Letterman Negotiating New Contract Through 2012

Although Conan O'Brien made all the late night headlines in the past week, you might not have heard that his ratings dropped each show in his first week as the host of The Tonight Show, and that by Friday, Conan was down about 50% from his Monday night debut, about a million viewers ahead of Letterman. I have a hunch that gap will close a little more in the next few months until the old Leno audience completely makes up its mind. Either way, it's going to be a head-to-head battle that lasts at least another three years. Variety reports that David Letterman is in negotiations to remain at CBS through the 2011-2012 season, which would give him 19 years of service at the network. More importantly, at least in a historical perspective, is the new deal would guarantee Letterman being a late night fixture for a little more than 30 years. That would put him on par with his idol, Johnny Carson, and the fact that I saw Letterman's first Late Night show at NBC makes me feel incredibly damn old. Though the show isn't what it was in its heyday, how could it be? The guy's 62, he's been doing the same gig for more than a couple of decades, and he can't possibly be as angry as he was in the mid-1980s when he was in an on-air war with his own network. However, his highlights - Joaquin Phoenix, John McCain, Rod Blagojevich - are still better than anyone else's highlights in the same format. CBS might be paying less for the show over the next three years, presumably the last three of Letterman's career. Because the entire broadcasting industry is quaking, the network is looking to reduce the licensing fee that it pays Worldwide Pants, which owns the show and The Late, Late Show. CBS revenue dipped 13% in the first quarter of 2009 versus the same period in 2008. The licensing fee stuff - what a network pays to the company that operates the show, which in essence helps defray the costs of production - is the primary reason successful shows like My Name is Earl, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and The Ghost Whisperer were or were thought to be on the chopping block at the end of this past TV season. For The Late Show, the reduced licensing fee would boil down to Worldwide Pants producing a cheaper show, most likely meaning a pay cut for the host. But with Everybody Loves Raymond syndication dollars, I think Letterman's fine, don't you? The other option - and why the CBS negotiations are significant - is that because Letterman owns the show, he could leave the network at the end of his current contract and take it to the highest bidder.

Comments

[iGoByDoc]

So, if David Letterman does stay with the show, or even if he does not, would CBS and Letterman do a similar move as NBC did with Conan and move Craig Ferguson to The Late Show to take over?

What are your thoughts?

Doc

[Get The Big Picture]

Letterman owns Ferguson's show, so in conjunction with his production team, Dave picked Craig to host. He apparently, at one time, had a deal where he was paying Jon Stewart not to take another offer after The Daily Show, in the hopes of making him the successor. That's what Carson did back in the early 1980s for Letterman - paid him so nobody else could.

I have no idea what's up with the Stewart thing, and that was about five years ago. Dave said some great things about Ferguson's show last year in Rolling Stone, and I think he'd be crazy to look anywhere else, frankly. For that style of show - which is different from what Colbert and Stewart do - I think Ferguson is the best host on late night.

We got into this discussion a little bit when Leno took off that you watched Carson and Letterman for the host more than the guest, and I think that's true of Craig Ferguson, too. The fact that he was beating Conan in the ratings after only about two years on the air says a lot for him, especially since Leno outpaced Letterman virtually every week since 1995. So Ferguson was overcoming not only a show with a history but a weaker lead-in. And did it with very, very little network support.

So that would be what I'd do. However, because Letterman owns his show and CBS owns the time, the network could try to find the next Jimmy Fallon or make a run at Kimmel. Or they could want to promote Jon Stewart, since Comedy Central is part of the CBS/Viacom/Paramount family. But at this rate, I'd be incredibly surprised if Ferguson didn't get the job. He might host the Emmys this year, his guests genuinely have more fun there than they do on other shows, and it's the best monologue since Carson.

[Sean]

YES YES YES

You are so right Ferguson is the funniest and yes his monologues are funnier and the best out of Leno, O'Brien and Letterman....

I like Letterman with the guest however, he seems much more better with guest than on his own...

O'Brien is funny too but in his own way funny... not many people suit his kind of funny taste ... thats my opinion..

I love Stewart and Ferguson, Leno is my least favorite out of all of them but I do like his opening even though its all written by writters and he himself I've never really found funny...

THoughts any one?

[Orinn]

I just want John Stewart to have some power over all the wrong things that he points out on his show. More then just showing it to an audience.