NBC scales back The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in latest blow to late night TV
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails NBC is officially cutting back The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon from five nights a week to four, with reruns airing on Friday nights. The major decision comes just months after the network announced it was eliminating the house band from Late Night with Seth Meyers due to budget cuts. For the past few seasons, Fallon has consistently taped new Friday night episodes despite his competitors, including ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, CBS’s The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert and Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, only taping four each week. Late Night with Seth Meyers has also only been airing four original episodes weekly. As late-night viewership has declined in recent years, networks have been forced to take these money-saving measures. “Sadly, it’s the reality of broadcast and a shrinking market – streaming eating into this, and YouTube eating into …