‘The Tonight Show’ experiences dark days

The NBC program starring Jay Leno suffers a ratings slide and layoffs amid instability in the TV business — and after network missteps. And the stakes are rising.

As the No. 1 late-night show for most of the past half-century, “The Tonight Show” has been vital to NBC’s fortunes. It was the network’s most profitable entertainment program during its 1990s peak, kicking an estimated $100 million to the bottom line annually.

via L.A. Times – Entertainment News http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-st-tonight-show-troubles-20120827,0,7033118.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fentertainment+%28Entertainment+News%29