BOSTON: WHDH-TV, the NBC affiliate owned by Sunbeam Television of Miami, has decided to run Jay Leno’s new show during prime time. NBC announced a plan in recent weeks to make Jay a regular weekday feature at 10 p.m., beginning this fall. WHDH said two weeks ago it would push the new Jay to 11 p.m. and instead run local news. The station has now reversed course, The Boston Globereports.
“Upon further consideration, we have decided to telecast Jay Leno at 10 p.m. starting in September,” Ed Ansin, owner of Sunbeam, told the Globe in a statement. “Jay is from Andover, where I went to school. I enjoy his humor. We hope the new show is a big success.”
NBC decided move Leno from late night to the 10 p.m. weekly time slot to save money. The network finished the most recent prime-time broadcast season No. 4 behind CBS, Fox and ABC in total viewers. Leno’s 10 p.m. debut is set to launch in September.
WHDH’s decision to push the program later fired up the chief of NBC, John Eck, who called it a “flagrant violation” of the affiliate’s contract terms. He went so far as to say that NBC would consider moving its affiliate to another station, or even buy on in the market. Eck was more amelioratory after WHDH’s got with the program.
“We are very pleased that WHDH will carry Jay Leno’s new prime-time comedy show at 10 p.m. this fall on NBC,” Eck told the Globe. “We look forward to working closely with the station on a successful launch in Boston of this show, featuring one of the most bankable stars in the business.”
