ABC's McPherson rooting for all nets

July 16, 2008 In a rehearsed bit during the executive session of ABC's presentation at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour, Kimmel, posing as a small-town TV critic, bombarded the ABC entertainment president with charged, over-the-top questions about the rumored move of "The Tonight Show" host Jay Leno to ABC that would affect Kimmel's late-night show there. McPherson later addressed the issue on a more serious note, praising Kimmel and taking a shot at NBC for taking Leno off "Tonight." Actually, this time around, McPherson said he will be rooting for his competitors as broadcast nets are looking to recover from the ratings slump caused in part by the writers strike.

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