Conan's Exit Confirmed

[skcin]

Originally Posted by JWS

Just wondering...will there ever be a female host of the Tonight Show? Joan Rivers had her own late night show that bombed. She was once a regular fill-in for Johnny.

Could Oprah make it at night?

A female in general? Maybe. Oprah? Hell no. People want light humor at night, with comedians as hosts. They don't want to be lectured at.

[FMlex]

Love you long time, Coco!

[HejiraNYC]

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.co.../?ref=business

Conan O’Brien Will Do a Late-Night Show on TBS
By BILL CARTER



Conan O’Brien has agreed to start a new late-night show on TBS.
In a move that qualifies as a shocker, Conan O’Brien has made a deal to return to television in a new late-night show on cable — not network — television.

The former “Tonight Show” host has agreed to start a new show on TBS, the comedy-oriented cable channel in the Turner network lineup. The show will start in November and play at 11 p.m. weeknights, teamed with that network’s other late-night show, hosted by George Lopez. That show, now at 11, will slide to midnight.

The news comes as a stunner because Mr. O’Brien was known to be in talks with the Fox network, and most predictions had him moving there in September or January.

TBS was not known to be in the picture. But Mr. O’Brien’s representatives had been quietly talking with that cable network as issues continued to arise with the potential Fox deal.

The move will surely be closely examined for its implications for the future of broadcast vs. cable television, with one of the biggest stars of recent years in network television abandoning that side for cable.

In a release accompanying the announcement Mr. O’Brien said: “In three months I’ve gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I’m headed to basic cable. My plan is working perfectly.”

Mr. O’Brien begins his live concert tour in Eugene, Ore., Monday night.

In the statement, Steve Koonin, the president of Turner Entertainment Networks, emphasized the change from network to cable.

“For decades, late-night TV has been dominated by broadcast television,” Mr. 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.”

[LukeA]

I think this could be a very good move. FOX was always going to be an uphill battle, getting clearances from all the affiliates, and cable is the place to be if you're targeting/skewing younger.

I'm off to Eugene for the show tonight! Should be interesting to hear what Conan might say about it.

[Erin]

I wish his show would start 30 minutes later, now he's going to conflict with Chelsea Lately! Why Coco, why?

[seekerj]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.co.../?ref=business

Conan O’Brien Will Do a Late-Night Show on TBS
By BILL CARTER



Conan O’Brien has agreed to start a new late-night show on TBS.
In a move that qualifies as a shocker, Conan O’Brien has made a deal to return to television in a new late-night show on cable — not network — television.

The former “Tonight Show” host has agreed to start a new show on TBS, the comedy-oriented cable channel in the Turner network lineup. The show will start in November and play at 11 p.m. weeknights, teamed with that network’s other late-night show, hosted by George Lopez. That show, now at 11, will slide to midnight.
The news comes as a stunner because Mr. O’Brien was known to be in talks with the Fox network, and most predictions had him moving there in September or January.

TBS was not known to be in the picture. But Mr. O’Brien’s representatives had been quietly talking with that cable network as issues continued to arise with the potential Fox deal.

The move will surely be closely examined for its implications for the future of broadcast vs. cable television, with one of the biggest stars of recent years in network television abandoning that side for cable.

In a release accompanying the announcement Mr. O’Brien said: “In three months I’ve gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I’m headed to basic cable. My plan is working perfectly.”

Mr. O’Brien begins his live concert tour in Eugene, Ore., Monday night.

In the statement, Steve Koonin, the president of Turner Entertainment Networks, emphasized the change from network to cable.

“For decades, late-night TV has been dominated by broadcast television,” Mr. 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.”

OH! So he had a problem with NBC doing this to him in order to bring Jay Leno back, but he has no problem with TBS doing the same thing to George Lopez in order to bring him in. What an ass.

[LukeA]

Originally Posted by seekerj

OH! So he had a problem with NBC doing this to him in order to bring Jay Leno back, but he has no problem with TBS doing the same thing to George Lopez in order to bring him in. What an ass.

Not exactly.

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.co...ned/?src=busln

[HejiraNYC]

As much as I like CoCo, I have been annoyed by the natural presumption that everyone under the sun, especially FOX, would be falling over themselves for his show. As it turned out, FOX went about this rather half-heartedly. At the end of the day, they had to ask themselves whether they could compete against the other networks with new programming and make more money than the current 11PM shows. They probably came to the conclusion that re-runs of Seinfeld and The Office were much better for the bottom line.

TBS gives me the creeps. Ted Turner gives me the creeps. Tyler Perry gives me the creeps. As far as I'm concerned, TBS is kind of a damaged brand, especially as it relates to new, original programming. Perhaps being the "Home of CoCo" will give them a serious boost of cred.

[hayley]

Originally Posted by LukeA

Not exactly.

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.co...ned/?src=busln

Thanks for linking this, great article.

I'm sure George Lopez is only too happy to have an actual lead-in for his show, instead of creepy Tyler Perry reruns.