BOSTON, April 4 (UPI) -- A TV station in Boston will lose all of its NBC programming if it does not broadcast comedian Jay Leno's new prime time series, the U.S. TV network says.
NBC Universal has threatened to pull its programming from WHDH-TV if the Boston station follows through with its plans to air the local news at 10 p.m. instead of Leno's new talk show, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.
"WHDH's move is a flagrant violation of the terms of their contract with NBC," NBC Network President John Eck said in a statement. "If they persist, we will strip WHDH of its NBC affiliation."
Steve Ridge of the Frank N. Magid Associates consulting firm told the Times the TV conflict is indicative of some stations' concerns that the new Leno series will represent a ratings drop in the weeknight time slot.
"This speaks to how much angst there is among the station affiliates who wonder whether NBC is making the right move, and what that move will do to their late newscasts," the president of the firm's media strategy group said.
