text: On January 21, it was announced that NBC had struck a deal with O'Brien in which he would leave The Tonight Show and receive a $33 million payout – effectively a buyout of his three-year contract, which was reputed to be approximately $12 million a year. NBC's earlier position that O'Brien did not have time-slot protection was seemingly abandoned by implication, as in that scenario O'Brien would have been in breach of contract by refusing to move the show and presumably entitled to no such compensation. O'Brien's staff of almost 200 would receive $12 million divided in their departure, making the total of the settlement $45 million. O'Brien's final episode aired on Friday, January 22, ending his relationship with NBC after 22 years. Leno resumed hosting The Tonight Show on March 1, 2010, after NBC's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics concluded.
  O'Brien returned to late-night television on November 8, 2010 (after his non-compete agreement expired), hosting the self-owned Conan on cable channel TBS. Conan remained partnered with TBS until 2021, although his show was truncated from an hour to thirty minutes in length in 2019 due to ratings issues. Conan's final episode on TBS aired on June 24, 2021.