Fail, NBC

You would think that being a TV network executive would require a certain amount of intelligence. Well, maybe not at NBC. In fact, it would seem that at NBC, your job relies heavily on making stupid decisions rather than smart ones. Exhibit A: the Jay Leno/Conan O'Brien fiasco.

What NBC should have realized before they tried to get cute with their late night lineup was this: by moving Leno to 10, having Conan at 11:35, then Jimmy Fallon at 12:35, NBC is essentially putting on the exact same show format for three hours. Think about it: how many people are really going to sit through Leno at 10, then watch their local news for a half hour, then watch the entire Conan show at 11:35, then stick around for another hour of Fallon? That doesn't sound like smart TV scheduling to me. But, hey, what do I know, right? I'm just a TV viewer, not a wise executive.

I've been a huge fan of Conan for years and it's tough to see someone who so genuinely loves what he does be pushed out for not really doing anything wrong. On the other side, while I'm not really a big Leno guy (I just don't get why people think he's funny), I don't really blame him for this, either. He was essentially forced out by NBC last year, then when he thought about going to another network, NBC freaked out because it brought back bad memories of when David Letterman left for CBS, so they gave Leno a new show which was essentially his old show but at 10 p.m. instead. But now, ironically, in their attempts to keep Leno from defecting, it now looks like Conan is the one heading to another network. Well played, NBC. Well played.

Anyway, we'll all have to just wait and see how this whole thing plays out. And in case you haven't yet read it, here's Conan's statement on why he intends to leave NBC.

I'm with Coco.