Talk Show Host Kilborn Quits Late-Night Gig
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Late-night comedian Craig Kilborn is quitting his CBS talk show after a five-year stint in the time slot following “Late Show With David Letterman,” Hollywood’s trade papers reported on Friday.
Kilborn and Viacom Inc. -owned CBS had been in talks throughout the summer for a new multiyear deal keeping him at the helm of “The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn,” but he told network executives on Thursday that he wanted to move on, according to Daily Variety.
“It was easily the greatest job I’ve had, and CBS was very generous in their offer to re-sign me,” the paper quoted Kilborn, 41, as saying. “But I simply want to try something new. I can now focus on writing and producing different television projects I haven’t had time for.”
Kilborn will leave his Los Angeles-based job by early next month, Daily Variety said. It speculated that CBS may try to lure Conan O’Brien, whose NBC show outdraws Kilborn’s in the 12:35 a.m. slot. However, it noted that O’Brien’s contract with the General Electric Co. -owned network does not expire until December 2005.
During the past 12 months, “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” has averaged 2.5 million viewers each night, compared with 1.6 million for “Kilborn,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.
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