Jay Leno speaks during the panel for “The Jay Leno Show” Aug. 5 at the NBC Universal Television Critics Association summer press tour in Pasadena, Calif.

Pasadena, Calif. ? NBC said Sunday it decided to pull the plug on the Jay Leno experiment when some affiliate stations considered dropping the nightly prime-time show, and the network is waiting to hear if Leno and “Tonight” host Conan O’Brien accept its new late-night TV plans.

“The Jay Leno Show,” which airs at 9 p.m. CST, will end with the Feb. 12 beginning of the Winter Olympics, said NBC Universal Television Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin. Leno would return to his former 10:35 p.m. slot after the Olympics ended under the network’s new plan, which also calls for O’Brien to retain his job with “Tonight” but at the later hour of 11:05 p.m. CST.

Jimmy Fallon’s “Late Night” would be pushed a half-hour later as well, to 12:05 a.m. CST.

“My goal is to keep Jay, Conan and Jimmy as our late-night lineup,” Gaspin said, adding later that they “have the weekend to think about it” and discussions with them will resume today.

NBC had moved Leno to prime-time last year in order to keep him from leaving the company and keep a promise it had made to give O’Brien the “Tonight” show. The change was one of the most dramatic in prime-time television in a generation. It was also a roll of the dice at a time NBC was suffering in prime-time. It didn’t even last six months.

Gaspin said the new proposal gives Leno what’s important to him — telling jokes at a later hour, even with a shorter show — and O’Brien his top priority, retaining “Tonight.”

“I hope and expect that before the Olympics begin, we’ll have everything set. I can’t imagine we won’t have everything in place before then,” Gaspin told a meeting of the Television Critics Association.

Gaspin said that despite lower ratings for NBC at 9 p.m. compared with last year, the network was making money off the show.

But affiliates were upset that it was leading fewer viewers into their late news programs, costing them significant advertising revenue. Some affiliates told NBC in December they would go public soon about their complaints if a change wasn’t made, or even take Leno’s show off the air.

Michael Fiorile, chairman of the NBC Affiliate Board, said it was a great move for NBC stations, the networks and viewers. “We admire their willingness to innovate, and their willingness to change course when it didn’t work for us,” Fiorile said.

Asked if O’Brien and Fallon expressed anger at his proposal, Gaspin said both men were professional and understanding when they talked. “Beyond that, it was a private conversation,” Gaspin said.

O’Brien reportedly has a contract that guarantees him a multimillion-dollar payment if “Tonight” is moved later than 11:05 p.m. CST.

But Gaspin, asked if a contractual penalty weighed into the decision to bump O’Brien’s show a half-hour rather than a full hour, replied, “No, not at all.”

The decision to shift Leno will leave a gaping hole in NBC’s prime-time schedule, at a time the network is already struggling. A mix of reality programming, “Dateline NBC” and at least two hours of scripted shows will be added to fill in the five hours taken up by Leno’s prime-time show each week.