NBC's Conan fiasco: By the numbers
A startling look at the financial (and human) cost of NBC's decision to force out Conan O'Brien
After weeks of feuding, the Leno-Conan-NBC standoff has finally come to a close. Last night, Conan O'Brien and NBC finalized a $45 million exit deal that will give both the ousted host and his staff a generous severence. But that's just a fraction of the fortune NBC has blown on its doomed late-night shuffle. Here, a by-the-numbers breakdown of the renowned disaster:
11:35: Current time slot of The Tonight Show, which the program has occupied since Sept. 2, 1991.
12:05: New time slot NBC proposed for Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show so that it could give Jay Leno a half-hour show beginning at 11:35 p.m. In a letter to "People of Earth," Conan denounced this proposal, saying it would be the "destruction" of The Tonight Show.
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7: Number of months Conan hosted The Tonight Show
8: Number of months Conan must stay off the air before launching a new program on another network, according to his severence agreement
60-70: Number of Conan staffers who followed O'Brien from New York to Los Angeles when he moved west to take over The Tonight Show
40-50: Number of Conan staffers whose moving expenses were covered by NBC
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200: Size of Conan O'Brien's full staff
$50 million: Combined annual salaries of Conan's Tonight Show production staff, which averages out to $250,000 per person
$7.5 million: Total severance payment secured for Conan's 200- member staff, which averages out to $37,500 per person
$4.5 million: Severance payment secured for Tonight Show executive producer Jeff Ross
$12 million—$15 million: O'Brien's estimated annual salary
$33 million: Size of Conan O'Brien's own severance package
2.53 million: Average nightly audience for Conan's Tonight Show in October 2009 (the most recent numbers available)
4.75 million: Average nightly audience for Jay Leno's Tonight Show, before Conan took over as host
$25 million: Amount NBC parent company General Electric spent to construct a new studio for Conan's Tonight Show
$200 million: Annual advertising revenue The Tonight Show generates for NBC
$15 million—$20 million: Estimated annual revenue generated by advertising sales if Conan decides to move his show online
330,000: Number of members of the Conan Facebook fan group "I'm With Coco"
Sources: MSNBC, NY Times, LA Times, New Tee Vee, Business Insider, HuffPo, AOL Inside TV
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SEE MORE OF THE WEEK'S CONAN-LENO COVERAGE:
• Conan's next move: 5 theories
• Leno vs. Conan: The CGI "reinactment"
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