Rep Confirms: Conan Signs $32m Deal To Leave NBC
January 21st, 2010
Conan O’Brien has signed a deal to exit NBC and give up his hosting gig at The Tonight Show, confirms Allison Gollust, a spokeswoman for network-parent NBC Universal Inc.
The deal will be officially announced today, Gollust said.
O’Brien, 46, is leaving after just seven months in this host’s chair, and after 16 years with the network. He took over from Jay Leno in July 2009, and Leno then began hosting a 10pm talk show in September.
The agreement reportedly includes a payout of up to US$32 million for O’Brien, and a further US$12 million for his employees, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The settlement frees O’Brien to go elsewhere, while Leno will return to host The Tonight Show.
Negotiations for O’Brien’s exit are said to have been held up over his demands that his staff are looked after.
“In the end, Conan was appreciative of the steps NBC made to take care of his staff and crew and decided to supplement the severance they were getting out of his own pocket,” his rep Gavin Polone told TheWrap.
“Now he just wants to get back on the air as quickly as possible.”
A network representative said in an e-mailed statement, “It was Conan’s decision to leave NBC that resulted in nearly 200 of his staffers being out of work. We have already agreed to pay millions of dollars to compensate every one of them.”
