Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Channel 7 Caves On Leno

Related: Channel 7 Turns Off the Tonight Show

"Leno will air at 10 on WHDH-TV; Channel 7 backs down from plan to defy network scheduling" by Johnny Diaz, Globe Staff | April 14, 2009

After a week of discussions with NBC, WHDH-TV (Channel 7) officials said that Jay Leno's new show is a go this fall in the coveted time slot in which WHDH had planned to run its early newscast.

"Upon further consideration, we have decided to telecast Jay Leno at 10 p.m. starting in September," said Ed Ansin, owner of WHDH and WLVI-TV (Channel 56), 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."

John Eck, president of the NBC TV Network, said: "We are very pleased that WHDH will carry Jay Leno's new prime-time comedy show at 10 p.m. this fall on NBC. 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."

Ansin's decision two weeks ago to not air Leno's new show made head lines across the country and in the TV industry as WHDH and NBC became mired in a public dispute. WHDH was the only NBC affiliate in the country refusing to air Leno's show at 10 p.m....

--more--"