From Ain't It Cool News


NBC Boston Affiliate To
JAY LENO SHOW: No Thanks!!

I am - Hercules!!


WHDH-TV, the NBC affiliate in Jay Leno's hometown in Boston, says it's not interested in airing the comedian's upcoming five-nights-a-week primetime series at 10 p.m.

The station wants to launch a 10 p.m. newcast instead, but its contract with NBC would seem to prohibit such a move.

"We don't think the Leno show is going to be effective in primetime," WHDH owner Ed Ansin tells Variety. "It will be detrimental to our 11 o'clock (newscast). It will be very adverse to our finances."

Antin's request to move "The Jay Leno Show," premiering this fall, to 11 p.m. was rejected, and now there's talk of converting Boston's Telemundo station (a UHF station owned by NBC Universal) into an NBC affiliate.

From Friday morning's Variety:

"WHDH's move is a flagrant violation of the terms of their contract with NBC," John Eck, NBC TV Network president, said in a statement. "If they persist, we will strip WHDH of its NBC affiliation. We have a number of other strong options in the Boston market, including using our existing broadcast license to launch an NBC-owned and operated station."