Near the turn of the millennium, NBC's late-night lineup-Leno at 11:35, O'Brien at 12:35, and Saturday Night Live on the weekend-remained leaders in the ratings.
While many of O'Brien's professional advisors and managers pushed for the Fox deal, O'Brien's desire to one day perhaps take over The Tonight Show after Leno made it a difficult decision (O'Brien, like many baby-boomer comedians, had grown up idolizing Carson's incarnation).