O'Brien may find door open at Fox if he bolts NBC
If "Tonight Show" host Conan O'Brien decides to leave NBC over its proposed late-night lineup revamp, he might find a warm welcome waiting for him at Fox.
Fox respects O'Brien's talent and sees him as a good fit, a person at the network said Friday. The person, who lacked authority to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Fox was watching to see how the situation played out but that O'Brien remained under contract with NBC.
Faced with poor ratings for both "The Jay Leno Show" and O'Brien's show, the network is said to be considering returning Leno to his 11:35 p.m. EST slot and moving "Tonight" to midnight.
Representatives for O'Brien did not immediately respond to requests for comment about his plans.
ABC, for its part, indicated a lack of interest if O'Brien becomes a free agent.
"With all due respect to Conan, we like the late night hand that we are currently playing," the network, home of "Nightline" in the late-night slot, said in a statement Friday.
