Conan: I Won't Do “Tonight” After Leno

Host says he "cannot participate" in the "destruction" of "Tonight Show" brand

Conan O'Brien declared Tuesday he won't follow Jay Leno's new 11:35 p.m. show, but stopped short of saying he was leaving NBC for good.

"Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35..." O'Brien said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.

"For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting," O'Brien said.

"The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn't the Tonight Show," O'Brien's statement added. "... I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction."

NBC declined to comment Tuesday afternoon.

The late-night comedian also said he had Jimmy Fallon in mind while turning down NBC's proposal, saying it would be "unfair to Jimmy" to knock his show -- O'Brien's former program -- out of its "long-held time slot."

O'Brien laid blame on the network for abandoning his version of the "Tonight Show" in its "infancy" and pulling the plug on his "Tonight" without the "benefit of some time" and "ratings support."

"Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both," O'Brien's statement read.

The talk-show host said he still hoped he and the network could come to some agreement which would allow him to keep doing the show.

"I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it," O'Brien said.

Beyond saying he hoped to work things out with NBC, O'Brien did not speculate on any possible options.

"There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next." O'Brien wrote. "My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work."

NBC canceled Jay Leno's prime-time show this weekend. Both comedians made light of the controversy during their talk-show monologues, joking about NBC's scheduling shuffle on-air

Like any true comedian, O'Brien ended his statement with a joke.

"Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it's always been that way," he wrote.

Read Conan's full statement here.

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