest Larry "Bud" Melman began referring to himself by his real name, Calvert DeForest. Letterman mocked the dispute on his first "Late Show" when NBC anchor Tom Brokaw interrupted the monologue and stole cue cards in the name of securing NBC's intellectual property.

O'Brien, if he lands at another late-night show, might be in a tougher spot. Unlike comic personalities Letterman and Jay Leno, O'Brien began his career as a writer on "Saturday Night Live" and "The Simpsons," and his shows relied more heavily on the cleverly scripted bits and outrageous characters.

Losing those assets could hurt O'Brien as he looks for another home, although his "Tonight" had featured fewer of the characters than "Late Night" and the host--who is considered one of the top comedy writers in the business--may be looking for a fresh start. Sources close to him said he was not interested in taking his NBC characters with him.

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