NBC's Leno Dilemma Is Another Zucker Fumble

Is there a word that means "catastrophic lack of vision"? I propose the term "Zuckervision," in honor of Jeff Zucker, the NBC Universal chief who's shown an unparalleled knack for driving straight into crater-sized potholes.

Zucker was at the helm in 2004 when Friends went off the air after 10 years. His failure to line up an adequate replacement for it reportedly cost NBC $1 billion and its dominance among young viewers.

Coincidentally, it was also in 2004 that NBC cut a deal to keep Conan O'Brien from defecting to another network by promising him Jay Leno's job hosting The Tonight Show starting in 2009.

Well, look how that's turning out. The New York Times reports that ABC, Fox and Sony are all circling Leno, ready to pounce with huge offers the moment his negotiating window opens up. And why shouldn't they? After all, Leno, at 57, is younger than David Letterman, and almost a decade younger than Johnny Carson was when he retired in 1992.

NBC could break its promise to O'Brien, but that would cost it a $45 million penalty, and it's doubtful Leno, whose pride was said to be wounded by NBC's decision, would deign to stay.

The premature writing-off of a still-viable star carries echoes of what happened in 1989 when Today dumped Jane Pauley in favor of Deborah Norville. Of course, that was no fault of Zucker's, who didn't take over as executive producer of Today until 1992. But it was very much an instance of Zuckervision.