The Infinite Dial

You can debate who was the better host: Johnny Carson or Jay Leno. You can discuss who had the funniest monologue, or the best skits. You can compare Jimmy Fallon to Jimmy Kimmel. But regardless of what late night show you prefer, they all share pretty common ground: a sidekick band leader, high caliber Hollywood celebrities and a musical guest. But all that could be changing with the new Jay Leno show leading the charge.

According to NBC, when the new Jay Leno show debuts on September 14th, the nightly musical guest will be history. The network has done their research and cites that people want comedy, not music. By Leno's own admission, the musical guest will always get a great studio audience, but not necessarily a good television audience. Since they are already taking a risk in a primetime slot at 10:00 pm, Leno and NBC have decided to mitigate that risk and upping the comedy content of the program at the expense of music.

While the musical guest won't be a nightly fixture any more, it will still be a part of the show, only downgraded to a couple of times per week. And it won't necessarily always be at the end of the show, either, which is also a change from the late night norm.

Is this programming change yet another reflection of the ripple effect of new media on music? Leno himself seems to think so, noting recently that "It's just that fact that, when I was a kid, the only place you saw the Beatles was The Ed Sullivan Show. That was the only place you ever saw them. Now, you can see any music group you want, any time."

While there is truth to his statement, I don't agree that viewers wouldn't enjoy seeing their favorite band perform on the show, or even a good new band, for that matter. I'm sure the musical guests aren't regularly driving viewers to tune in, but who is to say that they wouldn't if the performer was a big enough name? With enough "plugging" it could happen. It's no different than NBC stable-mate Saturday Night Live, which continues to feature musical guests very prominently.

Furthermore, just because you can see your favorite artist perform online anytime, doesn't mean you actually do. Isn't that a bit like a fast food restaurant saying "you can get a burger anywhere, so why put it on the menu?"

Finally, let's not lose sight of the fact that the earlier time slot opens up the door to a whole new audience whose bedtime is more 11:00 pm than 12:30 am. If I'm watching the 9:00 pm drama on NBC and I see the teaser for the Leno show that is immediately following, I'm likely to stay tuned for a good guest lineup--musical or not. Before the time slot change, there was no way I was making it until the end of that show.

It seems that the Leno camp is underestimating what a musical guest can bring to the late night table, and that's a shame. They are putting all their eggs (and ratings) in one comedy basket. I hope the musical guests (both established and new talent), continue to live on in late night, and that this doesn't become a new trend.