Conan O'Brien To Get $40 Million To Take A Hike

Reports have surfaced that indicate NBC will pay Conan O'Brien $40 million to walk away from his job hosting "The Tonight Show." This is the latest development in what has become an embarrassing saga for NBC, Conan O'Brien, and Jay Leno.

The network had tried to move O'Brien's time slot back a half an hour to 11:35 p.m. Eastern. In 2004, NBC promised Conan the "Tonight Show" position in 5 years in order to retain the comedian. To make room for Conan, NBC moved Jay Leno into the 10:00 p.m. slot. Leno's show, however, did not garner a large viewership at the new time, which led the network to try to make the change and return Leno to the post he has held for 17 years. Conan balked at being pushed out of the job he was promised by NBC executives after only 4 months. Mr. O'Brien's payout includes a clause which will bar him from bashing his former bosses, but will allow him to seek another television job after a year.