Conan: Is Fox pressing affiliates to clear the 11 PM time slot?

TMZ.com is reporting that the Fox network is "applying pressure" on affiliates to put Conan O'Brien on the air between 11 and midnight, an hour when most of them are showing lucrative sitcom reruns.

"It's the clearest sign so far that Conan is going to Fox," writes TMZ. "Our sources say Fox execs and Conan's reps have been 'seriously talking,' though no deal has been made... And we've learned execs at several major Fox affiliates are saying a deal is 'imminent.'"

Hopefully, the Fox affils will be happier than NBC stations were when the 10 PM Jay Leno show was announced last year. Boston's WHDH famously declared that it would not run Leno in prime time, until NBC threatened to strip its network affiliation and the station capitulated.

TheWrap.com has reported that syndicators have also been courting Conan, although "O'Brien seems to have his heart set on trying to stay in the late-night network TV game." In any event, it looks like Conan will have a few options to choose from after he's done with his tour.