NBC is “Not Backing Conan”, they’ve decided to back Leno in his new time slot. And I do not me the new 10PM time slot he just switched to. Leno will be moving back to his original 11:35 time slot and Conan is getting the boot. Now Mark Cuban seems to think that NBC and Jeff Zucker made the right decision. Needless to say, I totally disagree. First, I would say that Jeff Zucker is an idiot. He has ruined NBC. They used to have respectable ratings, since he has taken charge they have fallen to depths that not even Fox News could have dreamed up.

But in my opinion there are other factors that have played a large part in the whole “late night” game. Lopez Tonight, for example, in my opinion has offered an unforseen amount of competition for Leno, Conan and Letterman. Lopez Tonight has really raised the stakes for the late night shows. TBS has made a show that’s edgy and lively show. They have brought in an amazing comedian in George Lopez and they are able to bring bigger names onto the show than even the traditional late night shows can. That’s due in large part to Lopez’s clout in the business. I mean, he was able to bring in Jennifer Lopez to open his show with a comedy skit. Lopez Tonight is the new era of late night, and it’s the only one I now watch.

The main reason they had to change the time slot back to it’s original 11:35 period is because the local news stations were getting mad because their ratings have plummeted since the switch. Leno was always their lead-in and with him gone, they have seriously suffered. Part of me wants to feel bad for Conan in this whole thing, but it’s a little hard to feel bad for someone who just walked away with a boatload of cash.

Not matter what happens it is clear that the late night shows on the major networks will take a hit from this. NBC will most likely continue to struggle and things will go back to the way they were, except Conan will most likely be at a different network. But the question is, did this have to happen? Or is Jeff Zucker just a complete idiot that has no business running a fruit stand, let alone a company like NBC. Who knows, but I can’t wait to see how things turn out.