Line #17 MediaNotes/ANSIStandardBroadcastTVSchedule


1	Remember when you could tell what time of day it was by what was on TV, or at least on the VHF channels?[[note]][[Memes/{{Advertising}} Pepperidge Farm remembers.[[/note]]]]
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3	In the United States, because of shortages of space on the radio dial, and the fact that AM radio could travel hundreds of miles at night, some radio stations were restricted to daytime only or having other restrictions to allow older stations to continue to cover larger areas.
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5	Such restrictions were never applicable to television, however, because TV signals travel by line-of-sight, with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_and_FM_DX some exceptions.]] Television stations were allocated by community, and the allocations were based on engineering estimates that would prevent two stations on the same channel within their reach, or even an adjacent channel. Television stations were licensed for 24 hour operations, 7 days a week if they wanted to be on that much. Notwithstanding this, in most communities up until the late 1970s or 1980s there wasn't enough programming available to have anything in the early morning (this was, of course, the age before the {{Infomercial}}), and most stations went dark during early morning. For more information about them, see MediaNotes/AmericanTelevisionStations.
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7	ANSI stands for American National Standards Institute, an organization which acts to ensure various channels and stations meet agreed upon standards.
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9	From TheSixties through TheNineties, there was remarkably little variation in network TV schedules for commercial networks. Weekdays looked like this (all times U.S. Eastern):
10	* Sign-on: Just before the start of programming, the typical station would announce its call sign, city of license, who it was licensed by, and that it was "licensed to owner X, at a frequency of Y to Z megahertz, by order of the Federal Communications Commission." This was typically followed by the National Anthem, usually prefixed with "and now, our National Anthem." Often it was a small film that was made by someone else and given to television stations to let them use it. Sometimes it was made by religious organizations. In some cases the video of the National Anthem involved jet footage and at the end you discover it was produced by the [[ProductPlacement U.S. Air Force]]. Many stations would also display the NAB Television Code "Seal of Good Practice" here; the Code, much like the Hays Code for film, was a list of standards all commercial television stations and producers pledged to follow, which dictated (among other things) what content was allowed and how advertising worked.[[note]]The Code was partially withdrawn in the 1970s due to free speech issues, and withdrawn completely in 1982 as part of an antitrust settlement with advertisers. Even so, many stations displayed the Seal of Good Practice well into the 1990s, and shows that featured the Seal of Good Practice in the credits were allowed to keep it.[[/note]]
11	* 5 AM - 7 AM: Local news programming aimed at farmers and early-rising business people. There were quite a few stations that didn't bother to start broadcasting until 5:55 AM or 6:45 AM, and even a few that let the network morning show start them off at 7 AM. A religious interlude usually started off the day after the national anthem. Often a short news/weather update and farm price information was given to help the early risers get some information before they got the paper off the doorstep.
12	* 7 AM - 9 AM: Morning news and {{talk show}}s (''Series/{{Today}}'', ''Good Morning America'') produced by the network, with approx. five minutes per half-hour of local-affiliate time for local news and weather. Until 1982, CBS ran a general newscast for an hour, followed by ''Series/CaptainKangaroo'' before joining the network morning show race full time.
13	* 9 AM - 10 AM: A talk show, or local programming. This is where ''Donahue'' and ''Live with Regis'' aired for many years in many places. (Note that ''Live'' was originally a locally-aired production in New York City called ''The Morning Show'').
14	* 10 AM - noon: {{Game show}}s from independent production companies ([[Creator/MarkGoodson Goodson-Todman]] and Creator/MervGriffin Enterprises were two of the largest game show producers), distributed nationally. ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' was the only daytime game show from this era to survive the Interregnum in TheNineties.
15	* Noon - 12:30 PM: Local news or public interest programming. Sometimes game shows would extend into this period, but this was uncommon by the 80s as entries in these slots would be prone to preemption for the aforementioned news/local programming; the last game show to air in this slot was ABC's 1990-91 revival of ''Series/MatchGame''.
16	* 12:30 PM - 3 PM: {{Soap opera}}s from independent production companies, distributed nationally. Game shows would also spill over into this period, but were again largely prone to affiliates dumping them.
17	* 3 PM - 6 PM: MediaNotes/{{Syndicat\|ion}}ed talk shows and kids' shows (either syndicated, as is the case with most animation, or locally-produced). Also until the late 90's, networks would air the occasional ''Series/AfterschoolSpecial''. And as before, game shows would occasionally be scheduled here, but after the 70s runs of ''Match Game'' and ''Series/{{Tattletales}}'' ended, the networks (especially CBS) largely used the 4:00 PM slot as a dumping ground for shows they didn't really care about; CBS was the last of the Big 3 to return the slot to affiliates, which happened in 1986 after the cancellation of ''Series/PressYourLuck''.
18	* 6 PM - 6:30 PM: Local news. Back in the 60s and 70s, local news would last for a full hour (and push the network news back to 7:00 PM), but this practice was largely phased out by the mid-80s.
19	* 6:30 PM - 7 PM: National and world news, produced by the network.
20	* 7 PM - 8 PM: Syndicated game shows or second-run sitcoms (also syndicated). This was where ''Evening Magazine'' ran on Group W stations (as well as a few others that bought into the pool) in TheEighties, as well as ''Series/EntertainmentTonight'' and the seemingly-indestructible ''Series/WheelOfFortune''/''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'' block.
21	* 8 PM - 9 PM: The first hour of MediaNotes/PrimeTime. Usually contained "family-friendly" {{sitcom}}s due to the {{watershed}}. Although the watershed is now gone, the perception of 8 PM as a "family hour" persists. Most shows were produced by independent studios.
22	* 9 PM - 10 PM: Second hour of Prime Time, and historically the biggest free-for-all in this whole iron grid. It can have edgier sitcoms or any type or drama, from a BuddyCopShow to a prime-time soap. Also, networks would often air the first half a movie (some feature films, some made-for-TV) in this slot.
23	* 10 PM - 11 PM: The third and last hour of Prime Time. Seldom comedy; almost always drama or the second half of "(Name of Network) (Day of Week) Night at the Movies". (In later decades, a news magazine would sometimes appear in this slot.)
24	* 11 PM - 11:30 PM: Local news.
25	* 11:30 PM - 1 AM: Late night. Dominated in the 1960s and 1970s by Creator/{{NBC}}'s ''Series/TheTonightShow''; the Creator/{{ABC}} news program ''Series/{{Nightline}}'', launched in 1980, was the first serious competitor. Creator/{{CBS}} subsisted on action drama repeats, shows rejected for prime time and made-for-TV movies in this slot (notwithstanding the one season Pat Sajak hosted a talk show for them) until they poached Creator/DavidLetterman for ''The Late Show'' in the early 1990s. Stations that did not have a network show running in this slot would play a movie (often the kind that ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' liked to riff on) after the local news, and then go dark or show the test pattern until the 5 AM farm report, repeating the sign on announcement with proper mentions of them saying goodnight instead. In TheEighties, {{infomercial}}s changed that because they were willing to temporarily pay the cost of running the station to hawk their products.
26	** Sometime in TheNineties and almost simultaneously, the networks moved the start of late night back 5 minutes to give affiliates more commercial time on the late local news without having to cut HighSchool sports coverage or the YetAnotherBabyPanda story.
27	* 1 AM - 5 AM: Graveyard slot. However, if the network carried a newscast like ABC's ''Series/WorldNewsNow'', CBS's ''Up to the Minute'' or the late, great ''NBC News Overnight'' or its successor ''NBC Nightside'' (all of which, except for ''Overnight'', was just either a half-hour or ninety minutes of an earlier taped newscast looped over and over) and the stations didn't want to dig up their own programming, this is where it went, followed at 4:30 AM by an evening news-like morning newscast.
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29	Note that this schedule only applies in the Eastern and Pacific time zones, which correspond roughly to the East and West Coasts respectively, and some areas further inland. This is because the two main television production centers in the United States, UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity and UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, are in these time zones. UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC is also on Eastern time, so if breaking news or an important political event happens there, it can actually become more important than either. The continental United States falls within [[https://www.nationsonline.org/maps/US-timezones-map.jpg four time zones:]]
30	* Eastern, which covers the entire Eastern Seaboard as well as some areas further inland, specifically West Virginia, UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}}, UsefulNotes/{{Michigan}}, most of Indiana (minus the northwest and southwest corners due to their close ties to areas to their west), and eastern Kentucky and UsefulNotes/{{Tennessee}}.
31	* Central, which stretches from Illinois and Alabama in the east to [[EverythingIsBigInTexas Texas]] and the Great Plains in the west. In common parlance, it more or less means Chicago and the western half of the South. Central Time typically simulcasts the Eastern feed without delay; in other words, subtract an hour from everything.
32	* Mountain, which covers the Rocky Mountain states minus Nevada and the northern part of Idaho, as well as the western parts of South Dakota and Nebraska (specifically around the Black Hills) and small slivers of North Dakota, Kansas, Texas (specifically the city of El Paso), and UsefulNotes/{{Oregon}}. Mountain Time uses the Central Time schedule by taping the East Coast feed and playing it back at the appropriate time.
33	* Pacific, which covers the West Coast states and Nevada, plus North Idaho.
34	* UsefulNotes/{{Alaska}} and UsefulNotes/{{Hawaii}}, which aren't considered part of the continental US, are both in their own time zones, although their scheduling is the same as Central and Mountain time.
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36	And now you know what "8/7 Central" means.
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38	In ''most'' cases, the schedules for Central and Mountain time were the same. The main differences in the Central/Mountain schedule were that the national newscast aired in the 5:30-6 p.m. slot and syndicated programs aired in the 6:30-7 p.m. slot with prime time beginning at 7 p.m., local news at 10 and ''The Tonight Show'' and other late-night shows starting at 10:30. There were some execeptions. KAKE-TV in Wichita, Kansas, would run network news from 5 p.m. to 5:30 and local news from 5:30 to 6, then have back-to-back half-hour syndicated shows at 6 and 6:30. KMVT in Twin Falls, Idaho, which at the time was the only station in its market, ran programs from NBC, CBS and ABC and took advantage of its location in the Mountain Time Zone to air an extra network program (or two) in the 6-7 p.m. time slot.
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40	The morning schedule for Central and Mountain time was the same as Eastern time because shows such as ''Today'', ''Good Morning America'', ''The Price is Right'' and the soaps were recorded and played back at the corresponding time slot in the Central and Mountain zones, a practice that continues today. In fact, if you look during a morning news show, the notation during a breaking news event will say "Live Eastern Time." Viewers in all other time zones are likely seeing the event on tape delay, or even with editing, just to make sure the damage of Creator/JaneFonda or a couple of girls dropping the "[[PrecisionFStrike C-bomb]]" on morning television (which has actually happened) or some guy mooning the ''GMA'' window won't go across the entire country. This was nearly the same with ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' for decades, though the Central zone has always gotten that show live, and since April 15, 2017, the Mountain and Pacific zones have also received it live.
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42	[[Website/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]] has [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_time_zones_on_North_American_broadcasting an extensive article]] on how time zones affect broadcasting in North America.
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44	On Saturdays, the morning hours after the farm report would be filled with {{Saturday morning cartoon}}s, with the odd locally produced kids' show mixed in. The afternoon had sporting events, and MediaNotes/PrimeTime was mostly {{sitcom}}s and ''The Wonderful World of Disney''.
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46	On Sundays, the mornings would have political shows (''Series/MeetThePress'', ''Face the Nation'', ''Issues and Answers'' etc.) and religious programming. The afternoon would have sports in season. MediaNotes/PrimeTime started an hour earlier, at 7 PM. The extra network programming was either an extra family hour such as ''The Wonderful World of Disney'' or, in the case of CBS, ''Series/SixtyMinutes''.
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48	Things started changing in TheEighties and continued mutating through TheNineties. The Creator/{{FOX}} network started with much less network programming than the older networks -- they did weekends only until the 1989-90 season, did not program the whole week until the 1992-93 season and have always left the 10 PM slot open to affiliates (outside of a period in 1989-93 where they did air shows at 10 PM on Sundays). The fewer hours allowed them to circumvent FCC regulations that they would have if they programmed the full MediaNotes/PrimeTime period. FOX would eventually score the NFC broadcast rights and become a serious competitor to the original three networks (by way of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_United_States_broadcast_TV_realignment a huge TV station affiliation switcheroo]] which allowed FOX to gain better VHF coverage in many markets at the expanse of the other networks [especially Creator/{{CBS}}] who had to downgrade to weaker UHF stations), but they would never have over-the-air national news, daytime game shows and soaps or 10 PM programming (despite the FCC rules having been since relaxed, probably due to virtually all FOX affiliates airing their local newscasts at that hour to great success).
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50	The earliest years of Fox were uninspiring, since both hours of MediaNotes/PrimeTime were family hours and Fox was unsure how to do that kind of program. But then, the requirement that there be a family hour was removed. This allowed Fox to be the model for its own version of the standard schedule, one that other new networks would follow. Here is the short version:
51	* 5 AM - 9 AM: Either a local morning newscast, commonly known under Fox's uniform title of ''Good Day'', or other syndicated programming. In many markets the Fox affiliate had formerly aired mainly religious programming before the idea of affiliating with a successful fourth network was commercially viable, and continued to do so in this timeslot to satisfy longtime viewers. Stations that didn't air news or religious programming often ran cartoons here.
52	* 9 AM - 3 PM: Local and syndicated programming. As an example, on WTTG Washington (one of Fox's original 6 owned stations) in TheEighties, this would consist of a few hours of sitcoms sourced from Creator/{{Viacom}}, followed by old movies (they especially liked the old Penny Singleton ''ComicStrip/Blondie1930'' movies). In the East, many independent stations aired a "Mass for shut-ins" weekdays from a local church to allow those confined to their homes to worship (some stations do continue this tradition). These days you're more likely to find ''Series/JudgeJudy'' clones or, at worst, infomercials.
53	* 3 PM - 6 PM: Syndicated talk shows, cartoons, or kids' programming. During the Fox Kids era, the 2-5 PM block was ''network'', something that became a problem in the mid-1990s as more traditional network affiliates (which wanted to run news or talk shows in that block) joined Fox. Some Fox stations have started running news during the 5 PM slot in recent years (mainly the bigger stations, or else former Big Three stations that switched to Fox in the 90s and kept it).
54	* 6 PM - 8 PM: Local and syndicated programming. Usually more sitcoms, though some Fox stations have started running news here (again, mainly bigger stations or else stations that switched from other nets).
55	* 8 PM - 9 PM: Prime Time. Can be any genre, though only Fox programs sitcoms anymore.
56	* 9 PM - 10 PM: Prime Time. Usually a drama.
57	* 10 PM and later: Local programming. The first hour of this on the big-market Fox stations is usually the 10 O'Clock News. Some Fox affiliates which were formerly Big Three affiliates or have strong news operations also run 11pm newscasts.
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59	Meanwhile, in TheNineties, cable became common in American households. This meant that people could watch TV without watching the broadcast networks at all. This hit both broadcast stations and networks, forcing both to lower their costs, and cut into such network staples as the VarietyShow and Saturday morning children's programming. At the same time, all of the major television networks ended up in the hands of, or connected to, movie studios. Beforehand, the networks tried hard to get viewers to stay home instead of going to the movies. Now, the people making network programming also made the movies and ''wanted'' viewers to go watch them. This intensified the FridayNightDeathSlot and all but killed MediaNotes/PrimeTime programming on Saturday.
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61	This is the modern version:
62	* 5 AM - 7 AM: Local or network news. In some markets the local news begins now at 4:30 AM to provide some kind of update to those viewers who come in from a '''really''' distant city and have a long commute into work [[note]]examples include Port Jervis (NY), New Haven (CT), or anywhere on Long Island past about Ronkonkoma into UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity; Petaluma or most of the South Bay into UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco; Harvard, Illinois into UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}; Fredericksburg, VA, the Eastern Shore of Maryland, or southern PA into UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC or UsefulNotes/{{Baltimore}}.[[/note]]. Can go to as early as 4 AM on special days like snowstorms or major news events, though as of 2014, 4 AM is becoming the new default start time for many local newscasts in the larger markets (this figures the staff is there by 3 AM and is already being paid in the makeup chair, so get them to work as soon as possible). However, following the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, many stations have eliminated pre-5 AM newscasts, owing in part to reduced audiences with the rise of remote employment. Some stations may also play ID/license announcements and/or the National Anthem around this time.
63	** Sunday mornings usually have religious programming at this time, or further, though as religious networks gain more steady footing the network stations usually air news or infomercials here.
64	* 7 AM - 9 AM: Network news with interruptions for local news. Some major network affiliates have opted in TheNewTwenties to continue their local morning shows on digital subchannels or sister channels in this slot as well, modeled after Fox affiliates with strong news departments that have long countered the major network morning shows with extended local morning shows.
65	** Note: Usually the lower-tier network stations of Creator/TheCW or Creator/MyNetworkTV (unless they're in a major market or, prior to 2016, carried ''The Daily Buzz'', a national morning program) have thrown in the towel and air mainly infomercials between 5 AM and 9 AM to make something out of literally nothing, though Sinclair-owned CW and [=MyNetworkTV=] stations between 2017 and 2019 aired ''Creator/KidsClick'' during this time as well.[[note]]Although some of these lower-tier stations (even those that don't have a news department of their own) now often carry a local newscast, particularly one produced by a sister station, in this timeslot; some of these newscasts run as late as 10 AM.[[/note]] Educational and informational programming, which has taken over for children's programming abandoned to the niche cable networks and PBS, also airs within this time to satisfy license concerns.
66	* 9 AM - noon: Talk shows -- by anybody. CBS is the sole exception, running the current version of ''Series/LetsMakeADeal'' at 10 AM (in most markets), and ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' at 11 AM (in pretty much all of them). NBC's ''Today'' runs until 11 AM, but the last hour is virtually an entirely different show (pre-empted by some affiliates) hosted by Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb.
67	** During weekends, local stations usually air outdoors, travel and locally-produced home programming in these slots once they get their {{Edutainment}} obligations out of the way.
68	** Some stations however, are beginning to schedule local lifestyle shows here in TheNewTwenties as media ownership has consolidated and groups attempt to eliminate all syndicated programming as a cost-cutting measure. Some stations have simply added more newscasts here.
69	* Noon - 12:30 PM (or 11 AM for some stations): Local news. Very, very light content (think your local community theater promoting their umpteenth run of ''Theatre/OurTown'' in a sit-down setting with ferns) and Mr. Food, and in rural markets this is still where the farm and market rundown airs.
70	* 12:30 PM - 3 PM: {{Soap opera}}s (from the network) or {{reality show}}s (syndicated or local), or more daytime talk shows, or, as of TheNewTwenties, extended local newscasts as the networks cancel more soaps. The number of soaps on the air shrank to four in 2012, the fewest in almost 60 years, and then shrank further to three in 2022 after ''Series/DaysOfOurLives'' moved exclusively to Creator/{{Peacock}}. Those CBS markets that don't air ''LMAD'' at 10 AM air it after ''The Talk'' at 3 PM.
71	* 3 PM - 5 PM: Syndicated game shows and talk shows.[[note]]This was still 6 PM during the TurnOfTheMillennium and is still the case for some stations, but these are becoming the exception in TheNewTwenties rather than the rule.[[/note]]
72	* 5 PM - 6:30 PM: Local news. The early hour is usually devoted to consumer topics and health news.[[note]]Some stations in TheNewTwenties start their news period as early as 3 PM. '''Eastern!''' This is mainly to fill programming slots that used to be filled with syndicated fare.[[/note]]
73	* 6:30 PM - 7 PM (5:30 to 6 p.m. Central): National news from the network. Although certain Fox affiliates (regardless of market) - and in some larger markets - CW, Creator/MyNetworkTV and independent stations may fill this slot with local newscasts[[note]]Major network stations in the Pacific and Eastern Time Zones typically fill the 5:30 PM slot with local news due to the national newscasts being one hour later in those areas[[/note]].
74	* 7 PM - 8 PM (6:30 to 7 p.m. Central due to prime time beginning an hour earlier): Syndicated or local programming (some stations may air a summary newscast at 7 PM for late-traveling commuters). Near universally this is where you'll find the ''{{Series/Jeopardy}}''-''Series/WheelOfFortune'' GameShow block (a rare few stations carry ''Jeopardy!'' earlier in the day, often reruns from the previous season, but "The ''Wheel''" is always on around this time no matter the market), along with ''Series/EntertainmentTonight'' in syndication (plus whatever show it's paired with- in the 90s it was the tabloid newsmagazine ''Hard Copy'', in the late 90s-early 2000s it was a revival of ''Series/TheHollywoodSquares'', from the mid-2000s well into the 2010s it was ''The Insider'', and since the latter's cancellation, it's been LongRunner ''Inside Edition'').
75	** [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg Also]], ''Series/SixtyMinutes'' on CBS Sundays.
76	* 8 PM- 11 PM: Prime Time from the network. Usually, it's laid out as if the {{watershed}} still holds, but the content no longer has to fit. {{Reality show}}s are as common as dramas and sitcoms now, as are prime-time game shows ([[WhoWantsToBeWhoWantsToBeAMillionaire often trying to ape]] ''Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire''). For Fox and Creator/TheCW, Prime Time ends at 10 PM[[note]]As with Fox stations, many lower-tier stations such as CW and Creator/MyNetworkTV affiliates carry a local newscast during the 10 PM (9 PM Central/Mountain) timeslot, either produced by the station itself in some larger markets or commonly, produced by another local station as with the 7-9 AM note above.[[/note]]. With the rise of [=TiVo=] and [=DVRs=], 10 PM has become a major trouble spot for the Big Three networks as viewers use this time to catch up on early shows that were roadblocked by other network shows they like and unable to be watched live, or much more adult-focused cable shows that take advantage of the 10 PM weakness.
77	* 11 PM: Local news. (10 PM C/M)
78	* 11:35 PM - 3 AM: Late night programming. Networks with successful late night talk shows and news shows may air them this late. Networks with unsuccessful talk shows and news shows will likely have those shows preempted or delayed by local programming. CBS and NBC go to 1:35 AM with their shows, while ABC ends at 1:05 AM.[[note]]Until 2021, NBC was the latest at 2:05 AM (though technically as seen below it just leads into a repeat of the fourth hour of ''Today'' if a station goes by the default NBC schedule).[[/note]]
79	* 3 AM - 5 AM: Infomercials, risqué, local or syndicated programming, {{Rerun}}s of shows that ran during Prime Time or late night, and the sorts of programs that used to come directly after the local news. For CW and [=MyNetworkTV=], this slot is often filled with dating shows, programming purchased by local companies for late night talent shows, home shopping, and Shepard's Chapel, which is three hours of Bible studies (or other religious organizations such as [=CampMeeting=]). If the stations decide not to go this route, ABC and CBS continue to distribute their overnight newscasts to affiliates, while NBC throws on a same-day replay of the Kathie Lee/Hoda hour of ''Today'' before moving on to ''Early Today'' and starting the day loop anew). On weekends, ABC and CBS leave it to the affiliates to fill the time (usually with off-network runs of dramas, movies, and {{Filler}} programming such as one of Byron Allen's 20 infotainment shows), while NBC repeats that weekend's ''Series/MeetThePress'', {{Filler}} programming from WNBC about expensive open houses and dining in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity, and 18-week-old episodes of ''Series/{{Dateline}}''. When a sufficient number of channels have content at this hour — and most cable is 24-hour — broadcast stations lose out if they shut down, and find themselves experiencing [[WeAreExperiencingTechnicalDifficulties technical difficulties]] in the digital age if they don't leave the transmitter on, even with just rolling weather radar or color bars.
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81	Creator/{{NBC}} caused a huge uproar in 2009 when it ran ''The Jay Leno Show'' at 10 PM Eastern because it was very much like ''Series/TheTonightShowWithJayLeno'', only more evenly distributed.[[note]](Viewers at 10 PM are less likely to go to bed before the show is over.)[[/note]] People predicted that NBC would destroy network television this way, even though that hour is currently completely unused by two of its competitors (three if you count Creator/MyNetworkTV, and you probably shouldn't). This violation took at least a temporary toll on NBC, though.[[note]](Moving ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' an hour earlier severely hurt its ratings, because it ran in what is otherwise a ''de facto'' family hour.)[[/note]] As expected, this failed miserably — not because Leno's show lost money (it was ''so'' cheap to produce that it couldn't do so otherwise as long as a few advertising spots were sold), but because Leno's ratings were killing that of the late local news on NBC's affiliates. When the affiliates threatened to dump Leno and put either syndicated content or their late news in the 10 PM hour, NBC blinked, cancelled the primetime Leno show, and paid Creator/ConanOBrien millions of dollars to go away so that Leno could get ''The Tonight Show'' back. Some people believe [[BatmanGambit this is what Leno wanted all along]], or at least after NBC forced him to "retire" from ''The Tonight Show''.[[note]]The announcement of Conan taking over ''The Tonight Show'' after Leno retired, by the way, occurred not long after Craig Kilborn left ''Series/TheLateLateShow'' and before Creator/CraigFerguson was chosen as the replacement, so some believe it was just a way to keep Conan from leaving NBC like Letterman did.[[/note]]

Context MediaNotes / ANSIStandardBroadcastTVSchedule