It’s official! Jay Leno is staying with NBC and is moving to prime time. We don’t know whether the measure aims at reducing production costs or at desperately clinging to the comedian, but it definitely represents an innovative action for a broadcast network.

The Peacock network announced on Tuesday that Jay Leno would host the tentatively titled “Jay Leno Show,” which is scheduled to premiere in fall next year, five nights a week at 10.

The 58-year-old comedian will host “The Tonight Show” for the last time on May 29 and will be succeeded by Conan O’Brien, who is expected to regularly moderate the program starting with June 2009. Conan O’Brien currently serves as the host of NBC’s “Late Night” show.

Jay Leno has been the host of “The Tonight Show” since 1993, when he followed Johnny Carson at the helm of the popular program.

“A lot of people were shocked,” Jay Leno joked on Tuesday night, referring to his transfer to another time slot. “They didn’t know NBC still had a prime time.”

The television host also explained that he was not going anywhere, thus rejecting recent rumors regarding his departure to another network. Jay Leno was sought after by ABC, the Fox network and the Sony television studio, but it seems that NBC managed to create the best offer. If he had reached a deal with another network, Jay Leno would have competed with Conan O’Brien’s show.

However, he chose to stay at the Peacock and his upcoming program will go up against series like “CSI: Miami,” rather than David Letterman’s “Late Show,” which kicks off at 11:35 on weeknights.

NBC announced earlier this year that Conan O’Brien would take the place of Jay Leno as the moderator of “The Tonight Show” in summer 2009 and, thus, the comedian’s professional future remained in his own hands.

He said on Thursday that reports claiming his move to another network “were nothing but rumors started by a disgruntled employee: me.”

Jay Leno’s new show will most likely be set in the comedian’s longtime Burbank, California, studio. Moreover, he is said to latch on to some of the most popular elements in “The Tonight Show,” such as his much-admired monologue and fragments like “Headlines” and “Jay Walking.”

Although the so-called “stripped” shows have been a highlight of daytime broadcasting, NBC’s new program will also belong to this particular category, despite the fact that it will be aired during prime time.

In 2002, Jeff Zucker, the chief executive of NBC Universal, made a similar offer to David Letterman, who was considering renewing his contract with CBS. Jeff Zucker proposed him to take the helm of a show that would have filled the 8 o’clock time slot on weeknights, but Mr. Letterman refused the deal.