• Portfolio, Wednesday, December 10, 2008 9:15 AM

NBC's decision to give Jay Leno a 10 p.m. show is a sign that the time has come to fire Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment. The Leno maneuver isn't about creating new programming; it is about playing defense, and NBC didn't hire Silverman to play defense.

Silverman was picked because he was a hit-maker. But a year and a half after his arrival, Silverman has failed to produce any fresh triumphs for NBC -- "failing so utterly that now the network can only see the downside of the time slot where megahits like "ER" and "CS" are born."

Asked if he's lost confidence in Silverman, NBC Universal chairman Jeff Zucker says no. But at a time when the conglomerate is laying off hundreds, even from its divisions that are thriving, there's no justification for keeping someone like Silverman, "who's an expensive reminder of the network's shriveled ambitions."

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