=46rom the AP:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gG42WUKXbqIj-XXOx9cBfkwdPQ4wD90JLJM00
<Person close to talks: NBC installing Fallon on 'Late Night'
By DAVID BAUDER =96 1 hour ago
NEW YORK (AP) =97 Jimmy Fallon will officially be given the keys to
NBC's "Late Night" franchise following Conan O'Brien's exit.
A person close to the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity
because the announcement hadn't been made confirmed the widely rumored
change Sunday and said a news conference was planned for Monday.
All that's left is an official date for NBC's transition: O'Brien
moving out West to take over for Jay Leno on the "Tonight" show and
Fallon following in the next time slot.
Fallon was a "Saturday Night Live" cast member before leaving for a
movie career in 2004. He has had mixed success, with his most notable
role as a childlike Boston Red Sox fan and Drew Barrymore's paramour
in "Fever Pitch."
He signed a deal with NBC in 2007 that was widely seen as a way to
keep him in the fold until the time came for Monday's announcement.
It would be hard for him to have a rockier transition than O'Brien had
when he took over from David Letterman in the mid-1990s. O'Brien was a
writer with a quick sense of humor but a mystery to the television
audience, and he was savaged in early reviews. NBC nearly fired him
but persevered, and O'Brien grew into the role.
It was in large part to keep O'Brien happy that NBC announced four
years ago that he would replace Leno next year.
While Leno went along with the plan, there are re****ts that the
workaholic comic is not eager to leave. NBC Universal is trying to
find a job that would satisfy him and avoid having Leno move to ABC or
Fox to compete directly against O'Brien.
NBC could decide to back out of the plan and keep Leno on "Tonight,"
but O'Brien's contract calls for a penalty fee re****tedly close to $40
million.
It all amounts to a roll of the dice in late-night, where NBC has
stayed on top despite the network's prime-time problems.
NBC's announcement opens network television's "upfront" week, when
fall schedules are set and presented to advertisers. NBC took the
unusual step of announcing its schedule a month ago, and it has
invited advertisers for a Monday sales presentation emphasizing all of
NBC Universal's properties. >
Maybe...now we have to deal with a year of hype
