Jittery Jimmy Fallon 'Gripped With Fear His Head Will Roll': Nighttime Host in 'Crisis Mode' Over Plunging Ratings, Budget Cuts and Ad Rates
Jimmy Fallon is said to be in "crisis mode" following big NBC budget cuts.
Sept. 27 2024, Published 12:45 p.m. ET
NBC budget cuts have left Jimmy Fallon in a panic.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the network recently cut The Tonight Show down from five nights a week to just four – leaving the funnyman counting on his famous friends, including bestie Justin Timberlake, to help save his struggling program.
Even though Fallon's contract runs through 2028, insiders claim his confidence in future prospects is "limited".
Fallon is not believed to be taking the recent NBC budget cuts well.
Since 2019, The Tonight Show has lost 41% of its audience and has constantly come in third in the ratings behind Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel.
According to experts, the decrease in ratings is attributed to the rise of streaming.
Fallon's reduced filming schedule puts him in the same category as Colbert, Kimmel and Seth Meyers, who only film four new shows every week.
The source said: "When Jimmy took The Tonight Show job ten years ago, he insisted on five tapings a week and promised the decision would pay for itself, and it did for the first few years.
Jimmy Fallon is reportedly relying on his famous friends to help increase his ratings.
"But today, the number of advertisers willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars for commercials has definitely shrunk, and even Jimmy admits that."
The insider continued: "Jimmy does have a knack for getting big guests" — including personal friends like Adam Sandler and Amy Poehler — "and coming up with unusual bits.
"Jimmy also uses his personal connections to music stars to help increase ratings."
The source added: "To Jimmy's credit, The Tonight Show has become Billie Eilish's go-to venue to debut new music, and Jimmy still has a lot of favors he can call in from across the music business.
But there is also said to still be hope for the struggling comedian and his troubled show.
The source said: "It's not exactly a bleak situation yet.
"The show's producer, Lorne Michaels, is one of the most powerful people in television, but it's going to be an uphill battle to grow the audience with an hour less of original content a week."
An NBC spokesperson denied rumors Kelly Clarkson was replacing Fallon after a recent report.
The latest news about The Tonight Show comes just one year after Rolling Stone's bombshell report outlining allegations of a "toxic workplace" from several past and current workers.
As RadarOnline.com reported, at least seven former and current employees said the alleged "toxic workplace" Fallon, 49, created affected their mental health.
The magazine spoke to 50 past and present Tonight Show workers who claimed Fallon was "erratic” at work and suggested he was either "inebriated" or hungover during working hours.
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Fallon is now only shooting four new shows a week.
The report sent the former Saturday Night Live star on an apology tour throughout Studio 6B at 30 Rock.
Fallon allegedly told his staff: "I’m sorry if I embarrassed you. I never set out to create that type of atmosphere at the show. I think sometimes I'm working with the best of the best, you guys are the top of the game.
"There are things I've done in the past that are embarrassing but I never mistreated anybody.
"I want this show to be fun, it should be inclusive for everybody, it should be funny, it should be the best show, the best people."
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