Friday, January 15, 2010

Source: Conan getting $30 mil to leave NBC

Sharon Waxman of The Wrap is reporting that after "all-night negotiations" brokered by by Universal COO Ron Meyer, Conan O'Brien has agreed to leave NBC -- with a $30 million payday.

"NBC also wants a non-compete period in which Conan can't work for anyone else, period. Right now, the parties are looking at a time as early as September or as late as next January for O'Brien to be free," according to another article on The Wrap.

No word yet on the fate of the loyal staffers who followed O'Brien to California, but it is hoped that there will be a nice severance payment for them.

I thought I would be getting some inside dish on the matter this weekend, as Conan was scheduled to make an appearance at San Francisco Sketchfest on Sunday. The "Tribute to Conan O'Brien" had been announced months earlier, and since I hadn't heard anything from Sketchfest saying it was canceled, I figured it was on, and couldn't wait to go. Sadly, an email was sent to ticketholders today stating that "Due to the uncertainty surrounding the future of The Tonight Show, Conan O'Brien will have to postpone his appearance. Ticketholders are advised to keep their tickets and will be notified when the event has been rescheduled."

Who knows... maybe when Conan does finally make it up here, San Francisco will be the first to hear the details of his new show.

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