Whether or not Letterman will lose his job, a very unlikely scenario at this stage, over sexual relationships with staff members, the scandal, as well as Conan O'Brien's recent show-canceling injury, are a reminder of how much the networks have riding on fragile, fallible individuals in their late-night programming. Five weekly hours of valuable real estate and tens of millions of dollars in advertising revenue are resting on their health, humor and behavior.
The hosts' value is similarly evidenced by their lengthy contracts and seven- to eight-figure salaries. Letterman, who actually owns his show, is the genre's top earner: He pulls down an estimated $32 million a year from his work on "The Late Show." To protect against poaching or fleeing and perhaps to incentivize responsible behavior, Leno, too, was locked into a long-term contract at "The Tonight Show" that paid him approximately $27 million a year
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