NBC is cutting “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” down to four nights a week.
The long-running program — which premiered in 1954 and has been helmed by Fallon for a decade — will nix its Friday night taping and air reruns, according to Variety.
NBC has not given an official reason for the cut, but the network has recently been examining the costs associated with its late-night offerings amid shrinking ratings.
It’s unclear whether Fallon’s purported $16 million per year paycheck will be affected by the change.
NBC is cutting “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” down to four nights a week.Rosalind O’Connor/NBC via Getty Images
Earlier this year, NBC eliminated the house band from “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” which airs the hour after Fallon.
“Sadly, it’s the reality of broadcast and a shrinking market – streaming eating into this, and YouTube eating into that,” Eli Janney, the associate musical director of “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” said in June of the budget cuts.
“Streaming is not making money, either. So budgets everywhere have been cut and cut and cut. I liken it to a Spotify moment in music, where suddenly it’s like, nobody wants to pay for music. Music gets devalued.”
“Late Night with Seth Meyers” was already filming only four original episodes per week.
The Post has contacted NBC for further information.
Meanwhile, Fallon’s late-night competitors on other networks have already cut their own broadcasts down to four nights a week.
CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” and Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” do not film a Friday show.
But while late-night numbers may be dwindling across the board due to streaming, all of the networks are still paying their hosts seriously big bucks.
In addition to Fallon’s rumored $16 million salary, both Kimmel and Colbert are reported to make around $15 million a year.
Earlier this year, Fallon extended his deal with NBC to continue hosting The Tonight Show through 2028.
