NEW YORK (AP) - David Letterman says he stuck around on network television about 10 years too long.

He made that revelation during an appearance Thursday on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show. Letterman quit in 2015 after 33 years as a late-night host on CBS and NBC, and is beginning his second season on his more leisurely-paced Netflix show.

Letterman says it turns out nobody had the guts to fire him. He says it took leaving the show for him to realize that there's more to life than asking some celebrity to "tell us about your pet beaver."