Is it a big deal that Robert (Bob Morty) Morton has been replaced as the executive producer of the "Late Show with David Letterman"?
On camera, it might be. Behind the camera, it might not.Morton, who has spent the past 15 years as the man just offstage at both Letterman's "Late Night" and the "Late Show," was informed by his boss last Friday that he was going to be replaced by Rob Burnett - a former Letterman producer and head writer.
Although Morton has lobbied for a change, he nonetheless said he was "stunned" by the timing.
But Morty isn't going far. He's still going to be working for Letterman's company, Worldwide Pants, where he'll produce sitcoms. He'll be the executive producer of the upcoming "The High Life," a comedy for HBO, and assume duties overseeing "Bonnie," which recently returned to the CBS lineup.
So it's not like he was fired.
"I don't think anybody's acting malicious here," Morton told the Associated Press. "I'm personally very pleased with this shift and I'm very encouraged by what we can achieve in the future."
Burnett is an old hand when it comes to Letterman's late-night shows. His appointment is part of a revamping of the show, which will include a new set when the "Late Show" returns on Monday, March 25.
And it doesn't appear that Morton was dropped because of the ratings. Letterman's ratings are actually up of late, and he's in a real dogfight with Jay Leno's "Tonight Show." (See the item that follows.)
The real reason this is news is because Letterman made Morty an on-air personality. If Debbie Vickers were suddenly replaced as Leno's executive producer, few would notice - she's never on camera.
But Morty was arguably the most-seen producer in network television, so his departure is news.
LENO VS. LETTERMAN: Who was the king of late-night TV during the February sweeps? It depends on how you look at it.
In terms of household ratings, Jay Leno's "Tonight Show" was on top, with a 4.8 rating, six-tenths of a rating point ahead of David Letterman's "Late Show." Each rating point represents 954,000 homes.
(ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 4.7 - but see the note below on that show.)
And it appears that Letterman's ratings slide has bottomed out. His show was up 5 percent in households and Leno's was down 8 percent from the November sweeps.
However, NBC has repeatedly insisted that household ratings are meaningless. NBC Entertainment President Warren Littlefield has told critics over and over that no advertising is sold on the basis of households - that the 18-to-49 demographic is paramount.
And, guess what? Among 18-to-49-year-olds, Letterman eked out a narrow victory over Leno, 2.6 to 2.5. ("Nightline" averaged a 2.0.)
Among adults 18-34 - another highly prized demographic for advertisers, Letterman's lead was even wider - 2.7 to Leno's 2.0 and "Nightline's" 1.4.
(In the week that followed the sweeps, Letterman again led in all key demographics and was within three-tenths of a rating point in households.)
Now, Littlefield and the NBC crowd have continually belittled CBS's prime-time numbers, insisting that CBS's older-skewing audience - viewers 50 and older - were inconsequential and unprofitable.
According to the February numbers, the only reason Leno leads Letterman in households is because of viewers over the age of 50.
In other words, CBS can charge advertisers more for Letterman's audience than NBC can charge for Leno's viewers.
Basically, NBC can't have it both ways. Littlefield and that crowd can't decide that demographics are relevant in prime time and irrelevant in late night.
APPLES AND ORANGES: Just a reminder - comparing the ratings of "Tonight" and the "Late Show" with "Nightline" is like comparing the apples and oranges.
"Nightline's" numbers are an average of just half an hour - the half hour that goes up against the first half hour of Leno and Letterman in most TV markets. The "Tonight" and "Late Show" numbers are an average of both show's full 60 minutes - and there are considerably fewer viewers watching anything in the second half hour.
The only fair way to compare the three shows is to compare the first half hours of "Tonight" and the "Late Show" with "Nightline" - and, with rare exceptions, "Nightline" is almost always a decided third in that comparison.