CNN Among Suitors For Jay Leno
Leno leaving NBC in February
How in demand is Jay Leno? The most watched late-night host, who will be without a TV job in February when NBC transitionsThe Tonight Show to Jimmy Fallon, has been approached by some unlikely suitors.
Sources tell THR that CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker — who, while running NBCUniversal, famously set in motion Leno's first ouster from Tonight by promising the show to Conan O'Brien in 2009—is among those who have approached Leno for a late-night or primetime show on his network. Zucker recently visited briefly with Leno at NBC in Burbank. Also among the 10 or so outlets courting the comic are Tribune, American Idol producer Core Media Group and even former NBC chief Jeff Gaspin. But Leno, 63, and his lone representative, attorney Ken Ziffren, are said to be refusing to entertain offers until the host fulfills his obligation to NBC on Feb. 6.