Jay Leno, the former king of late-night television who was pushed out as host of NBC's "The Tonight Show" last year and then struggled in his new prime-time slot, is in talks to return to 11:30 p.m. Conan O'Brien, who succeeded Leno, would either go back to following Leno or leave the network.The reshuffle could happen as soon as March, after NBC finishes airing the 2010 Winter Olympics, according to people familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity. Although Leno is on board with the plan, O'Brien has not yet signed on and that needs to be resolved before the network can make it official, sources said.The network's flip-flop is being driven in large part by complaints from NBC affiliates across the country who have lost viewers and advertising revenue because of Leno's performance in the 10 p.m. slot. The imminent move also highlights the fourth-place network's difficulty in reviving its anemic prime-time lineup at a time when a majority stake of the company is in the process of being sold from parent General Electric Co. to cable giant Comcast Corp.The leading scenario is for Leno's late-night show to shrink to half an hour and then be followed by O'Brien at 12:05 a.m. Even though Leno's workload would be cut in half, his estimated $30-million annual salary would not be, sources close to the comedian said.Restoring Leno to his former slot represents a tacit admission by NBC that its daring move to replace him with O'Brien and shake up its 10 p.m. time slot was a huge mistake. When NBC Chief Executive Jeff Zucker made the decision in September 2004, it was done as a defensive measure to keep O'Brien from defecting to a rival network. Also, though Leno was No. 1 then, NBC was betting that the younger O'Brien would be ready to take over the "Tonight Show" desk and keep the program fresh for the next generation.But as Leno's late-night exit date drew closer and he considered competing against O'Brien, NBC gave Leno his own show at 10 p.m. It was a plan that NBC hoped would allow it to have its cake and eat it too.Instead, both moves proved to be big disappointments. Leno's show has not performed well at 10 p.m. and O'Brien has not been able to fill Leno's shoes at 11:30 p.m.Since premiering in prime time in September, Leno's show has averaged 5.34 million viewers, according to Nielsen. That's a 29% drop from the same period last season when it was running dramas such as "Law & Order" and "ER."NBC has publicly stood by its decision to put Leno on in prime time. One of its key arguments has been that although Leno's numbers are lower than the dramatic fare that the network used to run in that hour, the show's production costs are much cheaper.Though NBC may be saving money on Leno, the local stations that carry the network's programming across the country are feeling the pain of Leno's weaker ratings. The affiliates need the network to deliver a big audience at 10 p.m to feed into their late local news, which is where they make as much as 33% of their revenue.Leno's declining ratings have led late local news at many NBC stations to fall by as much as 30%. The affiliates were patient with NBC in the fall when Leno's prime-time show premiered, but now many are griping to the network. NBC has acknowledged that Leno's performance has become a major issue for their stations.The network's affiliates aren't the only ones that have been vocal about Leno's lackluster performance. The creative community has been bitter about NBC turning its back on 10 p.m. dramas that gave the network beloved signature shows such as "Hill Street Blues," and "ER.""I feel they should take down their American flag and put up a white one," cracked Peter Tolan, executive producer of FX's hit drama "Rescue Me," last year about NBC's decision to put Leno in prime time. John Wells, who was an executive producer of NBC's "ER" and "The West Wing," said last fall that he was "disappointed that NBC no longer has the time periods available to support the kind of critically acclaimed series that was for so many years the hallmark of their success."NBC would have to scramble to find programming for the 10 p.m. hour that can be ready by March. The network would probably use its veteran news magazine "Dateline" as a stop-gap measure and shift some of its current hourlong dramas to Leno's slot as well.Leno's woes in prime time have been well-publicized, but O'Brien's move from 12:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. has been equally traumatic. He trails CBS' "The Late Show with David Letterman" by about 2 million viewers. The two shows are tied in the coveted adults 18-49 demographic. Leno routinely beat Letterman in both categories.On Thursday night, Leno addressed the situation on his show, joking that he didn't think the rumors were true because "it's always been my experience that NBC only cancels you when you're in first place. So we are fine. We are OK."O'Brien's camp is keeping quiet and he, unlike Leno, did not address Thursday's news on his show. In a statement, NBC said: "We remain committed to keeping Conan O'Brien on NBC." NBC is probably trying to find some wiggle room with O'Brien. His contract, which pays him about $25 million a year, has a $40-million penalty fee if NBC were to force him out as host of "The Tonight Show."One point of contention is whether O'Brien's program would continue to be called "The Tonight Show" even if it follows Leno's 11:30 p.m. program. Leno, sources said, is more concerned with regaining his old time slot than wrestling over a title.Whether Walt Disney Co.'s ABC or News Corp.'s Fox would go after O'Brien remains to be seen. It was Fox's pursuit of O'Brien six years ago that led NBC to set up the Leno succession plan in the first place.Fox doesn't have a late-night show, but a senior executive at the company downplayed the idea that it would chase O'Brien.ABC now runs the news magazine "Nightline" followed by its late-night show hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. "Nightline" has actually performed decently for the network and is significantly cheaper than O'Brien's show.Times staff writers Maria Elena Fernandez and Matea Gold contributed to this report. ||||| NBC to Conan O'Brien -- The Choice Is Yours 
 
 NBC to Conan O'Brien -- The Choice Is Yours 
 
 NBC has giventhe option to either do his show from midnight to 1 or leave the network, sources tell TMZ.As TMZ first reported, after thewill get his 11:30 PM time period back. We're told network execs have told Conan they will let him decide if he wants the midnight to 1:00 AM time slot. If he does, Leno's show will only be a half hour. If Conan walks, Leno will get a full hour, informed sources tell TMZ.Our sources say Conan has not decided what he wants. We do know he's pissed, because he was given no advanced warning this was coming. Conan's people told NBC they are considering the offer. Translation: Mr. O'Brien -- I have Rupert Murdoch on line one, Stephen McPherson on line two, John Landgraf on line three, Jeff Wachtel on line four ...We're told if Conan gets another offer, even though NBC could block the move, they will let him go and give Leno the full hour. ||||| Though Mr. Leno’s prime-time show has not fallen below the ratings guarantees that NBC gave to advertisers, it has averaged only about five million viewers a night. The NBC station managers have blamed consistently low lead-in audiences for much of the falloff in their news ratings — and local stations rely on news programs for the majority of their revenue. The affiliates are due to meet with NBC on Jan. 21. 
 
 Mr. O’Brien, meanwhile, has had his ratings suffer on “The Tonight Show.” He has trailed the “Late Show With David Letterman” on CBS by about two million viewers a night; Mr. Leno had easily been the winner in that time period previously. Mr. O’Brien has been more successful against Mr. Letterman among the younger audiences that NBC most wants to reach (because they are preferred by many advertisers). But he has fallen below Mr. Leno’s ratings in the 11:30 time slot in every audience age group, even the youngest ones. 
 
 Both experiments were being keenly watched by an industry struggling with demographic shifts, declining audiences and escalating costs. A deal was struck last month to sell NBC Universal, the parent of NBC, to Comcast, and one person with knowledge of the negotiations said that NBC’s poor performance — it languishes in last place in prime time — was a driving reason for the sale. 
 
 Mr. Leno addressed the developments on his show Thursday night. “I don’t think there is any truth to the rumors,” he said during his monologue. “See, it’s always been my experience that NBC only cancels you when you’re in first place.” 
 
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 One result of the new configuration would be that NBC would still prevent any of its late-night stars from moving to another network to start a competing show. Both Mr. Leno and Mr. O’Brien have in the past been approached by ABC or Fox about late-night shows at those networks. One reason NBC took the risky step of moving Mr. Leno to prime time was to avoid having one of its late-night stars become a competitor, a situation that NBC came to regret when David Letterman left NBC in the 1990s to start a show at CBS. 
 
 But there are many possible complications, including the possibility that Mr. O’Brien could be offered an earlier slot at a different network, most likely the Fox network. Mr. O’Brien’s representatives reported that they continued to negotiate with NBC late Thursday evening. 
 
 For Mr. Leno, who made no secret that he was unhappy about being moved from “The Tonight Show,” the change represents something of a vindication, even if his crown has been tarnished by his 10 p.m. experience. Mr. O’Brien faces a more unpalatable choice: accept a demotion to 12 a.m. and stay on NBC, or leave for another network, thereby breaking his lucrative contract with NBC. 
 
 The exact terms of Mr. O’Brien’s contract are not known, but he is rumored to have built into the deal he made five years ago to stay at NBC a guarantee that he would host “The Tonight Show” or NBC would owe a penalty of as much as $45 million. If his show continues to be called “The Tonight Show,” NBC may not be in breach of his contract, which could compel Mr. O’Brien to stay at NBC even if another network makes him an offer. 
 
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 According to one senior NBC executive, his show will continue to be called “The Tonight Show,” even though it would — for the first time in its more than half-century history — not begin after the late local news. Under the plan being discussed, Mr. Leno would still host a show called “The Jay Leno Show.” The third NBC late-night star, Jimmy Fallon, has shown some promising ratings with younger viewers. He would then begin his show at 1:05 a.m., the executives said. 
 
 The revised lineup would go into effect after NBC concludes its coverage of the Winter Olympics on Feb. 28. NBC will pre-empt its prime-time and late-night lineup for more than two weeks to cover the Olympics, creating a natural break in which to make the late-night changes. 
 
 No NBC executive would speak on the record about the late-night plan. But in response to reports on several Web sites, including FTVLive and TMZ, NBC issued several statements Thursday, including one that read in part: “Jay Leno is one of the most compelling entertainers in the world today. As we have said all along, Jay’s show has performed exactly as we anticipated on the network. It has, however, presented some issues for our affiliates.” 
 
 Mr. Leno seemed to relish NBC’s predicament at Thursday’s taping. “As you may have heard, there is a rumor floating around that we were canceled,” he told his audience. “I heard it coming in this morning on the radio. So far no one has said anything to me. But if we did get canceled, it will give us time to do some traveling. I understand that Fox is beautiful this time of year.” ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.
– The rumor mill continues to churn out news of Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien’s futures at NBC, with the network releasing just two vague statements. The latest: NBC has given O’Brien an ultimatum, sources tell TMZ: Move to the midnight slot or get out. Though NBC could technically block him from moving to another network for two years, sources say they will let him go if he gets another offer, and give Leno a full hour. The Los Angeles Times reports Leno is on board with the plan and O’Brien is not; TMZ says O’Brien is angry but considering the offer; and the New York Times reports that while everyone is still in talks, an agreement is basically in place. The change-up is expected after NBC’s Winter Olympics coverage ends in March. Sources tell The Wrap NBC execs are concerned local stations will start bailing on The Jay Leno Show this spring if the line-up remains as-is. While NBC scrambles to find new 10pm programming, Dateline, USA dramas, unaired reality shows, and current hourlong dramas will probably be used as short-term replacements. One problem for NBC: O’Brien’s contract includes a $40 to $45 million penalty fee if the network forces him out of The Tonight Show. One senior NBC exec says O'Brien's show will keep that title—Leno is said to be more interested in the time slot—and Leno will keep The Jay Leno Show title. Meanwhile, even if Leno ends up with a half-hour show, sources say his salary will not be cut in half. NBC’s first statement yesterday expressed support for Leno and seemed to deny rumors that his show had been canceled; its second stated, “We remain committed to keeping Conan O’Brien on NBC.”