Jay Leno and David Letterman are in the twilight of their days as late-night TV kings, and it’s not clear that any late-night comic will wield that kind of broad influence again.

Late-night ratings sank over the past three months, despite the attention and extraordinary television created over the winter by the drama of Leno taking back “The Tonight Show” from Conan O’Brien.

“Late-night talk shows have been around since the 1950s, and you wonder if they are getting passe with the viewing public,” said Brad Adgate, an analyst with Horizon Media.

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The Emmys are standing with Team Coco, snubbing Jay Leno.

O’Brien’s short-lived reign at NBC’s “Tonight” show earned him an Emmy nod for best variety, music or comedy series. Leno, who returned to “Tonight” following the failure of his prime-time show, was not nominated on Thursday.

But if it makes Leno feel any better, David Letterman was snubbed in the same category — for the first time in 17 years.

NBC submitted both versions of “Tonight” for Emmys consideration, letting the TV academy decide what to include in the category. They went with O’Brien, who was nominated alongside “Saturday Night Live” and shows hosted by Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher. O’Brien’s final “Tonight” show was also nominated for best writing in a variety, music or comedy series.

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It’s a wrap for “Tonight Show” bandleader Kevin Eubanks after 18 years backing up host Jay Leno.

“I don’t think we’ve ever had an argument,” Leno said, bidding Eubanks farewell on Friday’s show. “We’ve had a lot of fun.”

Eubanks, whose duties included comic sidekick to Leno as well as guitarist, had been aboard since Leno took over NBC’s “Tonight” in 1992. Eubanks became musical director when Branford Marsalis left in 1995.

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Sarah Palin has been busy this week in Los Angeles.

She appeared earlier this week on ‘The Tonight Show’ with Jay Leno where she joked about  botox, Tina Fey and even had some fun at her own expense.

The former vice presidential candidate  is now shopping around a docu-drama with reality show producer Mark Burnett.

EW.com is reporting that the  show will have a “planet-Earth type look” at Palin’s home state of Alaska.

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Sarah Palin says she’s going to play Tina Fey in an upcoming Las Vegas show.

Just kidding.

The former Republican vice presidential nominee turned into a standup comic on Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show” Tuesday, dropping one-liners about the White House, Congress and Fey – the “Saturday Night Live” star known for her impression of the former Alaska governor.

Palin told Leno’s audience she planned to speak at a gun-rights convention: “Be there or else,” she warned them.

She said Alaska is different from California. In Los Angeles, “when people have a frozen look on their face, I find out it’s Botox.” Read the full story

Jay Leno will sit down at his old seat on “The Tonight Show” Monday.

Flashback: Jay Leno Says Good Night to 10 P.M.

The 59-year-old talk-show veteran will return the program nine months after leaving it. Contrary to earlier reports, Leno’s longtime band leader Kevin Eubanks will be returning to the show, as well, although perhaps in a smaller role. Leno will launch his return to late-night TV with several high-profile interviews over the next two weeks, including Olympic champs Shaun White, Apolo Ohno and Lindsey Vonn; former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, “American Idol” creator Simon Cowell, “Idol” star Adam Lambert, Matthew McConaughey, “Twilight” star Kristen Stewart and the cast of “Jersey Shore.”

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NEW YORK (AP) — Super Bowl viewers were rubbing their eyes at the sight of a TV spot pairing CBS late-night host David Letterman with longtime NBC archrival Jay Leno, plus media magnate Oprah Winfrey.

Appearing early in the CBS-aired game Sunday, the ad depicted Letterman and Leno glumly sharing a couch watching the Super Bowl, with Winfrey seated between them trying to make peace. Read the full story

CHICAGO (AP) — Jay Leno tells Oprah Winfrey that he hasn’t spoken to Conan O’Brien throughout the recent contentious negotiations over “The Tonight Show.”

In quotes provided Wednesday by Harpo Productions, Leno tells Winfrey that “it didn’t seem appropriate” to speak to O’Brien. But Leno says the two comedians might talk when “things cool down.” Read the full story

Forget hitting the ski slopes, grabbing bags of swag, or long, luxurious nights by the fire. Joan Rivers is working the Sundance Film Festival.

“It is so frustrating to be at Sundance because you can’t see anything but your own movie,” said Rivers, who attended the festival in support of the documentary “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work,” directed by Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg. The film premiered Monday night.

“Everybody’s saying, ‘Did you see this? Did you see this?’” the 76-year-old comedian said. “You go, ‘No! No! No!’”

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Now that the Jay Leno-Conan O’Brien-NBC is finally jumping over the line from speculated story to what amounts to a small bit of history, the obvious question on some folks’ minds is “Who could’ve predicted this?”

Colby Hall of Mediaite has the answer for you. Who could’ve predicted this? Howard Stern. More than three years ago.