Leno's last `Tonight' is May 29; O'Brien in June 1

Leno's last show will be Friday, May 29, and O'Brien will start the following Monday, June 1, NBC executives told a Television Critics Association meeting Monday.

NBC is angling to keep Leno with NBC Universal but the late-night king has indicated he's ready to jump ship. Eager NBC competitors, including other networks and syndicators, are prepared to help him make the leap.

Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff, NBC Entertainment co-chairmen, were asked about the specter of Leno being hired by ABC and overpowering O'Brien and top-rated "Tonight."

"We really believe in the decisions we've made with our partners, including Jay," and stand by them, Silverman replied.

Graboff disagreed with the premise of the question, saying talks aimed at keeping Leno within NBC Universal post-"Tonight" are continuing.

But, Graboff added, "we've made our decision, we're happy with it, we're very confident the `Tonight' show will remain dominant in its time period."

Despite its prime-time woes, NBC has managed to maintain its late-night ratings dominance, although O'Brien has been challenged lately by Craig Ferguson on CBS. Now NBC is attempting a tricky transition based on a promise made nearly four years ago that O'Brien would succeed Leno.

The network attempted to defuse the issue Monday with humor: Leno was seated among the press corps, disguised as a bald, bearded reporter who was armed with questions about himself.

But the exchange came off as more pointed than funny, unlike a similar staged encounter between ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and a network executive last week at the critics' meeting.