Don't Count Conan Out . . . Yet

O'Brien contract talks delayed; late night trashing continues

(NEWSER) - As the late night hosts’ jabs at each other and NBC go on…and on…and on, the severance deal between Conan O’Brien and NBC continues to be delayed. TMZ reports the hold-up is over how long O’Brien will be barred from slamming the network—which he did last night...in Spanish. He also wants $600,000 added to the severance pot for his staff, which currently stands at $12 million. Still, sources say a deal should be finalized today. More»

'Tonight Show' deal appears close for O'Brien

(NEWSER) - Conan O’Brien came out swinging on last night’s Tonight Show , saying that while it's rumored he's “legally prohibited” from saying anything negative about NBC, "luckily they're not saying I can't sing anything." He then, naturally, took to song, crooning about the network’s “incompetent morons” during his monologue...and he didn't stop there (watch clips, including a bit on the Craigslist offers that have been pouring in for the show, and David Letterman's take, in the gallery). More»

Leno, O'Brien continue trading digs over fate of 'Tonight Show'

(NEWSER) - As Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien continued to take swipes at each other last night (and everyone else continued to take swipes at Jay Leno), rumors and new developments in the NBC shake-up continued to come out. Watch highlights from last night in the video gallery, and read on for more:

• Addressing the rumor that next Friday will be O’Brien’s last episode of The Tonight Show (see PopEater ), his rep tells Us that is “not true,” and O’Brien simply has a scheduled hiatus the following week.

Launch a Fox rival? Return to SNL ? Reality TV?

(NEWSER) - NBC's shabby treatment of Conan O'Brien has been a recurring theme of the Jay Leno-centric late-night shuffle, but "he-who-rocks-the-dopest-pompadour-on-TV" has more options than you might think. MTV ponders his options.

• Defect to Fox: The network is apparently interested, and it would be a great way to tick off NBC. But Fox has a terrible track record with late-night talk shows.
• Saturday Night Live: O'Brien's writing tenure at SNL coincided with a memorably strong run for the show, but Tonight Show host to "Cheeto-dusted anonymity" is a major step down.

(NEWSER) - After months of promoting Jay Leno's move to 10pm, NBC may shake up its prime-time schedule again, moving its late local news to 10 and Leno to 10:30, the network's onetime programming head speculates. Garth Ancier, now chief of BBC America, shared his speculation with critics at the summer press tour this week in Los Angeles, Washington Post TV columnist Lisa de Moraes reports. More»