Originally posted by Variety (variety.com) Posted: Mon., Apr. 12, 2010, 9:45am PT
Conan O'Brien is moving to TBS Former 'Tonight Show' host finds a new home By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER
Conan O'Brien is moving to TBS.
In a surprise announcement, TBS revealed this morning that the former "Tonight Show" host would join the cabler in the 11 p.m. time slot this November.
"Lopez Tonight," which currently airs there, will shift to midnight. Like "Lopez," the as-yet untitled O'Brien show will air four days a week, Mondays through Thursdays.
"In three months I've gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I'm headed to basic cable," O'Brien said. "My plan is working perfectly."
News was timed to the kick off of O'Brien's "Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television" tour, which starts Monday night in Eugene, Ore.
O'Brien had been widely expected to seal a deal with Fox -- and execs at the broadcast network remained optimistic last week that a deal could eventually be hammered out.
But Fox was running into serious financial roadblocks in clearing a late night yakker.
It's was a given that divisions such as the Fox TV Stations, Twentieth Television and 20th Century Fox TV would all take at least a short-term financial hit should an O'Brien latenighter become a reality for Fox.
And given the off-net sitcom contracts that Fox's O&Os -- and most of its affiliates -- have in place, it was looking more likely that an O'Brien show would air at 11:30 p.m., and even midnight in some markets, instead of 11 p.m. after Fox affils' 10 p.m. newscasts.
Considering that O'Brien exited NBC after that network downgraded his timeslot, O'Brien likely didn't want to have to wait years to secure full in-pattern clearances on Fox across the country.
TBS, on the other hand, allows O'Brien to be seen virtually nationwide, in-pattern, immediately.
According to TBS, talks began in earnest just last week -- and after "Lopez Tonight" star George Lopez personally gave O'Brien a call.
"I can't think of anything better than doing my show with Conan as my lead-in," Lopez said. "It's the beginning of a new era in late-night comedy."
Turner Entertainment Networks president Steve Koonin called O'Brien "the comedic voice for a generation."
"TBS already has a huge audience of young comedy lovers, and Conan's show will give these fans even more reasons to watch our network," Koonin said.
Lopez's talk show already posts the youngest median age among all latenight talkers. Koonin said he saw an opportunity to expand on that young audience.
For decades, late-night TV has been dominated by broadcast television," Koonin said. "Now, with a young audience and a growing late-night lineup, TBS is set to be the choice of comedy fans for years to come."
Under his exit package, O'Brien is able to host a new late night show starting in September.
He's also able to start conducting TV interviews in May (with some restrictions on what he can say about NBC and the January late night kerfuffle). Given Monday's announcement, it will probably be no surprise if O'Brien gives his first sit-down chat to Lopez.
So, what have we learned?
1. Affiliates suck. 2. George Lopez is a PRAGMATIST
George Lopez is a class act who graciously moved out of the way for Conan. The way Conan didn't for Leno? Hey, shut up!
Outside of baseball or repeats of The Office, I watch nothing on TBS. Finally, something has arrived to fill the void left by WCW Saturday Night and Thunder!
Color me rather surprised, shocked, & quite interested on this. Late night talk on cable has been mediocre to fair. I mean you got that Chelsia woman on E but is there anything else than Lopez? Didn't even know Lopez was doing late nights.
Rarely have been watching TBS too so it looks like its going back on while channel surfing I'll see what's on.
Originally posted by jwrestleColor me rather surprised, shocked, & quite interested on this. Late night talk on cable has been mediocre to fair. I mean you got that Chelsia woman on E but is there anything else than Lopez? Didn't even know Lopez was doing late nights.
The John Stewart/Steven Colbert news hour does well. Everyone's going to go Jay/Conan/Letterman but the other two lot closer to the real battle for similar audiences.
Originally posted by John OrquiolaGeorge Lopez is a class act who graciously moved out of the way for Conan. The way Conan didn't for Leno? Hey, shut up!
Sarcasm aside....I can see some people actually thinking Conan's a hypocrite for doing this. Of course, Lopez pushing back his time slot is different because;
1) He volunteered his spot. NBC was forcing Conan. 2) He gains to benefit from this move, as Conan will be a KILLER lead-in. 3) He didn't spend years at a station who promised him something and then took it away.
This works on multiple levels, and I approve. Conan no longer has to worry about network affiliates. And he has no need to worry about a "Favre" situation.
Meanwhile, Lopez comes across as a classy guy....also a smart, smart man. He knows he's in a niche area if he stayed at 11pm, I mean some people (even on this board) didn't know he had a show. Now instead of competing against Conan.....they are now allies. Brilliant.
(edited by El Nastio on 12.4.10 1438) You know, I really don't know what to put here. Close your eyes and thank of something funny!
It's great to see the Conan balked at making Lopez move, and that Lopez called personally to set everything straight. I don't know what the cash deal is, but I would guess that a large part of Conan going to TBS has to be the great treatment his team has received so far. This is an awesome move now I can watch Conan (and Lopez if I have the energy) and catch The Daily Show/Colbert Report the next morning when they replay it.
I remember reading an article about how Family Guy on Cartoon Network was out doing Leno and Letterman in the 18-49 graphic. TBS has Family Guy too, so maybe they would run Family guy 10-11 then do Conan since its a built in audience? I know its two different networks, but it could work.
Originally posted by BroncolancheSomeone theorized on another forum that Conan will be at TBS for ~2 years before succeeding Letterman when he retires. Makes sense to me.
I thought Dave had promised that slot to Craig Ferguson, and there were rumours that CBS was thinking of wanting Jon Stewart in the slot. Now, that said, Conan seems like more of a logical successor and (from Craig and Jon's perspectives) they're both so good in their current niches that moving up to 11:35 on a network mignt not work out so well.
Originally posted by BroncolancheSomeone theorized on another forum that Conan will be at TBS for ~2 years before succeeding Letterman when he retires. Makes sense to me.
I thought Dave had promised that slot to Craig Ferguson, and there were rumours that CBS was thinking of wanting Jon Stewart in the slot.
I don't have solid evidence on me, but Ferguson has said multiple times that he has no plans to take over for Dave; not to mention that a lot of the stuff he does on the Late Late Show would be very hard to get away with at 11:35.
Originally posted by lotjxI remember reading an article about how Family Guy on Cartoon Network was out doing Leno and Letterman in the 18-49 graphic. TBS has Family Guy too, so maybe they would run Family guy 10-11 then do Conan since its a built in audience? I know its two different networks, but it could work.
(Very) Funny you should say that.
Checking the TBS schedule...gettin' hypothetical, if Conan were to start tonight, he'd have Lopez' current lead-ins, which are: MONDAY: Three hours of "Family Guy" TUESDAY: Three hours of "The Office" WEDNESDAY: Three hours of Tyler Perry sitcoms - two hours of "Meet the Browns" followed by one hour of "House of Payne" THURSDAY: 2hr movie + one hour of "Family Guy" FRIDAY: They don't/won't have Friday late night shows - they rerun their "premiere movie" instead
So....y'know, it's no *Leno.*
Of course, they surely won't keep this schedule through whenever Conan starts, but it's still fun to speculate.
[ Also (Very) funny is that TBS.com is down for me right now. ] (Yes, I checked it earlier for a tweet. Yes, this is an expanded, recycled tweet. WELCOME TO GREEN WEEK)
Originally posted by BroncolancheI don't know what's a worse lead-in: "The Jay Leno Show" or three hours worth of Tyler Perry shitcoms (see what I did there)
As far as the treasured 18-49 demo goes, Wednesday night on cable is dominated by South Park and two other shows: House of Payne and Meet the Browns. House of Payne was also the highest rated sitcom in cable television HISTORY, but I believe it was knocked off its perch... by Meet the Browns. Are those the "shitcoms" to which you refer?
Originally posted by thecubsfanThe John Stewart/Steven Colbert news hour does well. Everyone's going to go Jay/Conan/Letterman but the other two lot closer to the real battle for similar audiences.
My understanding is that Daily Show/Colbert are nowhere near any of the broadcast late night talk shows in terms of ratings, but when you factor in iTunes downloads, "water cooler" talk, and overall buzz, they arguably have far greater impact on our daily lives. Maybe they're closer in the 18-49 demo; I think I saw somewhere that Daily Show hovers somewhere below the 2 mil mark.
Originally posted by OliverWill this appear on Peachtree TV? For some reason, I don't get TBS, but I get Peachtree - isn't that the same thing?
If you are in Canada, in most cases Peachtree TV gets you whatever us Americans get on TBS (because Canadians don't get TBS). I read an article earlier today, however, that says that won't apply to Conan's new show. As of now, the Canadian rights for the new show are still up for grabs.
Originally posted by BigDaddyLocoI haven't watched much TBS since they got rid of all the wrestling and the nightly Braves games. Why did they stop showing the Braves anyways?
Originally posted by OliverWill this appear on Peachtree TV? For some reason, I don't get TBS, but I get Peachtree - isn't that the same thing?
I can answer both questions in one swoop. WTCG, owned by Turner Broadcasting, became the first "superstation" (broadcasting to people across a diverse geographic area) in 1976. In 1979 the stations' call letters became WTBS. In 1981, the local feed and the national feed were separated. WTBS became known as "Superstation 17", and the national feed became TBS.
In 2007, Superstation 17 changed call letters again and became WPCH, "Peachtree TV". Peachtree TV would focus on local Atlanta matters, including the Atlanta Braves. TBS carries the Sunday night baseball game, but there are limits as to how often any one team is allowed to appear.
Now the weird part is that in Canada the rights were to air WTBS, so after the switch, they stayed with Peachtree TV and not TBS. If a Canadian cable provider wants to air TBS, they need to petition for approval from the CRTC, which has not and probably will not happen. Sorry, but that's government for you.
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