Monday, March 4, 2002
Reshuffling late night and Nightline - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER -- When there are possible defections and rumblings in broadcasting and show business, there are usually rumours here and there, and usually a good amount of warning. Take Connie Chung’s leaving CBS a few years ago, and her most recent switch from ABC to CNN, to replace Greta Van Sustren, who left for Fox’s News Channel. Well, on Friday, there was a report in the New York Times that David Letterman was in negotiations to take his services from CBS and move them over to ABC. The late night talk show host has been at CBS since his acrimonious departure from NBC in 1993 when the Tonight Show was given to Jay Leno and not him. After some 12 years languishing and making his name in the 12:30 time slot after Johnny Carson, it was logical he’d make the move to 11:30. Alas, NBC had Leno in mind and rather than follow him, Letterman decided to take him on from a self-created late night show on CBS. CBS was never a player in late night. They tried Pat Sajack in 1990 and that failed, so Letterman made CBS a real player. He created his Late Show and the subsequent Late Late Show with Tom Snyder. (Craig Kilborn now hosts.)
With NBC ruling late night with comedy and talk, and CBS starting out, ABC stuck with Ted Koppel and his news show Nightline. Created in the hub of American’s being taken hostage in Iran, Nightline is truly a landmark in news and judged as a prestigious program, much like 60 Minutes and PBS’ Frontline. So the story, rather than the focus on Letterman (which in itself is a huge story) was on Koppel. The demise of Nightline may be speculation or a trial balloon by network execs, but the possibility of Nightline leaving the late night arena raised much debate Friday. I tuned into the coverage on CNN both on the Lou Dobbs Moneyline and Newsnight with Aaron Brown, and there was much questioning of ABC’s motives. There was an analyst from Brill’s Content who said that this was a real loss for journalism and that ABC had, get this, an obligation to keep news on the air in late night!
Seems that ABC’s bosses, Disney, are disappointed in the lackluster fading of Regis Philbin’s Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, and the fact that they’re practically the third network behind NBC and CBS. Though Nightline is a profitable show for the network, getting an entertainment show like Letterman, would be ideal as that would be much more profitable. And it doesn’t help too that Dave Letterman is unhappy with CBS’ demographics. See, in the biz it’s best to get the 18-35 year olds watching television, as they have the tendency to spend more. CBS’ demographic is rooted in the 49+ range, folks who are still pissed off at the gutting of Murder, She Wrote. CBS has Survivor, but reality television rubs people like Letterman, who have spent their lives working in the creative part of the business, wrong.
The interesting part of this story is that it begs the question of the viability of late night talk shows now. When Johnny Carson retired 10 years ago there were a ton of comics ready to take over. Leno and Letterman were the front-runners to take over, but there was also Garry Shandling. Shandling, when finally passed over by the main networks, went to HBO to star in The Larry Sanders Show, a biting sitcom that skewered the late night talk business. Then there was also Dennis Miller, who’d just come off Saturday Night Live; as well as Arsenio Hall who had his own show and was drawing in young and hip audiences. Today, with the proliferation of shows -- The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart -- it’s hard to think of who is a natural to take over should Leno or Letterman disappear. What would happen if Letterman left? What would CBS do with it’s time slot? Would Craig Kilborn move from 12:30, or will they do away with late night talk block altogether? (Kilborn’s show is controlled by Letterman’s production company, Worldwide Pants.) Mind you, CBS hasn’t had any comment yet!
With Nightline’s fate being discussed it’s interesting too, to note Bill Maher’s future. His Politically Incorrect program is companion to Nightline whilst Leno and Letterman are on. It’s not really a comedy show, but it’s a more laid back and truly ‘politically incorrect’ forum post-Nightline. Maher’s contract is up soon and ABC has been hesitant in re-signing him, especially in the wake of the controversy that’s embroiled him post-September 11th. His own head was on the line then, what now?
David Letterman is by far the best late night comedian in the business, now that Carson is out of the game. He’s funnier than Jay Leno and more widely respected in the business. The Leno show’s quality has dipped in years, though his ratings seem to increase. Should Letterman go to ABC, I don’t suspect he could overtake Leno in the ratings department, but because he’s practically guaranteed revenue, ABC would settle for 2nd place. CBS should stick with Dave, but then again NBC should have given him the Tonight Show a decade ago.
Now that I think of it, the Nightline spin on this story is correct. I reject that guy from Brill’s Content or the other guy from the Washington Post who said that ABC has an ‘obligation’ as it uses the public airwaves, to keep Nightline on. I recognise Nightline is a grand news institution, and that there is a certain prestige to it unlike any other show. However ABC shouldn’t be required to keep it on the air because it gets a licence from the FCC. Whatever the case, ABC should act wisely. Losing a real news pro like Ted Koppel isn’t advised.
Ted Koppel and Dave Letterman have been friends for years. When the former appeared on the Letterman show just as Dave was planning to leave NBC, Koppel implored: “Please come over to ABC when your contract runs out!” And do note that at the time ABC’s exec Robert Iger said he would be willing to have Dave follow Nightline at midnight, as it was fully “committed” to Ted Koppel; and Letterman would not want to do that. How things change in a decade, eh?
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