NBC is ready to announce Jay Leno’s retirement, expecting to move Jimmy Fallon into the coveted late-night time slot, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The announcement is expected in May, according to two high-level industry sources. The 2013-14 television season would be Leno’s last, according to the paper.
Fallon would then move from his “Late Night” spot into the 11:35 p.m. slot during the summer of 2014. A formal kickoff would happen in the fall.
Sources told the Hollywood Reporter that the network will bring in Fallon partly out of concern about the competition on ABC, which moved younger-skewing Jimmy Kimmel to the 11:35 time slot in January.
Leno, 62, has hosted “The Tonight Show” for 20 years.
NBC denied the report. And Leno’s rep said, “we do not speculate on rumor.”
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