So now we have this report that Howard Stern "may" take over Jimmy Fallon's time slot if indeed Fallon gets Leno's. Who says Stern is being "groomed" for it? Insofar as I can tell, it's one representative of Howard Stern and no one else. The oddest thing about all these rumors — Leno out, Fallon up, Stern in — is how thinly-sourced they are. The initial report in Hollywood Reporter still seems to be the only report that even claims to be coming from inside and even it leaves much to be desired. Here are the first and last paragraphs from it…
Is NBC preparing to announce Jay Leno's departure from The Tonight Show? The network says categorically no, but two high-level industry sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that NBC is moving toward a May announcement that the 2013-14 television season will be the last for Leno as host of the long-running late-night show. Sources expect the network to move Jimmy Fallon from his Late Night spot into the coveted 11:35 p.m. time slot with a soft launch during the summer of 2014 before a formal fall kickoff.
A Leno rep says, "We do not speculate on rumor." Whether the network finally executes the Tonight transition plan remains to be seen. Anyone with even a passing sense of Leno's personality knows that the hardworking comic would be reluctant to leave his perch, especially before his rival at CBS, David Letterman, announces his retirement. Leno and Letterman are both signed through 2014.
Based on that, a lot of websites and news outlets have concluded that Leno's been axed and that Fallon's getting his job. And now, some are acting like Howard Stern's been signed for 12:35 even though there's no report that anyone on the NBC payroll has even considered that. (Same with reports that Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are going to take over one show or the other.)
Everyone on Leno's Tonight Show, by the way, is currently signed through September of 2014. I frankly don't understand that line about "…a soft launch during the summer of 2014 before a formal fall kickoff." Does that mean they're saying Fallon will take over in June or July but they won't really consider him as being in the job until Fall? When in the history of network television has that ever happened?
There's so much about this story that doesn't make sense including the fact that we haven't had a Bill Carter article in The New York Times saying that Leno is definitely out or in. I'd suggest no one believe anything about this until we have that…or an announcement on NBC stationery.