Hey, NBC: Carson Daly's Ready for 12:30

By Staff -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/12/2007 3:01:00 AM

Late-night host Carson Daly is throwing his hat into the ring for the 12:30 a.m. slot on NBC if and when Conan O’Brien jumps to 11:30 p.m. in 2009.

Daly, whose Last Call With Carson Daly on NBC is celebrating five years in the 1:30 a.m. slot, says he hasn’t talked to the network yet. "The only thing I can do," he says, "is say to the network, ‘We want to be in the position where we are considered a 12:30 replacement when that happens.’"

Daly says he isn’t bitter that NBC declined to name him O’Brien’s successor at 12:30 when the network announced O’Brien will succeed Jay Leno on The Tonight Show. "I would be presumptuous to have an opinion on that," he says. "I’m lucky I’m on the air."

For now, Daly says he’ll focus on polishing Last Call, which has added more comedy to go with the guests and music elements. He also just completed a presentation to NBC for It’s Your Show, a concept for a primetime competition series featuring user-generated content.

And although he covets the 12:30 slot, Daly has enjoyed the freedom of being on later.

"I think we have made great strides, and this stealthfully improving seems to work well for us," he says. "That’s the beautiful thing about being on while America sleeps. Each day, you have the chance to try something and find a comfort level."