Fox Pursues Conan Despite NBC Deal

As Fox continued its pursuit of the recently shuffled Conan O'Brien, its executives acknowledged that the biggest obstacle to bringing the disaffected late-night host to its network would be his contract with NBC. Even though O'Brien is being moved from the 11:35 p.m. time slot he has occupied since last year as the host of The Tonight Show, according to NBC executives his contract only stipulates that he'd be host of that show—without specifying a time. Fox Entertainment's president, Kevin Reilly, said it was up to Conan to "make the decision about his future," but that Fox would still be interested as the host is "a very compatible fit for our brand."