Conan O’Brien: In a Holding Pattern

Believe it or not, despite “scoops” everywhere, nothing has happened on the Conan O’Brien front.

No offers have been presented in writing, and Conan’s staff still has no info on their severance packages.

You’d think by now this deal would be done. But nothing at NBC is simple, least of all this.

So what next? O’Brien has Quentin Tarantino and Spoon on his show tonight. He has three more shows to go. On Friday, he’ll wrap it up. By then maybe the staff will know where they’re going to live, or how they’re going to pay their bills.

I have to laugh when I see stories about NBC preventing Conan from being on the air again before September. If he goes to Fox, they wouldn’t be able to accommodate him before that anyway. Not only do they have to create a studio and staff, but Fox also has to clear the time with their stations. Right now, the Fox network goes off the air at 10 p.m. Local stations then have news and syndicated programming, reruns, etc. This change isn’t accomplished overnight.

And still the big stumbling block to settling Conan’s deal may be the “offset.” This would be NBC trying to weasel out of paying Conan the money he’s due by deducting his future earnings. Why they just don’t cut bait and move on is’a mystery. This is the worst PR any network has ever received. And Jay Leno’s speech last night didn’t help, observers say.