My old pal Don Markstein writes, referring to the O'Brien/Leno tango…
Nowhere, in all this blather, do I see any mention of honorability and decent behavior. Maybe those terms just don't apply to the TV business. But the only reason the network (NBC, right?) is able to get out of its contracts simply by throwing money at the situation is because their contracts are designed not to include any real commitments.
Bottom line: smart or stupid, the network had a commitment that still had years to run. They weaseled out of it, and nobody seems interested in the fact that honorable, decent people live with their commitments even if it costs them. I'm tellin' ya, this business sure isn't making me want to stay up late.
As uncomfy as I am defending a network, I don't think that's the proper way to view this. All such contracts operate on the same presumption of continuance that all marriages have when the couple says "'til death do us part." The couple knows that divorce will always be an option and may even have a pre-nuptial arrangement to cover that contingency…but they still say "'til death do us part." In the business deal, there's a financial commitment that may even be as explicit as a pre-nup in covering who gets what in case of separation. But I'm sure the lawyers and managers for the parties involved in the NBC mess all expected buy-outs and settlements were possible and planned accordingly.
A contract is not a sacred decree which neither side can modify. It's an agreement to do business under certain terms and either party can propose modification at any time. I doubt Conan O'Brien had a clause that committed NBC to airing The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien at 11:35 for X years even if the ratings were abominable. I doubt anyone has ever had a deal like that, and certainly not when they were occupying such a choice piece of real estate. I'm sure Conan and his crew feel that they should have been given more time than they were. I doubt they expected to be on the air every day of the contractual term if the show underperformed.