Good-bye Conan...

[blind]

only good shows on tv anymore are hannah montana and wizards

[Jean-Luc]

I can't stand Conan's comedy so I'm rather indifferent about this.

Now if Letterman was going, I might be more

[ejburke]

Leno wasn't forced out of anything. He was planning to retire for 5 years and then just flat-out changed his mind at the last minute.

And it was Leno's 10 O'clock ratings that the affiliates were pissed about. Their local news programs -- where they make their money -- were getting killed because of a shitty lead-in. Conan's show wasn't doing well, but that was partially an effect of HIS lead-ins (news) tanking because of THEIR lead-in (Leno). Initially, Leno's show was CANCELED, Conan's was not.

There was simply no way Conan was ever going to win over Leno's audience of geriatrics and simpletons. The only chance he had was to build up his own audience over time and he never had that chance.

[Aerowyn]

Honestly, I find that both Leno AND O'Brien to be extremely unfunny and uninteresting. Conan tries too hard to be funny.

Screw the late night; I love me some Ellen.

[NuggetWarmer]

Also, David is not funny. He's just a blatant asshole and can't come up with a decent joke.

Conan was funnier when he wrote all his own stuff.

Jay was funnier before he got this new spot.

end

[Huero]

the only funny thing on any of those shows is when jay asks people on the street things they should know
e: actually I take that back ellen is hilarious

[English Mobster]

As much as I hate ranting on admins, jcap, you're wrong.

Yes, good riddance!

Leno didn't want his show back. (Well, he didn't demand the show back, contributing to NBC firing Conan.)
First things first. Yes he did. He didn't demand it, no, but he probably went up to NBC and demanded it once he saw an opening to get his way. He's a sneaky douchebag, this is the SECOND time he's kicked someone out of The Tonight Show seat. NBC's affiliates were withdrawing because Conan's ratings were plummeting. NBC gave him a chance for the past 7 months, but he failed to produce good ratings. If they didn't want him, they would have never signed him onto the show. So yes, let's call Leno a douche for good corporate business decisions that he had no involvement in!
It's Leno's fault for the bad ratings. Conan had okay ratings for the first 3 months, e.g. before Leno went on the air. When Leno went on, his ratings plummeted. Viewers stopped watching him and instead watched something else, and those viewers typically remained on the same channel the whole time.
It's not that they didn't like Conan. It's just that the average audience member doesn't want to get the motivation to turn back to NBC when they have late night shows on the other networks, too.
In summary, this is how viewers normally end their nights:
Primetime -> News -> Late Night Show
Since Leno's show in Primetime sucked, viewers just changed the channel. The other networks still had news and a Late Night TV show, so they didn't see any reason to switch back.
They didn't give Conan enough time at all. In Conan's own words:

It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

NBC is fucking stupid for everything that went on here. They should have never signed a deal with Conan 5 years ago to take over the show. Heck, they should have never signed a deal with Conan, period. The biggest mistake was forcing Leno out of his show. It would have been proper for Leno to retire when he wanted. Additionally, Conan should have co-hosted the show for at least 6 weeks prior to Leno's retirement from NBC to help Conan, the affiliates, and the viewers to adjust.
The same thing happened when Jay first went on the air. Ratings were shaky for the first year or so. Leno was given a chance. Conan wasn't.
They didn't force Leno out of the show, either. Leno willingly gave it up.

Leno also agreed that [in 2009], he would hand the show over to Conan O'Brien.

NBC also was NOT in breach of contract. There was never a time clause defined in his contract. Conan shouldn't have received a single cent from NBC, but I'm guessing it's more of a courtesy gesture from NBC to Conan for fucking everything up.
It was too a breach of contract. If it wasn't, NBC wouldn't be paying Conan for leaving, now would they?
Carter knows perfectly well it was a breach of contract. In his words:

Carter refers to it as “the coveted 11:30 period, made famous by Jack Paar and Johnny Carson”; lest we miss the point of just how important that 11:35 slot is, Carter also calls it “the prize” and “that hour-earlier dream.”

Personally, I'm glad as fuck Conan's gone. I was never happy to see him take the show. I NEVER saw anything funny or charming in him, ever. His first episode sucked ass and so did everything that followed. His main stage looked like ass and his behavior is on par with that of a 6 year old. His funniest episodes came only in the past week as he made fun of everything since he was canceled. Overall, the show had very low production standards. It seemed like there wasn't even a formula they created for episodes, which I guess is why I never really found myself following any segments.
The lack of formula is part of the reason why Conan was funny.
You have to remember, as well, that Conan had to leave his more... "Inappropriate" segments back in New York (ex: "The Masturbating Bear", among others). Those were some of his most popular segments, but he just couldn't take them to 11:30 with him. I realize this is your opinion, so feel free to do with your opinion as you wish.

Although there's rumors of FOX picking him up, they don't want him. FOX's affiliates decide on the programming after 10 PM, and they don't want Conan either.
Ahem. They even had a URL up for a little while, "conanonfox.com".

Sure, there hasn't been an official announcement yet, and they sure covered their ass once it got leaked to the internet, but the whois for the URL read "Fox Entertainment Corporation".
I doubt that it was a hoax. I think there seriously is something behind it.

[Limited]

The only guy I find funny is Kimmel.

Conan does try to hard, but Leno tries even harder.

[ejburke]

"Tries too hard."

Hey, Conan, we're giving you millions of dollars and your dream job, look like you don't give a shit, will ya?

A guy like Leno, with an extremely limited ability to think on his feet can "try too hard." Conan -- one of the quickest and wittiest people to ever be on television -- would have a much tougher time exposing his limitations in that way.

Conan's humor is often self-deprecatory, which might make certain people uncomfortable. But for the rest of us, that's the bulk of his charm. He doesn't mind making an ass of himself and that's why he's great.

[English Mobster]

Anyone else remember when a duck took a shit on his stage and ate it (something even Conan wasn't expecting), and the next day he turned a formal apology to NBC for saying the word "shit" on national television into a full-on shit-tastic commercial for "Quackers the Shit-Eating Duck"?