Conan O’Brien has been known around the world as an American talk show host notably known for hosting The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. Being a comedian, O’Brien’s journey wasn’t easy at all to reach where he is at the moment.
Talking about the struggles in cable networks and rejecting a $28 million deal from Fox Network to stick with NBC, Conan O’Brien talked about how he was fixated on The Tonight Show which he gradually overtook and became its host!
Conan O’Brien Rejected Fox’s $28 Million Deal!
With decades of experience in hosting shows and comedy, Conan O’Brien found the golden opportunity to host The Tonight Show in 2009. Replacing Jay Leno as the host, O’Brien couldn’t have been happier.
In an interview with Howard Stern on The Howard Stern Show, O’Brien revealed that he had been offered $28 million by Fox Network to join them as a host but he did not want to leave the NBC network and refused the money to stay loyal and true to his work!
“I was on your TV show in 2006 and they had just announced that you were going to be The Tonight Show replacement for Jay [Leno] when Jay retired and was many years off. And I turned to you on your show and I was half being funny but also I said ‘It’s going to go horribly wrong'”, said Howard Stern.
He further continued,
“When your time comes, Jay will f*cking not let you have that show and the audience was going wild and they were laughing. Fox TV came to you and said ‘We’re going to give you $20 something crazy…$28 million to jump over to Fox’. You had such a fixation for The Tonight Show you said ‘I’ll f*ck the $28 million, f*ck you Fox, I’ll stay with NBC'”
Conan O’Brien went on to explain that he had already been attached to NBC for the past 16 years before he hosted The Tonight Show. Talking about how he worships his work alongside his family, O’Brien revealed that he did not want to lose that attachment and not leave NBC on any bad terms.
Conan O’Brien Was Betrayed By His Own Network
Well, O’Brien did say not to talk about show business to people since it feels like whining. After his takeover as the talk show host of The Tonight Show, there were some conflicts between Jay Leno’s prime time slot and O’Brien’s show.
Being disappointed with NBC’s poor planning strategy, O’Brien issued a public statement taking digs at NBC and Jay Leno. With dropping viewership and the conflicts rising, NBC finally kicked out Conan O’Brien from The Tonight Show and he was forced to make his own way.
