Big Picture
Michele Williams: Paris Pretty Plus, Victoria Beckham struts and Courteney Cox steals a smooch. Get the latest pics!
MORE PHOTOS +Most Commented
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: Vote in the Final Round! (2036)
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: This Round Is Closed, Please Stand By (698)
- Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart Photos Galore! New Pics From Their Post-Twilight Flicks! (603)
- Afternoon Mail! Are Gleeks Having More Sex Than Vamps? (586)
- TV's Top Couple Tournament: And the Winner Is... (503)
- Beyoncé and Jay-Z Share First Photos of Baby Blue Ivy! (398)
- Whitney Houston Dead at 48 (396)
- Life After Breaking Dawn?! Maybe, Says Studio Head! (226)
- Morning Mail! Céline Dion Talks Whitney Houston's Tragic Death (222)
- Blind Vice! Nevis Divine's Sad Past (214)
Top 10 Stories
- Real Housewives' Michaele Salahi & Journey's Neal Schon: Tareq Salahi Is the One Tormenting Us!
- Angelina Jolie Tears Up—Watch Her Get Emotional
- Josh Duhamel Not Coming Back for Transformers 4: Is Anyone?!
- Spoiler Chat Daily: A New Girl Baby on the Way?! Plus, Scoop on Vampire Diaries, Glee and More
- Jersey Shore Sneak Peek: Pauly D Pulls a Fast (and Dirty) One on Deena
- American Idol: Did Tent Girl Get Better? Who Passed Out Onstage? And Who's Headed to Vegas?!
- Survivor: One World Insider: Chivalry Is Dead, Y'All
- Seal Takes Off His Wedding Ring
- Kim Kardashian, Movie Star? It's "Very Much Possible," Says Tyler Perry
- Charlie Sheen Gets Cease-and-Desist From Warner Bros.: Don't Use Our Men Photos!
Fashion Police
Leighton's Valentine's Look Plus, Ashlee Simpson and Cate Blanchett. Rate the highs and lows!
MORE PHOTOS +
Our Partners
NBC's Letterman Gambit
According to a New York Times report, not only did ABC try to woo David Letterman away from CBS, which played kissy-kissy to keep him, but the suits at NBC also tried to seduce the iconoclastic late-night host to jump back into their embrace--and out of late night into prime-time.
Last July, the Peacock made a serious approach to bring Letterman back to the network he had left in 1993 after losing out to Jay Leno as successor to Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, according to the Times.
But Jeff Zucker, the go-getting president of NBC, wasn't thinking of ousting Leno from his late night gig. Rather he was hoping Letterman might occupy a major slice of prime-time hour: every night of the week from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. except Thursdays when top-rated Friends airs.
"Dave had a good laugh over it," says Rob Burnett, head of Letterman's Worldwide Pants, which also produces such shows as NBC's Ed and CBS' Everybody Loves Raymond.
Burnett tells the Times that his boss has always resisted the notion of appearing in prime-time. (Letterman didn't even allow CBS to honor his 20th late-night anniversary with one of those cheesy prime-time specials.) So, representing Dave, Burnett had teasingly suggested to Zucker that instead he might want to shift Leno to 8 p.m. and give Letterman the Tonight show slot.
The Burnett-Zucker chat last summer was not an official negotiation; under terms of his CBS contract Letterman was not free to negotiate any new deals until early this year--when, after considerable brouhaha, he ducked ABC's clumsy wooing and again tied the knot with the Eye network.
"But we could listen," said Burnett, who later "chatted briefly" to Letterman about Zucker's idea, which would have meant a bigger paycheck for Dave, who was reportedly offered $35.1 million a year to stay with CBS.
"It was a very smart idea" says Burnett, who figures Zucker saw an opportunity to stabilize a rocky time slot at the network without having to spend even more millions on sitcoms or an hour drama while also potentially boosting ratings for Leno by eliminating his late-night rival.
Zucker, recently handed even more power at NBC, declined comment Monday on the Times report.
0 Comments
Now loading...