NBC confirms Leno is returning to late-night spot

From a story The Wall Street Journal just moved:

"Comedian Jay Leno (left) will return to his 11:35 p.m. timeslot on NBC and end his nightly 10 p.m. comedy-talk series, NBC Universal chairman of television entertainment Jeff Gaspin told reporters on Sunday. '[The Jay Leno Show] did not meet our affiliates' needs and we realized we needed to make a change,' Gaspin told reporters gathered at a Television Critics Association conference in Pasadena, Calif."

The story continues: "Gaspin said the network hopes to move Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show to 12:05 a.m. and Jimmy Fallon's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to 1:05 a.m. But those arrangements have not been confirmed and talks with the hosts and their management teams are ongoing, Gaspin said."

USA Today says: "NBC on Sunday confirmed plans to drop The Jay Leno Show from its prime-time lineup after his Feb. 11 show, and return him to late night on March 1, after the Winter Olympics, in a half-hour format."

Taking a less-conclusive lede, The New York Times is reporting: "The Jay Leno Show will exit prime time on Feb. 12, NBC confirmed on Sunday. But the network does not yet know what its future late-night lineup will look like."

Earlier: Why Leno's future matters to Gannett shareholders

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