Fox confirms it’s interested in Conan O’Brien

Conan O’Brien, caught in NBC’s late-night shuffle, found encouragement Monday from rival network Fox.

NBC confirmed Sunday that it was pulling the plug on the prime-time “Jay Leno Show” after just four months, and would shift Leno back to his longtime 11:35 p.m. slot in March. Although Leno has signed off on the time-period switch, O’Brien, the other person involved in the matter, hasn’t agreed yet.

O’Brien took over the storied “Tonight Show” in June when Leno stepped down to prepare for his prime-time show. NBC Universal’s television chairman, Jeff Gaspin, said over the weekend that NBC wanted O’Brien to remain part of the network’s late-night lineup but that, if O’Brien agreed to stay on at NBC, the start time for his “Tonight Show” would be pushed back 30 minutes to 12:05 a.m.

Enter Fox. The News Corp.-owned network has long wanted its own late-night comedy show, and it expressed interest in O’Brien in 2004, when NBC hatched the plan to move Leno out and give O’Brien “The Tonight Show” in 2009.

As a result, there has been speculation that Fox would pounce on the opening to poach O’Brien, who is said to be unhappy about NBC’s decision to no longer air his show immediately after the late local news.

During a meeting with TV critics in Pasadena on Monday, Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly said the network was indeed interested in O’Brien, but that it was too early to say whether anything would happen.

“I love Conan personally and professionally, but right now he’s got a decision to make on his future. Until he makes that decision, there really is no conversation to be had,” said Reilly, who ran entertainment at NBC before joining Fox.

Nonetheless, Reilly said there had been some “informal conversations” among the parties discussing the matter with O’Brien’s representatives.

Several obstacles could prevent O’Brien from packing his bags, including O’Brien’s contract, which obligates him to stay at NBC for two more years, according to people close to the situation.

Not only that, but late-night shows are no longer as profitable as they once were, which could discourage Fox from a bidding war and shelling out tens of millions of dollars to land O’Brien.

NBC expects O’Brien to make a decision on whether he wants to stay at the network in the next few days.

meg.james@latimes.com