The West reports while Rove may not be on top of the list for Conan’s Job he may have better chances on FOX.

Rove McManus’ hopes of hosting an American TV talk show have taken a hit. There has been speculation McManus, who just completed a successful test run in the US, would replace NBC’s New York-based late night talkshow host Conan O’Brien in 2009. NBC executives, however, have revealed McManus is not at the top of the network’s short list of candidates.

The funnyman NBC is targeting to replace O’Brien is native New Yorker Jimmy Fallon, who has a huge following in the US after eight years starring on NBC comedy institution, Saturday Night Live (SNL). “I think he’d be terrific, and he is at the top of our short list,” NBC late-night chief Rick Ludwin, when asked about Fallon, told authoritative US trade magazine Broadcasting & Cable. McManus, the Melbourne-based 33-year-old host of Network Ten TV talkshow, Rove, has not ruled out moving to the US permanently.

McManus’ American move may not end if NBC bypasses him as another US TV network, the Rupert Murdoch-owned FOX, is rumoured to be interested in creating a late night talkshow. The talkshows are big advertising revenue earners for the American networks, which allows hosts to ink $US100 million ($A116.5 million)-plus multi-year deals.