From God's Lips To Conan's Ear

"We all like Conan. It's an arithmetic problem."  Roger Ailes to the Chicago Tribune's Phil Rosenthal in a far-reaching rare interview.

Translation:  we'd love to have him but he costs too much and we don't know if he'll deliver the biggest bang for the buck.  NBC is prohibiting Conan from being on a Fox American Idol charity special April 21st.  Conan's forbidden from any TV appearances until May 1st. 

The Hollywood Reporter finds the timing of Conan's live tour intriguing.  If he makes a deal with Fox by the April 12th tour kickoff, Conan will conveniently be able to meet with local Fox affiliates in the top nine major markets where he's scheduled to perform.  Conan is curiously free May 17th - the date of Fox's upfronts in NYC. 

So Conan leaks the above to THR figuring he's making it easy for Fox to pimp his new show - if there's a deal.

I ask you, where else can Conan go?  Fox appears to be it. Under terms of Conan's NBC $48 mil exit, he can return to TV in September.