Jay Leno: Epic Failing As Expected

11:52 am EST November 11th, 2009 | News | 17 Comments

Brilliant work from NBC here. And not only does this hurt the primetime lineup, but you can bet it’s also part of what is hurting Conan’s ratings. Jay Leno is the Supertrain of the 2000s.

This Monday Mr. Leno again hit just a 1.2 national rating– his lowest number to date — in the 18-49 year-old age group, which NBC uses to define success because of the number of advertisers who want to reach that group. He did, however, increase his total audience a bit from last Monday, when he faced both football and the World Series. This Monday he had 4.07 million viewers; a week before he had 3.92 million.

The 1.2 was the same number Mr. Leno hit last Monday, and it is well below the modest 1.5 rating that NBC set as the bar to call the show a financial success. Mr. Leno, who dominated the ratings when he hosted ‘The Tonight Show,’ has struggled, especially in recent weeks as post-season baseball games have dotted many nights of the prime-time schedule.

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17 Responses to “Jay Leno: Epic Failing As Expected”

  1. jr says:
    November 11, 2009 at 12:09 pm

    Chuck’s season premiere gets delayed until March so the chin can have 5 hours a week of prime time real estate

  2. Indeed says:
    November 11, 2009 at 12:13 pm

    One can’t help but wonder if NBC gave the erstwhile funny Leno the show on purpose, knowing it would suck so, just so he’d be damaged goods and nobody else would give him a platform to challenge the still funny (and relatively young!) Conan.

  3. Crusty Dem says:
    November 11, 2009 at 12:31 pm

    I’ve gone from not watching to militantly not watching. Of course, it’s easy since I never watch NBC, save for DVR’ing 30 Rock. They’re rapidly becoming the first broadcast network to achieve cable ratings..

  4. Jef Wallace says:
    November 11, 2009 at 1:15 pm

    WHY does Leno suck so much ?

    I think it is because he is stuck in the NBC lineup because he is a Repugnican !!!!

    Repugnicans are not and are never funny ! (for instance, dennis miller )

    I mean they are just boneheaded and unfunny.

    Leno tries to alpha-male his way into being seen as funny or relevant. It’s PATHETIC !

    Jay Leno and that new stupid ass puppet show on comedy central are TOTALLY UNFUNNY.

    I love the idea of “militantly not watching Leno”.

    Before the switch, I ignored Leno. But this new show and slot FORCED me to give him a chance.

    OMG HE SUCKS SO BAD. Now I know what I was missing – AND I AM SO GRATEFUL I HAD HIM ON IGNORE ALL THESE YEARS – and I am ***actively offended*** that ***anyone*** should think this stupid show is FUNNY.

    The unfunniness of this show is so profound that it seems obvious to me that JAY LENO WAS ****NEVER**** FUNNY. Which stinks to me of conspiracy – who bothers putting up an UNFUNNY COMEDIAN FOR TWENTY YEARS ?! it would, of course, be a media company owned by the military industrial complex !

  5. kth says:
    November 11, 2009 at 2:10 pm

    Conan’s rating would be hurt more if Leno were head-to-head with him, on (say) ABC (though probably Leno’s viewers would be even more at Letterman’s expense). That could still happen, btw, if NBC decides to pull the plug on Leno’s prime-time show.

    I was always a Letterman guy rather than a Leno guy, but someone remind me: why are we hoping that Leno crashes and burns? I don’t watch TV much anymore, but surely Leno is preferable to whatever police porn he’s matched up with in his current time slot.

  6. Oliver Willis says:
    November 11, 2009 at 2:35 pm

    Because Leno is a bad comedian, and bad comedy should not be rewarded. As for police porn, I’m assuming you mean Law and Order: ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS EVER?

  7. isms says:
    November 11, 2009 at 2:56 pm

    “It’s better to burn out than it is to rust”

  8. kth says:
    November 11, 2009 at 2:58 pm

    Leno was a pretty fair comedian beforehand (oddly enough, when he was a frequent guest on Late Night with David Letterman). Much better than, say, Jerry Seinfeld. Obviously the Leno-era Tonight Show made a deliberate decision early on to leave the smart people to Letterman, and go after the rednecks plus Arsenio’s goombah audience. But Leno seems like a stand-up guy (pun unintended I swear, and IMO isn’t terrible enough even now to hope he flops.

    If it helps, try to imagine what NBC will replace him with (e.g., more Stone Phillips? Chris Hansen?)

    I like the L&O flagship (though probably jumped the shark shortly after Daniel Hill left), not as much the spinoffs, was mostly taking a swipe at those worthless, inexplicably-popular CSI shows.

  9. Wilfredo says:
    November 11, 2009 at 5:17 pm

    I know this is hyperbolic, but every time I watch NBC on prime time, I feel as though I’m under a martial law curfew.

  10. Oliver Willis says:
    November 11, 2009 at 6:33 pm

    I actually prefer SVU. Leno is well known for being a dick. He’s good to employees at comedy clubs, but he’s notorious for always looking for a way to stick a shiv in fellow comedians. For instance, the way he weaseled his way into the Tonight Show, then didn’t acknowledge Johnny on his first night.

  11. Jaim says:
    November 11, 2009 at 7:24 pm

    Dude has never, ever been funny.

  12. Something Polish says:
    November 11, 2009 at 8:19 pm

    You are obviously relatively young. There was a time when Jay Leno was funny. Really, there was. I’m totally cool with it if you don’t believe me, but it’s true. Back in the mid ’80s, when Leno was scheduled to be a guest on Letterman (usually on a Thursday–the last day of the week for Letterman), it was appointment TV. Good times. Since Leno’s watered down, lowest common denominator, fawning interviewing bullshit on the Tonight Show (rightfully Dave’s gig), he’s sucked big time.

    But Leno was once funny. Believe it or not.

  13. calling all toasters says:
    November 11, 2009 at 10:41 pm

    I think that must have been back when we were all too high to be discriminating about such things. “Charlie’s Angels” was funny then, too.

  14. Duros62 says:
    November 11, 2009 at 11:55 pm

    Vincent D’Onofrio rocks it, even though I don’t watch it much.

  15. Jamaicafest says:
    November 12, 2009 at 10:08 am

    NBC must now be wishing that they had kept Jay Leno at his old time slot. This move has backfired big time.

  16. Duros62 says:
    November 12, 2009 at 2:26 pm

    I saw a quote a week or so ago by Leno where he said if someone offered him his old slot, he’d take it.

    Hint, hint hint.

  17. The Ghost of Steve Allen says:
    November 12, 2009 at 5:17 pm

    I’m still not convinced Leno was ever funny, but he clearly sold out many years ago. Bill Hicks’ “Artistic Roll Call” routine is the definitive epitaph of Leno’s sad slide into overpaid mediocrity. It’s just as accurate now as when he wrote it more than a decade ago…

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfkvpcjNk7c