Is Jay Leno Funny?

[ig-88]

Another thing is, and this is purely my speculation:

It looks to me like Leno threatened NBC, and NBC caved in, and gave him what he wanted. And this was a huge deal; they completely re-arranged the 10 pm shows around Leno.

OK, so Leno "one-ups" NBC, and gets his gig. But the issue I see is that I don't think people are devoted to late night comedy as they are to a drama like ER or Heroes. I think most people just watch the late night shows once in awhile, have a few laughs, but to have so many is market saturation, imo.

I don't think the ratings are going to be there. Even if they aren't there, it's no skin off Leno's nose; I guess he'll probably just retire or do shows in Vegas or something.

 

[diehard]

The Ali G Show...

That's funny.

 

[Garrett]

It looks to me like Leno threatened NBC, and NBC caved in, and gave him what he wanted. And this was a huge deal; they completely re-arranged the 10 pm shows around Leno.

My understanding was, Leno had the number one late night show. The NBC execs pushed him off of the tonight show, and Leno scrambled to come up with an alternative format for himself. While late night ratings are not huge, the real idiots are the NBC execs who took the number one show and handed the ratings (and advertising dollars) to Letterman.

 

[LAS0023]

He's more amusing and likable than funny. However, considering how cheap the show is to produce, NBC is happy with his ratings.

 

[Questor]

My understanding was, Leno had the number one late night show. The NBC execs pushed him off of the tonight show, and Leno scrambled to come up with an alternative format for himself. While late night ratings are not huge, the real idiots are the NBC execs who took the number one show and handed the ratings (and advertising dollars) to Letterman.

Not entirely correct. Yes, Leno was beating Letterman in ratings. Currently, its not so clear cut.

September 28-October 2
ADULTS 18-49

11:35 p.m. ET
NBC “Tonight,” 1.1 rating, 5 share
CBS “Late Show,” 1.0/5

(Slight edge to Conan in this demographic. And I think advertisers are most interested in this demographic.)

TOTAL VIEWERS

11:35 p.m. ET
NBC “Tonight,” 2.7 million viewers
CBS “Late Show,” 4.4 million viewers

(Looks like Letterman is way more popular with older viewers.)

http://tvbythenumbers.com/category/ratings/late-night

 

[Big Rig]

Both he and Letterman engage in insult humor which is easy to do and

insulting

 

[Garrett]

(Looks like Letterman is way more popular with older viewers.)

That is a pretty dramatic shift. Thx for the clarification, it is interesting.