Ebersol takes up for Leno, calls Conan "an astounding failure"

Just to show that not everyone is in Conan's corner, Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports and a major player in the network's late night development, took up for Jay Leno in a revealing interview with the New York Times.

While it's been rumored that NBC's embattled CEO Jeff Zucker is trying to play hardball with Conan by keeping him off the air for the duration of his contract (a little over three years), the rest of the crusty executives club has been pretty silent at the network. Until now.

Ebersol did his best Jack Donaghy impression by protecting the peacock brand as he promptly rolled Conan under a giant bus with a "Biggest Loser" logo emblazoned on it.

Referring to Conan's on-air jabs at Leno, Ebersol called the lame-duck "Tonight Show" host “chicken-hearted and gutless to blame a guy you couldn’t beat in the ratings." He added that “what this is really all about is an astounding failure by Conan" and that while he likes Conan personally, "he was just stubborn about not being willing to broaden the appeal of his show.”

So basically, because Conan isn't dumbing down his comedy for a "broader" audience, he's a complete and utter failure after seven months on the air. Either that, or he had the audacity to turn down comedy advice from a guy who probably kills with his Dick Cheney impression at country club dinners.

I mean, how awesome is it to have the super-hilarious Dick Ebersol note you to death when you've just started a job? How could you not turn into a yes man like Jay Leno, Conan? How?

Nicely played, NBC execs. You all just admitted that you never watched "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." May Triumph poop all over your network from here to the end of time.

-- Thomas Rozwadowski, trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.com