The Morning Fix: Seems to be something up with Jay Leno. Ted Koppel to ‘This Week’? ‘Little Genius’ spanked. Shari Redstone loves Russia!
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After the coffee. Before wondering if it can get any weirder at NBC.
Flip-flop! NBC is moving fast to get Jay Leno out of prime time and back into late night. Feeling heat from its affiliates who have seen their ratings for local news decline because of Leno’s 10 p.m. performance, the network wants to put Leno back at 11:30 and bump Conan O’Brien to midnight. This is not only an acknowledgment that the prime-time experiment flopped, but that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea in 2004 to decide to put O’Brien in late night in 2009. Leno downplayed the news, noting on his show Thursday night that NBC only moves you if you’re No. 1 (ouch). More analysis and news than you’ll need on this one from the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wrap, Variety, Broadcasting & Cable and the Wall Street Journal.
Koppel back to ABC? Leno may not be the only one getting a new old job. Politico reports that Ted Koppel may be coming back to ABC News. Not with ‘Nightline,’ but as host of the Sunday morning news show ‘This Week,’ where he would succeed George (don’t make me spell it) Stephanopoulos. We recall reading about Koppel being a potential candidate from B&C’s Marisa Guthrie in December.
He’s baaaack. Former NBC Entertainment chief Ben Silverman is doing content deals for his new company, Electus. We’ll let Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood tell you about it.
Quiz Show II. Fox has pulled the plug -- for now anyway -- on its game show ‘Our Little Genius’ only days away from its Jan. 13 premiere. The show’s producer, Mark Burnett, said he learned some of the contestants had been given information (not answers though). Details from the Los Angeles Times.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: Shari Redstone is buying up some of her old man’s movie theaters to own completely. Another big weekend ahead for ‘Avatar.’
-- Joe Flint
