Reply #21: Jay is an employee.

[blue_onyx]

NBC doesn't have to clear anything through him.


"And yet on Monday, Mr. Leno will begin his 10 p.m. show on NBC — a remarkable turnaround that has seen him go from a late-night discard to the lynchpin of the network’s prime-time fortunes. Asked in an interview here how the idea of leaving “The Tonight Show” was broached, Mr. Leno said: “Broached? I was told.” The changeover was set for June 2009."

As Mr. Leno tells it, it might have been even worse. “Actually, they wanted me out in three years,” he said. “I had to argue to get the other two. Oh, yeah. I said: ‘Let’s make it five. You want me out? I’ll do five.’ ”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/12/arts/television/12leno.html