NBC's Leno fiasco just a blip for KSL

PASADENA, CALIF. — All the turmoil over NBC's Jay Leno-Conan O'Brien folly hasn't affected KSL-Ch. 5 as much as some stations.

And there's the possibility that it might end up hurting all of NBC's affiliates again.

NBC Entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin made it clear to critics that he's yanking Leno's prime-time show because of the threat of a revolt among affiliates. The weak lead-in provided by Leno cost some stations a quarter of their late-news viewers; some fell from first to third place in the ratings.

That wasn't the case in Utah, where KSL remained No. 1 during the November sweeps. It did hurt a bit — KSL was down about 5,000 homes from November 2008. But Ch. 5 had the highest ratings of any NBC station and improved on Leno's lead-in by an incredible 160 percent (from a 4.1 rating to a 10.7).

Con Psarras, KSL's vice president for news, expressed appreciation for the "appointment viewers" that "indemnify us a bit from the whims of prime-time programming."

"We have to just sink or swim on our own and make sure our product is as good as it is. And if we do that, the lead-in audience is important but not critical," Psarras said.

"If we were getting a 9 rating at 9 o'clock, what would we get at 10? I'd love to find out."

Although the albatross of "The Jay Leno Show" is being lifted from the 9 p.m. time slot, there's no indication of exactly what NBC will air as the late-news lead-in, or how well it will do.

It does, however, solve one problem for KSL. Although Leno was originally seen as a "clean" comedian, he clearly demonstrated that there was nothing he couldn't turn into a dirty joke. That same act played at 9 p.m. over the past few months.

"The content of Jay's show turned out to be better suited for late-night viewing when fewer children are in the audience," said KSL president and CEO Bob Johnson. "KSL is sensitive that it air programming consistent with the prevailing community standards in Salt Lake City and with the values of its ownership. Jay Leno at 9 p.m. was highly problematic in that respect."

O'Brien's resignation from NBC poses another problem. While he's not officially headed for Fox (as of this writing), that scenario appears likely. An O'Brien show would probably air from 10-11 p.m. in Utah, putting it in direct competition with the late local newscasts.

Even a moderately successful O'Brien show on Fox would take ratings — and revenue — away from KSL. Which would be the unintended consequence of driving O'Brien away from NBC.