RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Media Conan

If Leno would have said fuck you NBC, I'm going to FOX he would have been a hero to everyone including Conan fans. Instead I believe it's about ego, it's an I told you so moment by taking Tonight back. Leno had a clause where he would be out free and clear if he was canceled at ten.

Didn't Ebersol also take over SNL when Lorne Michaels left for a couple years and got it canceled but Lorne came back and the network gave it another shot?

BC had the TV network "Sophie's Choice": Do you keep the guy people watch? Or the guy that people like?

"Jay Leno Show" has consistently drawn higher average ratings than "Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien."

Yet media and TV fans tend to be more enthusiastic about the creative O'Brien, and hunt for reasons to vilify the traditional Leno.

Since their shows became publicly endangered, however, this narrative has shifted. Ratings for "Leno Show" and "Tonight Show" are telling a clear story: Fans are rallying behind O'Brien.

When rumors first hit that Leno's 10 p.m. show might get canceled, 'Leno Show' actually went down in the ratings. And since, Leno's numbers have been average at best.

Yet Conan's ratings are edging up, up, up ... climbing the last three nights.

Based on preliminary metered-market estimates, on Thursday night O'Brien drew a 1.9 in the adult demo -- nearly double his usual average. That's 27% higher number at 11:35 p.m. than Jay Leno, who drew a 1.5 using the same type of measurement, earned at 10 p.m.

NBC research is unsure, but this might be the first time O'Brien has ever beat Leno in their current slots.

NBC Universal sports chairman Dick Ebersol may have picked the wrong day to bash O'Brien's show as "an astounding failure."

On the other hand: O'Brien's bump is clearly driven by the headlines rather than an organic rise in popularity. Such gains in late night are almost always temporary.

Even as reports continue to swirl that Leno will take over "Tonight Show," NBC has to wonder if it's betting on the wrong horse. This a crucial point. After a slew of disastrous late-night decisions, this is one call that NBC must get right.

Didn't even know what that was until you persuaded me to do a Google search.....Yikes. How did I ever live without it?

Anywho, I can't say I'm surprised that you bunch like these late night shows where all you do is watch a guy sit behind a desk and make half-assed riffs about pop-culture.

Not a problem 'ol buddy.

Like I said, It's pretty funny watching a bunch of irrelevant talk show hosts butt heads over something as meaningless as the Tonight Show.

The fight between Leno and Conan might be over, for now. Entertainment site The Wrap is reporting that NBC has agreed to pay Conan O'Brien $30-million to leave his 11:35 p.m. time slot.

From their post:

The network has agreed to pay O'Brien $30 million to vacate the 11:35 p.m. "Tonight Show," sources involved in the negotiations have told TheWrap.

The deal, which still has to be formally signed, will be announced later Friday.

NBCU President and CEO Jeff Zucker, NBCU Television Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin and Co-Chairman NBC Entertainment and NBC Televison Studio Marc Graboff were involved in the final all-night negotiations. The deal was brokered by Universal COO Ron Meyer, who was brought in on Tuesday, after talks had reached an impasse.

Earlier reports had indicated that Conan and NBC were close to a deal that involved the network waiving O'Brien's non-compete clause, paving the way for him to leave for another network and host another show.

From the Daily Beast:

The NBC-Leno-Conan war is close to ending, according to a knowledgeable source. According to the outlines of a settlement, Conan O'Brien will leave NBC and the network will make an as-yet unspecified payment. The comedian will be free to appear elsewhere on television well before his contract expires, despite earlier threats from NBC that it would prevent him from working anywhere else.

Conan's last episode of the Tonight Show is set for January 22. Any new show with O'Brien could take weeks and even months to set up.

The Los Angeles Times rounds up some of Conan's post NBC options. Where ever he goes we wish Coco luck.

Fox is the most obvious choice, and Kevin Reilly, the network's entertainment president, has not been subtle about how much he likes O'Brien. But, as we've previously noted lots of times, the network's affiliates would be a hard sell. They already have programming in the 11 p.m. hour and while sitcom reruns may not seem sexy, they are big cash generators for local TV stations.

With Fox already trying to get affiliates to give the network a cut of any money they get from cable operators for carrying their local stations, asking for a time slot on top of it may be a reach. Fox's own TV stations may also be wary about late night for the same reason. Those reruns cost a lot of money.

The Masturbating Bear is dead.

As a deal nears for Conan O'Brien's exit from NBC, one thing is certain: the characters and recurring comedy bits O'Brien originated during his 16-plus years on "Late Night" and "The Tonight Show" will not follow the host when he leaves NBC.

The Peacock owns the intellectual property behind such popular O'Brien characters as Pimpbot 5000 and Conando, as well as recurring segments such as In the Year 3000 and Desk Driving. Sources involved in the settlement negotiations say NBC is keeping the copyrighted and trademarked elements of O'Brien's shows as part of the deal. That means the bits and characters will likely never be seen after O'Brien's "Tonight" ends its run Jan 22. ‬

While the vast majority of the characters O'Brien introduced are said to owned by NBC, it's unclear who controls Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, the crass canine puppet that is perhaps O'Brien's most popular recurring bit. Triumph was originated by writer and longtime O'Brien pal Robert Smigel, whose reps declined to comment on whether Smigel or NBC owned rights to the character.

In 1993, David Letterman got into a dustup with NBC when he departed "Late Night" for CBS's "Late Show." NBC attorneys attempted to prevent Letterman from taking intellectual property originated on "Late Night" to the comic's new home. Letterman responded by dropping certain bits and renaming other recurring segments--"Viewer Mail" became "CBS Mailbag" and frequent guest Larry "Bud" Melman began referring to himself by his real name, Calvert DeForest. Letterman mocked the dispute on his first "Late Show" when NBC anchor Tom Brokaw interrupted the monologue and stole cue cards in the name of securing NBC's intellectual property.

O'Brien, if he lands at another late-night show, might be in a tougher spot. Unlike comic personalities Letterman and Jay Leno, O'Brien began his career as a writer on "Saturday Night Live" and "The Simpsons," and his shows relied more heavily on the cleverly scripted bits and outrageous characters.
Losing those assets could hurt O'Brien as he looks for another home, although his "Tonight" had featured fewer of the characters than "Late Night" and the host--who is considered one of the top comedy writers in the business--may be looking for a fresh start. Sources close to him said he was not interested in taking his NBC characters with him.

That settles it, I'm done with NBC after this week.

Its rumored that Conan signed a deal saying that he can use the characters that he created as long as he never makes fun of the network that raped him and everyone who works for him.

That's all well and good, Jay. However, when it became clear that NBC didn't have Conan on board for the move, the classy thing would have been to support him and not steal his show.