Leno's Future Up in Air as Rumors Swirl He's Moving Back to Late Night

Jay Leno's future is up in the air as rumors swirl about whether his NBC prime-time show will remain on the air.

Entertainment Web site FTVLive.com reported that the show was on the verge of cancellation, while the gossip site TMZ cited unnamed sources saying Leno will by returning to his old seat at "The Tonight Show," potentially putting Conan O'Brien's future in limbo.

And the New York Times reports that NBC is working on a plan to move Leno to back to late night, at 11:35 p.m. ET, but keep O'Brien on at 12:05 a.m. and move "Late Night" host Jimmy Fallon to 1:05 a.m.

"The Jay Leno Show" has never been a strong contender in the 10 p.m. slot, and it has been losing viewers since its debut in September. NBC responded to the recent rumors by asserting confidence in Leno while acknowledging the grumbling of affiliates, who haven't been happy about the weaker lead-in to their nightly news broadcasts.

"Jay Leno is one of the most compelling entertainers in the world today. As we have said all along, Jay's show has performed exactly as we anticipated on the network," an NBC spokesperson said in a statement issued Thursday. "It has, however, presented some issues for our affiliates. Both Jay and the show are committed to working closely with them to find ways to improve the performance."

During the show's ratings slide, NBC has held up as a silver lining that, while they knew Leno would have tough going in the fall against the new dramas, he would beat the much more expensive dramas once they were in reruns.

That has not always happened, as Leno has lost against reruns of "CSI: Miami."

Leno also told Broadcast & Cable magazine in November that he regretted his move to prime time.

"Would I have preferred to stay at 11:30?" Leno mused. "Yeah, sure."

Leno went further, comparing hosting the "Tonight Show" for 17 years to winning the prestigious America's Cup yacht race. And when asked by B&C if he would take back the "Tonight Show" if offered, Leno said: "If it were offered to me, would I take it? If that's what they wanted to do, sure. That would be fine if they wanted to."