• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, December 12, 2006

CBS has extended "Late Show with David Letterman" through 2010, with the hope that by that time he may have returned as the leader in late-night TV. Will digital video platforms be a factor?

By that date Conan O'Brien will have been on the job with "The Tonight Show" for a year. And Leno?  He might not necessarily be fading into the sunset around Las Vegas hotels. While he has been a good trooper for NBC and GE, there's no telling that he wouldn't set up shop at Fox or ABC, which have salivated for years over getting in the late-night wars in a big way.

For those who might forget, Letterman, for a short time, was the No. 1-rated late-night host just after he came over to CBS in 1993. He soon thereafter lost this position to Leno.

No doubt all these machinations are on the minds of the executives at GE/NBC. Perhaps in a couple of years, they might want to give Letterman even more headaches by keeping things as they are and retaining Leno.

GE/NBC made an unusual announcement a couple of years ago, saying that O'Brien was its late-night host of the future--but not too soon. Leno had been and continues to work fine as the leader in late night. Executives must have believed that Leno, like some aging major league baseball outfielder, would eventually lose his stuff. So, GE locked in a deal for their up-and-coming bench player, O'Brien.

Give credit to GE/NBC for thinking ahead. But the problem with this strategy is that it lays out too many cards on the table for competitors to strategize over.  If NBC goes ahead with the plan, Leno could move to ABC or Fox. If Leno stays, O'Brien, now miffed, could move to Fox or ABC.

A good sign for traditional TV watchers and executives is that digital TV seemingly plays small part in any of this. Official Letterman clips on YouTube now play regularly. And while CBS claims Letterman has improved somewhat because of the YouTube clips, they hasn't been a game-changer. Yet.

Four years from now, it could be a different story. Maybe those late-night wannabes will need the likes of a YouTube or MySpace to help them attract that young and hip crowd that gives them overall big ratings. This carefully written joke still has no punchline