Conan says “no” to following Jay again

Conan O’Brien released a statement today rejecting a proposal to delay NBC’s “The Tonight Show” by a half-hour to make way for Jay Leno.

O’Brien said such a move would “seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting.“

Industry experts say Conan’s options, like going to Fox, are slim.

“It’s already been seen that Conan can’t beat Letterman. Now he’d be going against Leno and Letterman and Nightline, which tends to beat the talk shows every once in a while too,“ says TV Guide’s Craig Tomashoff.

The controversy came after NBC stations complained that low viewership for Leno’s primetime show was eroding the audience for late local news.

On Sunday, NBC chairman Jeff Gaspin announced they were pulling the plug on Leno in primetime, just four months after it went on the air.

“It’s more of a mistake not to make change if necessary and stick with what you’ve decided just for the sake of sticking with it,“ says Gaspin.

O’Brien took over “The Tonight Show” from Jay Leno in June, but says he was never given a chance to succeed…leaving its host and the network wondering what’s next.