Jay Leno’s decision to stay with NBC and host a new prime time show has stirred lots of buzz during the past few days, as the wellbeing of other television programs was roughly in the hands of the comedian.

For instance, if he had left the Peacock and joined another network, he would have most likely moderated a show that would have directly competed with his successor’s “Tonight Show.”

In addition, if he had not accepted to host the upcoming NBC show, the network would have found itself in the difficult position of creating scripted dramas, whose production costs would have been much higher.

However, Jay Leno is not going anywhere. And “Nightline’s” producer can breathe a sigh of relief. When NBC announced that Conan O’Brien would replace Jay Leno as the host of “The Tonight Show” starting with June 2009, various television networks began making offers to the 58-year-old comedian. Among the networks that reportedly wanted Jay Leno on their side were ABC, the Fox network and the Sony television studio.

We don’t know what option Jay Leno would have picked but if he had chosen to move to ABC, he would have almost certainly occupied the late-night time slot held by “Nightline,” taking into account the fact that David Letterman was made a similar offer some six years ago.

In spite of the favorable odds, James Goldston, executive producer of “Nightline,” explained on Wednesday that Jay Leno’s stay with NBC did not guarantee the ABC show’s continuation.

“Television is an uncertain business,” he said, as quoted by The Associated Press. “You earn your right to be on the schedule every day by what you do, and how you perform and what the economics are and the rest of it,” he added.

“Nightline” has seen good audience results during the past months and averaged approximately 4.5 million viewers in November, compared to the 4.1 million viewers who tuned in on CBS for David Letterman’s late-night program. According to figures released by Nielsen Media Research, Jay Leno’s “The Tonight Show” averaged 4.9 million viewers last month.

Jay Leno has been moderating “The Tonight Show” since 1993 and is expected to host the program for the last time on May 29, 2009. Conan O’Brien, who currently hosts NBC’s “Late Night,” will subsequently take the helm of the popular show.

Jay Leno’s new program is scheduled to kick off next fall and will presumably be set in the comedian’s longtime Burbank, California, studio. The show is said to retain some of the most important fragments in “The Tonight Show,” including skits like “Headlines” and “Jay Walking.”

The show’s debut will mark a notable innovation for a broadcast network, as “stripped” programs have been a highlight of daytime broadcasting and Jay Leno’s upcoming show will be aired on weeknights at 10.