Nikki Finke: Conan O'Brien To Pay Staff

EXCLUSIVE: Conan O'Brien To Pay Staff
November 29, 2007, 10:54 AM


I just learned that Conan O'Brien has made arrangements to pay his staff who will be laid off by NBC as of Friday. About 80 production people -- like talent bookers, producers, production assistants -- will be taken care of by the Late Night host who is supposed to move to The Tonight Show in 2009. Sources tell me this is on a week-to-week basis for the moment until or if Conan, who's a WGA member and got his start as a comedy writer, goes back to work. Obviously, NBC is dying for him to return to the air because its late night ratings for the repeats have tanked. None of the late night shows have been in production during the entire November sweeps and the networks have to give sponsors free spots or “give backs” at a cost of millions.

I'll say this: it's a great PR move by O'Brien as well as an incredibly nice thing to do. After all, he's the least paid of the Big Three (including Letterman and Leno), and unlike Dave's Worldwide Pants, which is generously paying its employees through at least the end of the year, Conan's company Conaco doesn't own Late Night. NBC does.


Posted by Nikki Finke.
Read the rest of the article here.
With courtesy, re-posted from the Deadline Hollywood Daily.