O'Brien out, Leno back in?
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Stone_Cold_Sisko
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Indeed. Frankly it'll probably be better than ever since even if he had creative control with Fox he'd still be restricted to some of Fox's network B.S. I would assume that TBS would put less restrictions on him.
TBS was out of the blue...but I can see how this is a positive for Conan...
If he went to Fox, he'd have the greater chance for exposure, but he'd also have put himself back into the middle of the network late night wars...within a week, his show would have been deemed a "failure" if Leno and Letterman beat him in the ratings at 11 or if scripted drama beat him at 10...all those affiliates that Fox would have had to strong-arm to move their local news/syndicated programs for would have been screaming for Conan's head...and if he had gotten the axe from Fox, that would have been it for his career...
However, on TBS, he has the chance to build a niche audience with a network that has no history to maintain and pretty low expectations, considering their last two attempts at an 11 pm show were Frank TV and Lopez Tonight...if (and that's a big IF) TBS will give Conan plenty of leeway and a good amount of time to build an audience, they could have a solid hit on their hands...
The big concern is that Conan will be directly up against The Daily Show/Colbert Report...and I'd imagine that his core audience is the same as those two shows...but there could be an audience out there for that same sense of humor for those that might not be interested in the political subject matter on the Comedy Central shows...but that was going to be an issue no matter where he ended up at 11 pm...
If he went to Fox, he'd have the greater chance for exposure, but he'd also have put himself back into the middle of the network late night wars...within a week, his show would have been deemed a "failure" if Leno and Letterman beat him in the ratings at 11 or if scripted drama beat him at 10...all those affiliates that Fox would have had to strong-arm to move their local news/syndicated programs for would have been screaming for Conan's head...and if he had gotten the axe from Fox, that would have been it for his career...
However, on TBS, he has the chance to build a niche audience with a network that has no history to maintain and pretty low expectations, considering their last two attempts at an 11 pm show were Frank TV and Lopez Tonight...if (and that's a big IF) TBS will give Conan plenty of leeway and a good amount of time to build an audience, they could have a solid hit on their hands...
The big concern is that Conan will be directly up against The Daily Show/Colbert Report...and I'd imagine that his core audience is the same as those two shows...but there could be an audience out there for that same sense of humor for those that might not be interested in the political subject matter on the Comedy Central shows...but that was going to be an issue no matter where he ended up at 11 pm...
TBS did say that they hope for Conan to be with them long-term, so I'm imagining as long as Conan's show gets decent to good ratings, he'll be on for a while.
Yep...and "decent to good" is a wholly different proposition for TBS than it would have been for Fox. And we all know that Fox is just the most patient network when it comes to giving new shows a chance, right?
I think that Conan will be able to carve out his own little late night empire in the same way that Stewart and Colbert have done for CC...
TBS? I don't know about that. I was really hoping he'd show up on Fox. They're one of the strongest networks these days. Maybe they didn't think he'd bring in enough viewers to justify whatever he was asking? Well, whatever.
That's the best he could find?
I actually think TBS is a good choice. Everyone wanted him to go to Fox, but remember that Fox is a major network. Which means the ratings are king. Plus Fox is notorious for its hair-trigger cancellation trigger. If Conan didn't beat Leno the first week, he might have been gone the second.
With TBS he has a chance to grow his show -- perhaps even syndicate it -- without having to be as concerned about ratings. Granted, TBS will still cancel a show, but the threshold is much lower.
The only problem I have is that TBS is no longer a North America-wide broadcaster, as it has been replaced in Canada by a subsidiary, Peachtree. That said I think Lopez is on Peachtree, so this concern might be moot.
I think at the end of the day the question was who was going to give Conan the freedom to do what he wanted. If Fox didn't want to give that freedom, they might have lost out. Or TBS might have had deeper pockets.
Regardless, I'm glad to see Coco returning to TV and I look forward to what he has in store.
Alex
With TBS he has a chance to grow his show -- perhaps even syndicate it -- without having to be as concerned about ratings. Granted, TBS will still cancel a show, but the threshold is much lower.
The only problem I have is that TBS is no longer a North America-wide broadcaster, as it has been replaced in Canada by a subsidiary, Peachtree. That said I think Lopez is on Peachtree, so this concern might be moot.
I think at the end of the day the question was who was going to give Conan the freedom to do what he wanted. If Fox didn't want to give that freedom, they might have lost out. Or TBS might have had deeper pockets.
Regardless, I'm glad to see Coco returning to TV and I look forward to what he has in store.
Alex
I feel the need to point out that Conan was supposedly wronged when Leno was going to bump his show to a later time but Conan seems fine with starting a new show that will bump and probably lead to the firing of George Lopez.
Hrm? I'm not the only person that sees this am I? Interesting that he would join a network that is doing to their current late night host what NBC was going to do to him.
Hrm? I'm not the only person that sees this am I? Interesting that he would join a network that is doing to their current late night host what NBC was going to do to him.
The TBS press release indicates that Lopez had a hand in bringing Conan to TBS--Lopez actually called him if the release is accurate.
http://www.prnewschannel.com/absolutenm/templates/?z=0&a=2443
Yeah, Lopez wanted Conan on TBS, and fought to convince him.
Of course that is what the press release says. When is a press release not pure spin? You don't think TBS realized the conflict in hiring someone that quit their last job cause they got bumped to a later time slot just to bump someone to a later timeslot at their new network?
TBS probably sat down Lopez very early in the process and explained how it is good for him and his show if they make this look all happy and cheery. Lopez's show didn't do so great in the ratings anyways to my understanding so they might have even agreed to extend his contract if he played along.
Who says it's a bad thing for Lopez (who I've never even heard of) if his show is half an hour later than usual but with a much better lead-in?
Because when I think of a long-time late night veteran who had his critically acclaimed and fan-loved show bumped for a newcomer, I think of George Lopez.
Bottom line: Conan had the history and pedigree to bitch about being bumped. Lopez simply doesn't.
So Conan's new show will go up directly against other cable heavyweights the Daily Show and Colbert Report?
Good luck cracking that egg.
Good luck cracking that egg.
So you're refuting a press release which has a quote directly taken from Lopez and just spinning this stuff... without any credible source at all? I'm sorry, but I'll believe Lopez and TBS over you.