UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Conan O'Brien released the following statement.

People of Earth:

In the last few days, I've been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I've been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I've been absurdly lucky. That said, I've been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn't the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn't matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it's always been that way.

Yours,

Conan

The whole thing is hilarious! For those who don't know, Conan has a 45 million dollar buyout in his contract. Why in the Hell would he agree to move? I wouldn't either.
BTW, I could have told NBC that putting Leno on 5 nights a week at 10 Eastern wouldn't work. I also could have told them when they agreed to give him the Tonight Show that it probably wouldn't work.
His audience was always different than Jay's. The Tonight Show gets an older crowd that just watched the local news and are ready for some comfortable, clean jokes and headlines before they doze off for the night. Conan was always doing wacky crap like his strings shtick and Triumph and sexual jokes, etc. Sure enough the older audience is turning to Letterman now and Conan is suffering in the ratings.
I have no idea what NBC is going to do but they are pretty much screwed. I am sure Jay has a huge buyout too although I don't know what it is. I pretty much see them just giving Conan his money and letting him go, I think they've made it clear they don't really want him and they've always dreaded losing Leno to a competing network. I suspect Conan will land at Ox which might be great for him as he can refocus on what always made him work before, doing his goofy stuff/skits and appealing to a younger crown that isn't interested in Leno or Letterman.