NBC reduces the “Tonight Show” to four nights a week

The last of the major late-night shows on television, which airs five evenings a week, is skipping 24 hours of its programming.

NBC will expand “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” to four nights a week, the latest in a series of moves to its late-night schedule aimed at improving programming economics as viewers shift away from linear TV. Like its late-night competitors, “Tonight” will air in repeats on Fridays.

CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” already broadcast four original series per week.

NBC has been examining the cost of late-night programming in recent months. Earlier this year, the network decided to eliminate the house band from Meyers' 12:35 a.m. show, a move that recently took effect. But all networks have tested similar maneuvers in recent years.

NBC has gotten out of the business of airing a 1:30 a.m. time slot once filled by hosts such as Bob Costas and Carson Daly. Comedy Central has given up on developing a companion show to “Daily” that could follow the program after 11:30 p.m. Currently, Jon Stewart hosts the show once a week, while staffers such as Desi Lydic and Jordan Klepper fill in the other days. ABC has even gone so far as to allow Kimmel to take several weeks off each summer.

Fallon has continued to produce a Friday show for the past few seasons, even as his competitors have abandoned the practice, often taping two shows on Thursdays, one of which would air the next night.

Johnny Carson never had to think about whether or not to air his own show every weekday, but he also never had to contend with streaming services, DVRs and clips of his late-night programs distributed via YouTube and Snap. The late-night shows have long been something of a national pop culture institution, but digital media allows audiences that used to tune in at midnight to watch unique clips from all the shows in a way of their choosing. Even Carson, who has faced significantly less competition over the course of his career, couldn't stop that from happening.

Fallon has a broader portfolio of projects – like many of the current late-night hosts on TV. He will release a Christmas album later this year, recently released a new children's book and has been involved in producing various NBC game shows such as “Password” and “That's My Jam.”