No deal between Fox and O'Brien

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 No deal between Fox and O'Brien
NEW YORK (UPI) -- Fox affiliates Chairman Brian Brady told Broadcasting & Cable he is not aware of any deal that would give Conan O'Brien his own U.S. talk show on Fox.

NBC booted Jay Leno as host of "The Tonight Show" at the end of last season and gave the position to O'Brien -- then the host of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" -- to keep O'Brien from moving to another network. NBC then offered Leno a nightly, hourlong 10 p.m. series.

But when the prime time "Jay Leno Show" failed to be a strong lead-in for local news broadcasts, NBC announced it would push Leno's show back to 11:35 p.m., shorten it to 30 minutes and air "Tonight" at 12:05 a.m. However, O'Brien said he would not remain on "Tonight" if it was bumped to 12:05 a.m. and left the network, paving the way for Leno's return last week as "Tonight" host in the traditional 11:35 p.m. slot. One of the stipulations in O'Brien's exit contract with NBC was that he not star in another television show until next fall. Reports have been circulating that Fox is close to inking a deal with O'Brien to star in his own late-night show on the network.

"To the best of my knowledge, no pressure has been asserted on any Fox affiliates (by the network)," Brady told Broadcasting & Cable. "There's nothing definitive on Conan right now. If Fox decides to do something, they'll weigh in with (the board.)"

The trade publication said Fox affiliates are divided about O'Brien joining the late-night slate since the affiliates already air syndicated programming or local news, both of which are seen as more lucrative to the station than a network show.

"Conan doesn't seem to be on the front burner," Brady said. "If it was, I'd be hearing about it."



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