Comedy Central has helped to make Jon Stewart and The Daily Show a household name. For the last few years, those with cable have been able to see him mock politicians on the left and the right (though mostly on the right with good reason). Of course in the TV world, anything that can gather a huge following on cable has the chance to make the leap over to the networks. Now there are rumors that we could see that jump for the Daily Show.
From Newsday:
NBC Universal president and chief executive Jeff Zucker and NBC Entertainment/Universal Media Studios co-chair Marc Graboff recently wined and dined the satirical news anchor and his agent, James Dixon, Broadcasting & Cable magazine reports.
A network source told the trade magazine that Zucker and Graboff didn't focus on pitching any specific role at the dinner meeting. "They just made their interest known in finding a way to do business together if Jon was ever available," says the source, who categorized the talks as "exploratory."
That slow and easy approach mirrors another of Zucker's high-profile courtships, his successful play to snare Meredith Vieira from "The View" to replace Katie Couric on the "Today" show.
"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" is a franchise at Comedy Central, and Stewart's deal is up in 2008. NBC is turning its attention to its own late-night future. The network has some major decisions to make in the wake of its announcement that Conan O'Brien is scheduled to replace Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show" in 2009.
Don't worry yet Comedy Central, there's nothing in writing yet. Besides contemplating the future of CC's late night lineup (they'll still have Colbert), I am more concerned for the content. No one skewers politicians better these days than Stewart. The freedom that cable TV allows has helped to make the show such a huge hit. Moving to a network can cause serious censorship problems. In fact, Bill Maher had to find a new home at HBO in order to keep being "Politically Incorrect" after ABC kicked him off for being too controversial.
So while getting a brand new wide audience would be great for the Daily Show as it is now....would it still be the same with an NBC leash attached to it?
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