Leno in happier times, chatting on the Tonight Show with the leader of the free world. (AP)

Jay Leno’s new 10 p.m. talk show is losing viewers, as are the local news programs that follow it in several major markets.

This is not good for the network that made the decision to move Leno from his perch atop the late night talk show heap for its grand prime-time experiment.

One of the silver linings proferred by NBC types during the show’s ratings slide is that, while they knew Leno would have tough going in the  fall when the new dramas it was up against were in full swing, he would kill the much more expensive dramas he is up against once said pricey programs were in reruns.

Last week, that theory got put to the test when Leno went up against a “CSI: Miami” rerun.

He lost.

That is the backdrop for Leno’s illuminating QA with Broadcast & Cable magazine today, in which he was asked flat out if he regretted his move to primetime.

“Would I have preferred to stay at 11:30?” Leno mused. “Yeah, sure.”

Leno went further, comparing hosting the “Tonight Show” for 17 years to winning the prestigious America’s Cup yacht race, adding the rejoinder:

“Do I enjoy the battle [of making the new show work]? Yes, I get a certain amount of satisfaction from pounding my head against the wall.”

Faint praise indeed.

Then later, when asked if he would take back the “Tonight Show” if offered, Leno seemed unaware that the job had been filled:

“If it were offered to me, would I take it? If that’s what they wanted to do, sure. That would be fine if they wanted to.”

This does not sounds like a happy man.

And with Conan O’Brien’s “Tonight Show” ratings way below Leno’s when Leno left, one can only wonder if the red-headed gabber is hearing Leno’s iron-jawed noggin pounding against the wall… in his nightmares.