Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien

[metal2000]

Wait, huh?

All indications are that, due to their ratings, either or both of these shows won't be renewed for the 2010/2011 season. I at the very least blame the "Community" ratings on NBC's decision to move it from 9:30pm post-"Office" (where it was getting decent numbers -- for NBC, anyway) and put it on to start off the night at 8pm. The ratings have been much lower since its move.

Since it's a new show still looking for a committed audience, having it on after "The Office" made sense -- that show has a dedicated audience, and most of those people aren't going to jump into an hourlong drama halfway through, so they're likely to stick around NBC to watch whatever's on after it. Now, that's "30 Rock" -- but "30 Rock" has been around a few years, won countless awards, and has its own built-in audience, so it doesn't really need that lead-in. "30 Rock" could have capably lead off the night at 8pm and had similar ratings to what it's getting now in the post-"Office" spot, but "Community" wouldn't have suffered.

My point was that, in NBC's case, much of their ratings woes are their own doing, and I believe that includes Conan's "Tonight Show".

[samishah]

So who has seen this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3cjC...layer_embedded

[nathansmart]

All indications are that, due to their ratings, either or both of these shows won't be renewed for the 2010/2011 season. I at the very least blame the "Community" ratings on NBC's decision to move it from 9:30pm post-"Office" (where it was getting decent numbers -- for NBC, anyway) and put it on to start off the night at 8pm. The ratings have been much lower since its move.

Since it's a new show still looking for a committed audience, having it on after "The Office" made sense -- that show has a dedicated audience, and most of those people aren't going to jump into an hourlong drama halfway through, so they're likely to stick around NBC to watch whatever's on after it. Now, that's "30 Rock" -- but "30 Rock" has been around a few years, won countless awards, and has its own built-in audience, so it doesn't really need that lead-in. "30 Rock" could have capably lead off the night at 8pm and had similar ratings to what it's getting now in the post-"Office" spot, but "Community" wouldn't have suffered.

My point was that, in NBC's case, much of their ratings woes are their own doing, and I believe that includes Conan's "Tonight Show".

NBC has given Community a full 22-episode season so I think it will be safe for now.

Oh, and you do know that Newt Floss works on that show, right? (at least I think he does)

[Hated Milk Machine]

All indications are that, due to their ratings, either or both of these shows won't be renewed for the 2010/2011 season. I at the very least blame the "Community" ratings on NBC's decision to move it from 9:30pm post-"Office" (where it was getting decent numbers -- for NBC, anyway) and put it on to start off the night at 8pm. The ratings have been much lower since its move.

Since it's a new show still looking for a committed audience, having it on after "The Office" made sense -- that show has a dedicated audience, and most of those people aren't going to jump into an hourlong drama halfway through, so they're likely to stick around NBC to watch whatever's on after it. Now, that's "30 Rock" -- but "30 Rock" has been around a few years, won countless awards, and has its own built-in audience, so it doesn't really need that lead-in. "30 Rock" could have capably lead off the night at 8pm and had similar ratings to what it's getting now in the post-"Office" spot, but "Community" wouldn't have suffered.

My point was that, in NBC's case, much of their ratings woes are their own doing, and I believe that includes Conan's "Tonight Show".

what are their ratings that are so bad?

[nadsat droog]

So who has seen this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3cjC...layer_embedded

He's Leno minus the asshole. I can't stand that dude.

NBC has given Conan O'Brien the option to either do his show from midnight to 1 or leave the network, sources tell TMZ.

As TMZ first reported, after the Olympics, Jay Leno will get his 11:30 PM time period back. We're told network execs have told Conan they will let him decide if he wants the midnight to 1:00 AM time slot. If he does, Leno's show will only be a half hour. If Conan walks, Leno will get a full hour, informed sources tell TMZ.

Our sources say Conan has not decided what he wants. We do know he's pissed, because he was given no advanced warning this was coming. Conan's people told NBC they are considering the offer. Translation: Mr. O'Brien -- I have Rupert Murdoch on line one, Stephen McPherson on line two, John Landgraf on line three, Jeff Wachtel on line four ...

We're told if Conan gets another offer, even though NBC could block the move, they will let him go and give Leno the full hour.

[nathansmart]

I feel so bad for Conan right now

[Berliner]

I prefer if Leno was yanked off the air altogether, but is it such a bad idea for Leno to do his 30 minute monologue and then go to Conan?

[Michael Blacklist]

One thing's for sure: next week's Sketchfest show got a whole lot more interesting.

[nathansmart]

I prefer if Leno was yanked off the air altogether, but is it such a bad idea for Leno to do his 30 minute monologue and then go to Conan?

It's not the worst idea ever (well...) but it's just the shame of it all. The embarrassment that Conan must feel since NBC doesn't give a shit about him. It finally looks like he's getting some respect from his bosses and then they pull this on him.

ugly

[Berliner]

They are actually taking another very big and unprecedented gamble with a 30 minute show that starts off after 11:30. You would think they learned their lesson after Jay's current show.

Unfortunately, when they look at what they perceive as a lack of success with Jay and Conan's shows, they probably see it as Conan being the one fucking things up. Things were great before when Jay started at 11:30 and Conan started at 12:30. Why did Conan have to go and ruin everything? I guess in a they may even be right, if all you care about is numbers.

[Michael Blacklist]

They are actually taking another very big and unprecedented gamble with a 30 minute show that starts off after 11:30. You would think they learned their lesson after Jay's current show.

Don't you see? Jay's hour-long show at 10:00 was cheaper to produce than an hour-long drama, so imagine how more they'll save by doing it for only a half-hour.

[Michael Blacklist]

Things were great before when Jay started at 11:30 and Conan started at 12:30. Why did Conan have to go and ruin everything? I guess in a they may even be right, if all you care about is numbers.

They're not, though. Matt mentioned it earlier: Conan and Jay have to compete against each other for guests. Almost no one is mentioning that in any of the articles that have popped up in the last 24 hours.

[ProfessorShutYoMouth]

I really hate this.

[Berliner]

They're not, though. Matt mentioned it earlier: Conan and Jay have to compete against each other for guests. Almost no one is mentioning that in any of the articles that have popped up in the last 24 hours.

They are right in that things were better all around ratings-wise before the move, and I think they see Jay as the goose that lays the golden eggs. Could things have been better if they scraped the Leno show altogether? For Conan's ratings yes. But I don't think they see it that way. That's my guess as to the mentality of why someone would make a decision like this.

They don't see Jay stealing Conan's guests, they see it the other way around.

[Michael Blacklist]

They are right in that things were better all around ratings-wise before the move, and I think they see Jay as the goose that lays the golden eggs. Could things have been better if they scraped the Leno show altogether? For Conan's ratings yes. But I don't think they see it that way. That's my guess as to the mentality of why someone would make a decision like this.

There are just way too many variables as to why Conan doesn't have the ratings they want. It's not as clean cut as it was sixteen years ago when people could say "I like Jay more than Dave" and vice versa. What's unfortunate is that people are putting the blame on Conan's door without considering that.

[Tuohy]

Don't you see? Jay's hour-long show at 10:00 was cheaper to produce than an hour-long drama, so imagine how more they'll save by doing it for only a half-hour.

Not sure I follow you here. Wouldn't this move free up the 10pm spot again for those more expensive hour-long dramas?

[Michael Blacklist]

Not sure I follow you here. Wouldn't this move free up the 10pm spot again for those more expensive hour-long dramas?

Yeah, it would. I was making a comment about NBCs rationalizing this entire ordeal as a win instead of the disaster it seems to be heading towards.

[BillBrasky]

It doesn't really matter to me when Conan's show is on, because I'll DVR it regardless, but it's really a slap in the face to the Tonight Show franchise in general. How many years has the Tonight Show been on at 11:30? More than 50? And now they're suddenly going to move the show to 12 midnight so that Leno can continue to be on for half an hour every night? How big is Jay's ego anyway? This is like if SNL's ratings were slipping and the network decided, "Well, from now on the show's going to be on Friday mornings and it's going to be 45 minutes long".

Hopefully this will be a short-lived experiment and eventually Leno will realize people just want him to retire already. I think part of the reason Conan's show hasn't been doing well is that people haven't really had the chance to adjust to him being the new host of the Tonight Show. He's only been on the air a few months, and then along comes Jay throwing a monkey wrench into the works. If Leno had just retired and stayed retired, Conan might still be losing to Letterman, but I doubt it would be as big a gap. People would have adjusted and made their choice and things would have settled into a groove. By creating this mess like this, they've just screwed around with one of their longest-running shows and created a situation where nobody's happy.

[ProfessorShutYoMouth]

Even though I despise NBC for this whole ordeal, I hope Conan keeps the Tonight Show and just agrees to move it up.

[MrDys]

I keep flashing back to the scene in The Late Shift where Jay is doing terrible after starting at the Tonight Show and NBC goes back to Dave and offers him the gig and he doesn't know whether to take it or not:

"You're not getting The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. You're getting damaged goods."

I kinda hope Conan walks. I don't think he will, because he is classy, but is NBC going to give him any more promotion at all once Jay is back at 11:30?

Also, what the fuck is Jay going to do for 22 minutes? Shitty monologue jokes? He clearly doesn't want any kind of variety act near him.