On Wed, Jan 13, 2010 at 4:07 AM, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > I found a story (I guess it was from the Hollywood Reporter) that gets at > the legal issues I have been referring to, and that I think are implicit in > Coco's statement. Watching tonight's episode, I note again that Conan did > not actually say that he was quitting the show: > > http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100113/tv_nm/us_obrien_legal > > If there isn't any time-slot language in his deal, O'Brien's refusal to take > the 12:05 slot would put him in breach if he doesn't do his show, presumably > allowing NBC to void his deal without paying him off. > <snip> > > If the breach-of-contract claim ever got to court, perhaps O'Brien could > argue that specifying a time slot was not necessary because "The Tonight > Show" has aired in essentially the same time period for decades. O'Brien > already suggested in his missive Tuesday that moving "Tonight" essentially > makes it a different program; in other words, he's saying the essence of > "The Tonight Show" is that it follows the local news. NBC would ask where in > his deal language it says that, but the history of the show is on O'Brien's > side on that issue.
Breach of contract is relevant only if this ends up in court. Neither side wants that so it would take a meltdown of negotiations to force the issue there and result in PR devastation for both Conan and NBC. The current contract has failed both sides and both sides will either negotiate a new contract to keep Conan at 12:05 (probably with a lot more money and a rock solid date for succession) or they will negotiate Conan's exit from NBC. The clauses in the current contract that need a court to enforce, like non-compete, will be dealt with in these negotiations. Tom
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