MediaBuyerPlanner: Jon Stewart is reportedly being courted by NBC. According to a network source, NBCU’s president/chief executive Jeff Zucker and NBC Entertainment’s new co-chair, Marc Graboff, recently wined and dined the Comedy Central star and his agent, writes Broadcasting & Cable.
No specific role was pitched during the meeting, but the NBC honchos made it clear that they would like to find a way to do business together if Stewart was ever available.
The article points out that NBC’s late night is in flux in the wake of the announcement that Conan O’Brien will replace Jay Leno on The Tonight Show in 2009. Leno is bringing in big bucks for the network at the moment, and it is possible that NBC may decide to keep Leno and give O’Brien a reported $40 million payout. If that happens, NBC is likely to lose O’Brien, which would leave the network with a hole to fill at 12:30 a.m. NBC is therefore actively planning a solution to fill that slot. Representatives of Stewart, NBCU and Comedy Central declined to comment.
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