Jay Leno is Going Back to Late Night

After days of speculation, NBC has announced that Jay Leno is going back to his old shift.

Following a disappointing run in prime time for the former "Tonight Show" host, the network announced Sunday that it would be going back to scripted programming at 10pm ET and Leno would be moving back to late night.

"I can confirm that starting Feb. 12, Jay Leno will no longer air at 10 p.m.," NBC Universal chairman Jeff Gaspin said. The goal and challenge for the network will be how they will keep all three night show hosts. Negotiations are in progress, but according to Gaspin, nothing is a done deal.

"My goal right now is to keep Jay [Leno], Conan [O'Brien] and Jimmy [Fallon] as part of our late-night lineup. As much as I'd like to tell you we have a done deal, we know that's not true," Gaspin said.

NBC has asked Leno to move to 11:35 p.m. as a half-hour show, where his "Tonight Show" once started. It is ; followed by O'Brien's hour-long "Tonight Show" and Fallon's one-hour "Late Night." Leno is expected to agree to the change, though it's unclear if O'Brien is willing to stay with the network. One way or another, Gaspin said he expects the network will have a new schedule in place before the Olympics begin next month.

The talk of a late night shakeup has been the fodder of websites for months as "The Jay Leno Show" had less than stellar ratings. The ratings began to hurt the local affiliates who depend on network programming to bolster late night news.

Leno's show has averaged 5.8 million nightly viewers since it debuted. By comparison, the season's top-rated 10 p.m. network drama, CBS' "The Mentalist," has an average audience of 17.5 million.

"I would have liked nothing more than to give this a 52-week try," Gaspin said. "Affiliates started calling, saying local news was being impacted more than expected. In some cases, they had the No. 1 news show and now they were No. 3."

All three major hosts will have some time to ponder their next move. O'Brien could take the move, which most experts see as a slap in the face, or look towards other networks such as FOX as a new home. The one host barely mentioned in this process is Carson Daly. His "Last Call" show, which airs after the Jimmy Fallon's "Late Night," could be canceled if the other three hosts stary with NBC.

It is not certain what will air between the time "The Jay Leno Show" goes off the air (possibly in March) and the new fall season, when the new show lineup is expected to happen. Gaspin said that the void will probably be filled with reality shows, the news magazine "Dateline," or repeats of other NBC programming, including programs from USA Network or Bravo.

Asked whether "The Jay Leno Show" was a mistake, Gaspin said, "I don't think it's wrong to take chances. We might have been too early on this one."

Sources:

CNN

The Live Feed

Deadline Hollywood

The NBC Leno O'Brien Problem