Aww, what a nice man! According to the WSJ, Jay Leno has taken a 50 percent pay cut as part of NBC’s cost-cutting measures. In exchange, his contract was extended through 2014.
The outsized pay cut, which took Mr. Leno’s salary down to around $15 million, helped NBC slash the show’s $100 million annual budget by about 20%, the network said. At the same time, Mr. Leno, the leading late night host, extended his contract for another two years to May 2014.
So, now Jay Leno only makes around $15 million more per year than he deserves, which I suppose is an improvement over $30 million more than he deserves. However, it also throws a huge wrench into any plans NBC might have had into moving Jimmy Fallon into the Tonight Show slot soon in order to compete with Jimmy Kimmel, who has been moved to 11:35 slot. NBC CEO Robert Greenblatt isn’t worried, however, saying he is “unfazed by Kimmel,” though he may “siphon off some young hipsters from Letterman.”
Ha! So, basically, Greenblatt is conceding that Leno’s audience is geriatric, and he has nothing to worry about from Kimmel, who appeals to a younger target demo. If I were Greenblatt, I might worry more that gravestones will siphon off some of Leno’s audience.
Indeed, way to think toward the future, NBC! You just keep riding those old people as long as possible, so when Fallon finally takes over The Tonight Show, 80 percent of its audience will be in hospice care.
Here’s a Jennifer Love Hewitt GIF. Why? Because it’s Friday, and I like you. IT’S A GIFT. So stop asking questions and shut up. JEEZ.
(Source: WSJ)
