With the news that Conan O’Brien will start a show on TBS in November, there are going to be a lot of people dubious about his decision and scoffing at his new chosen network. Here’s why you shouldn’t.
1. Conan will get a big audience. I mean by comparison. From the moment he premieres, given the outreach of basic cable combined with TBS’ easy-to-locate position on most cable systems, O’Brien will immediately draw more viewers than Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert. (And if you think TBS’ 10-11 p.m. line-up of Family Guy and The Office reruns is a poor lead-in for Conan, just remember that Comedy Central’s South Park reruns and stand-up-comic specials don’t do Stewart and Colbert any favors, either.)
Conan won’t come close to Leno and Letterman in ratings, of course. But the perception (that combo of hype, demos, and word-of-mouth) will be that Conan is a hit. And perception counts for a lot. It’s what makes some of you think Jon Stewart, as good as he is, out-draws your local news at 11. He doesn’t.
2. Conan instantly makes a square cable channel seem hip. Hip and cool have always been important to O’Brien and his audience, even if they don’t admit it. If there’s one thing we learned about Conan from his Tonight Show run, it’s that O’Brien is an acquired taste for mass America. Being on TBS enables O’Brien to bestow his hipness upon a low-rent cable channel. And if there’s one thing we learned about Conan’s audience from his Tonight Show run, it’s that they love to consider themselves a beleaguered cult of cognoscenti. Well, Conan’s arrival at TBS will enable Team Coco to do something cults love: take something that’s considered lame and single handedly raise it to cool status.
Plus, away from the glare of bigger networks, O’Brien can use TBS as his funky little laboratory to experiment and hatch new, even more eccentric stuff — the kind of thing the Tonight Show experience discouraged.
3. The alternative — Fox — would likely have been a disaster. As I’ve written before, Fox has never launched a successful late-night talk show, and Conan would have immediately been discussed in the media in the same breath as such failures as the Chevy Chase and Joan Rivers shows. That’s not good publicity. Plus, the lead-in Fox outlets would have provided (some of them grumpily) for O’Brien is, in most markets, its local news, not the biggest ratings-gatherers. It’s far better for Conan to mount a fresh version of his old show in a new outlet, which is what TBS provides.
Agree? Disagree?
For more: Conan O’Brien heads to TBS
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The only downside I see is that he’ll be on at 11 p.m., opposite Jon Stewart, and they share much the same audience.
Agreed. But, otherwise, yay for going to cable. I can’t wait to see what he does with the increased freedom!
Are you mentally challenged?
I guess the History Channel was booked, but what about CSPAN? I just have to assume CSPAN was booked up for them to accept a TBS offer.
what types of shows normally get the best ratings at 10/10:30?
Won’t he be on at 11:05? Beverly Hillbillies at 10:35, and so on…
TBS hasn’t done that :05 and :35 scheduling for years.
4 reasons it will fail:
1) Jon Stewart
2) Stephen Colbert
3) David Letterman
4) Jay Leno
I’m really getting tired of you Lay Jeno.
Lay Jeno, can’t you go away? What is the point? Like I’ve said before, this weird obsession of yours with Conan O’Brien is so weird. Can you not see that you suck and are doing nothing but make yourself look like a loser with NOTHING to do but piss on people’s happiness? Stop spoiling everyone’s day here on EW.com. Stick to ruining people’s days in real life.
I think it will work for him. The Daily Show and Colbert come on about three times a day so if its a choice between them and him he would probably win, since u can watch TDS/CR as early as 1:30 AM in some markets
I will watch him at 11pm. My only concern is the censoring they do on TBS. I can’t stand that. They cut scenes and edit words in every movie they air no matter what time it is. Will do they choose to edit Conan too?
I take it you haven’t watched “Lopez Tonight.” Or pretty much any recent movie they’ve shown on TBS.
I can say with some knowledge that their standards w/r/t language are at least the same as broadcast TV, if not in some cases more lenient.
What networks/programs are you even comparing TBS to?
Well, the only good news is that Comedy Central re-runs the heck out of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. So you can watch Conan live and then watch the previous night’s Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert the next day.
That’s probably what I’ll do.
same here. We don’t have to choose between Conan and Jon… Jon and Stephen are on four times a day and if you miss those you can watch it online.
That’s what DVRs are for
Exactly! I will tape Jon and watch Conan live as I head to bed. Easy peasy
this is true. I think it should have been switched just so people can watch Stewart/Colbert and then flip to TBS for Conan.
I’m going to choose Conan at 11. Jon Stewart re-runs so much the next day AND I have a magical DVR Machine.
I’ll watch Conan, switch to LEtterman at 12, then to on to Fallon. I only hear guys hating on Fallon, I think the ladies love Jimmy!
The ladies do love Jimmy! Slow jamming the news is hot!
Who are these cavepeople without DVRS who have to pick what show to watch anyway? I’m sick of hearing them say, well I can’t watch this because this is on. Catch up with technology please!
A LOT of ladies love Craig!
Craig Ferguson is not only hot he’s super funny. Go Craig!
Yummy. I loves me some Craig Ferguson! So many hot, smart and funny late night guys! How to choose!? Thank you Tivo!
I totally agree.
Um, I’ve never watched Stewart/Colbert (have no interest), and have been watching Conan for years, so I’m not part of the “same audience.” I’d bet money there are a lot of people that would watch one, and not have any interest in the other, too.
I love the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, but I’m going to choose Conan over them. I mean, all three people on these shows are funny, but I’d rather watch Conan on TV, and catch up on my daily show and colbert report episodes the next day.
True, but the re-air both The Daily Show and Colbert like 5 times the next day. So someone could (like myself) watch Conan live, then in the AM watch those shows.
Nobody will watch, just like it was when he was on the Tonight Show.
I will thus you are wrong.
I watched Conan constantly. I dreaded having to wait for Leno to get done with this dribble. They needed to fire Leno from the get go. Even less people watch NBC which only means 10 instead of the usual 20.
And now i hate waiting for leno to be done so i can watch Jimmy fallon.
….so YOU’RE the one that watches Jimmy Fallon….
I would watch a season of Late night with Jimmy Fallon than see one more week of The Chin.
Fallon? do you not get CBS?
Dear mental colossus PJ,
It’s drivel, not dribble. You’re welcome. Now go back to Jay Leno and his fresh OJ and Monica Lewinsky jokes.
Fallon is pretty good, actually. It’s a different feel from the other shows, so I can see it not appealing to everyone. But it definitely a fun show to watch.
I like Jimmy Fallon, and I know a bunch of people who don’t. I haven’t met a single person who’d rather watch Leno than Conan.
pk – the only people who prefer Leno to Conan are usually OLD and have no sense of humor. They make me sick. To pick Jay with his tired shtick over Conan should serve as an automatic ticket to the nursing home.
I don’t know why they say Conan appeals more to the younger crowd. When I was 25 (in 1990) I watched Johnny, not the younger “hip” Letterman.
Those were the good ol’ days, when a multi-talented person like Johnny Carson was on the Tonight Show. Plus, Johnny was funny; Jay, not so much.
Back in those days, the alternative was Merv Griffin!
Multi talented Carson? Which Carson did you watch? The tonight show was never funny until Leno took over.
you sound boring as hell… 25 and watching Carson? probably a republican…
When you were old enough to stay up, you watched Carson, it’s just what you did, and certainly there were no more republicans watching than liberals…you’ve never seen it obviously
mark, you sound mean, ill spirited, ignorant and deceptive. Oh, and stupid. Probably a liberal.
i have how deceptive you sound mark
*hate*
Hey Carson was better than Jay and Conan put together. Mark, you sound like one of those tweens that think Twilight is the greatest vampire movie ever made.
You know most young comedians(some probably liberal) watched and admired Carson. Getting called over to the couch was an amazing experience.
@Ted-
So because you didn’t watch what was “hip” when you were young that means no young people will watch what is “hip” now? C’mon, you know better than to use that logic. Conan is more appealing to a teenage to college-age audience than Leno or Letterman.
Coan is 47, he appeals to aging 40ish Gen X’ers who think Jen Anniston is the ultimate female. Teens and 20s surf the net, and Conan is their dad, get over Coco being some kind of ‘god of hipness’.
You do know Letterman never was on as an option to watching Johnny, right? He was on afterwards. So really you’re just saying you went to bed earlier.
You’re 1 out of 5….BILLION!
Well, Letterman followed Johnny, so it wouldn’t have been a matter of choice, just not staying up so late.
Well they’re using actual data, not one person’s experience, so that might be where the differences begin.
In ’90 – EVERYONE watched Carson. Even Arsenio was a blip compared to Carson, nothing could compete against him then. Letterman was on after him so if you didn’t want to wait up to watch him you had to tape him with your old VCR which is nothing like a DVR or going online.
And he is already better than Lopez Tonight, so there is another plus!
Ken..dissing Fox..no disclosure that EW is owned by TW..how child like.
why do you care? Fox sucks anyway.
Not sure how he was “dissing” Fox.
So he shouldn’t his valid, logical opinion as to not upset the parent company? That would make him one heck of a writer….
I’m not as concerned with his location on a “square cable network” – what the fart is NBC these days? Other than their Thursday night line-up, the Peacock isn’t the bees knees.
In the age of 100s of channels, the perceived cool factor of one does not dictate whether or not I will watch a show – or whether a show on that network gives it a hip factor.
“Bees knees”–really? Who are you . . .my grandmother?
Next she’s going to start talking about the “cat’s pajamas” wait for it….
I believe she posted that particular phrase as it is in keeping with the point she is making re: old-fashioned ideas.
Just plain dumb. Beyond jumping the shark. I really don’t get it from Conan’s perspective. For TBS it was a no brainer.
Ding Ding Ding! Misuse of an over-used colloquialism! “Jumping the shark?” Come on, man. Come on.
Ted-
They say appeals to the younger crowd because it’s a fact. He’s not a grumpy old man like Letterman and he’s not a fake kiss a*s like Leno. I’ve been watching him since I was 16 (I’m 23).
I love that you say Leno and Letterman will spank him b/c he’s on cable, when [adult swim] (um, on cable) has repeatedly spanked Letterman in the ratings.
Evidence please?
Cynthia’s Cynopsis
http://www.cynopsis.com/index.php/download_file/-/view/440/
“Since the highly publicized return of Leno to late night, Adult Swim has consistently beaten both Letterman and Leno with adults and men 18-34.”
PS it’s been happening since 2003:
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=5982
In certain demographics — some might say, the most important ones — Adult Swim does indeed beat all other channels in late night at times. http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/01/26/ratings-notes-for-cartoon-network-adult-swim-2/40206
It’s common logic, Amber. I love Conan and will definitely watch his new show on TBS. But if he couldn’t beat Letterman when he was on NBC, there is no way he will beat him on TBS. Be realistic and stop trying to fault Ken Tucker for no reason.
Not sure what the “common logic” is when we’re talking ratings, but OK.
Wasn’t trying to fault Ken Tucker (defensive much?) was pointing out a flaw/gap in reality vs print.
Some people believe what you tell them/write, and their desire for accurate information should be honored.
My point: they should be given the whole story the ratings tell, not an over simplified sanitized version of what they think they already know.
Who says he has to beat anyone? He just has to have decent numbers that pay the bills. Nothing to lose but repeats of The Office or House of Paine
OK, so somehow when he was on NBC, following the local news was OK, but on Fox would’ve been disaster? And TBS a low-rent cable channel? Since when? Oh, and that first point is laughable…”well he won’t get the ratings of the others, but all the hype means he does”? WHAT?!?
The local news on Fox airs at 10 (if it airs at all), against network competition. Fox Local News always does worse than the ABC/CBS/NBC local news as a result, so it’s a lot less viable as a lead-in.
Not always… Not here in Cleveland.
The fox local news doesn’t go up against network competition. That’s the reason they do it at 10:00, no competition.
I think Christian meant prime time competition.
Conan signed with TBS because – plain and simple – they gave him and his staff a better, more comfortable deal than anyone else offered. As a viewer, I couldn’t care less what network the show is on. It’s just a number on the dial.
So true about the channel just being a number on the dial. In fact, I don’t even really watch too much TV on the actual television set anymore. I just stream from the interwebs.
What is this dial of which you speak?
…and does it have anything to do with those ‘rabbit ears’ I read about in my history class?
@Jake, I still use rabbit ears! it’s a waste of money to have cable when everything is streaming online too!
im happy for conan. i wish him and his show all the best.
You are the definition of a moron.
Conan has made a major mistake, Im a Conan fan, but the programing I have doesnt include TBS which is the cheapest Dish Network offers, theres allot of people out there he has eliminated from his viewing audience.
Absolutely right. Not everyone pays to watch TV, and I for one am not going to start subscribing to cable for this one show. Adios, Conando!
I have basic cable. TBS is not on it. Not even on the pay tiered list on my system. Boo Hoo.
What about George Lopez? That Jerk Conan just will not be happy unless he gets someone firedsoe he can STEAL their time slot
The only way Conan accepted this deal, and before he did he actually refused to do to another what was done to him, was to talk to George Lopez about it, and only when Lopez gave Conan the go ahead did the deal actually happen. Check your facts.
So let me get this right – you really thing they gave George a choice? facts are the TBS exce said move it or lose it cause we want the White Ginger who is unfunny to take over.
Actually Lopez called Conan to persuade him to take the deal moron. I mean jesus the story just came out yesterday, read a little before putting your asinine opinion in on something you obviously know nothing about, troll.
Lopez is reportedly delighted to have Conan as his lead-in:
“I want to say that I am completely 100 percent onboard with this move,” Lopez continued.
So apparently Lopez knew about TBS’ late-night coup long before the rest of us CoCo fans. Long enough to come up with a new moniker, anyway.
“Then I said, ‘Let’s take the party and make it bigger, and take it into the next generation of late-night TV! Let’s do that!” Lopez recounted.
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b176113_george_lopez_already_loco_coco.html#ixzz0kywr3lQy
George Lopez personally called Conan and tried to convince him to do it. Conan told TBS he wasn’t interested in doing to someone else what was done to him. Lopez thought it was a good idea because he liked Conan and thought it would be a better lead in to his show.
TBS didn’t really give George a choice. It is like a parent giveing their first born a choice about the new baby in mommy’s belly.
George should be thrilled. His ratings will go up with Conan as a lead in.
Babies aren’t in mommy’s belly, they’re in her uterus which is lower than her belly. You’re warping your childrens minds.
It really is going to give George Lopez a lot more exposure than dressing Sandy Bullock up like a vato. GL is not stupid, he didn’t need to have his arm twisted to accept getting his show pushed back because his ratings are going to soar.
Dude, this is going to be the best thing to ever happen to Lopez. He’ll get better ratings at midnight than what he’s getting now.
Troll, I don’t know ya, but you’re making yourself out to be a complete idiot.