Will Jay Ever Catch a Break?

As if there hasn’t been enough negative press about NBC’s decision to eliminate five hours a week of scripted programming to make room for a new show for Jay Leno…

WHDH in Boston—Leno’s hometown—has said it will not air the show in the fall. Instead, it plans to air a local newscast out of concern that the Leno show will hurt the ratings of its 11 o’clock newscast (which it will run as well).

But NBC says that if WHDH persists with its plans it will be in violation of its affiliate contract. NBC’s TV President John Eck told a number of publications that if necessary it will strip WHDH of its NBC affiliation and go with other options in Boston.

This is going to get ugly…

I totally understand WHDH’s concerns about the new Leno show hurting the ratings of their nightly newscast, but could it really do that much worse than what NBC is airing now? And do they really think that a newscast is going to do that much better? And isn’t airing a 10 p.m. newscast going to hurt the 11 p.m. newscast even more?

And is all of this really worth the cost of their NBC affiliation?

Plus, how can WHDH not show a little more love to one of Beantown’s own? Jay does the right thing for his staff and the network that doesn’t deserve such loyalty and he still gets slammed.

It’s just wrong, isn’t it?...

Photo Credit: NBC