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It wasn’t long ago that Conan O’Brien was opening NBC’s “The Tonight Show” with his unusually comical entrance and dimwitted band. Now, the tall, pale-skinned comedian is back, but this time he’s on cable.
O’Brien will be taking over the 11 p.m. spot on TBS, which is currently occupied by George Lopez’s late night talk show. Lopez gracefully agreed to make room by moving to the midnight spot, and even asked to be the one to call O’Brien with the news. O’Brien’s show will air Monday through Thursday, and will remain in Los Angeles, where O’Brien and his family moved to after he received “The Tonight Show” gig.
This switch to cable isn’t just a simple reappearance on a different network though. It’s an indicator of the direction non-broadcast networks are moving, and also where late-night comedy is heading. The difference in viewership between a network like NBC and one like TBS is enormous; and whether that will actually make a difference is the key aspect of this recent deal.
O’Brien’s original debut as NBC’s “The Tonight Show” host was cut short when, Jeff Gaspin, the network’s entertainment chief, asked him to move “The Tonight Show” to 12:05 a.m. O’Brien refused and swiftly negotiated a somewhat painful exit on Jan. 22 of this year.
With O’Brien’s rocky exit, rumors started surfacing on where and when he would reemerge next; up until the recent deal with Turner Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company had been the main network negotiating with O’Brien.
If a deal with Fox had occurred, O’Brien’s show would only reach roughly 60 percent of the nation when aired at 11 p.m., due to many local Fox affiliates who were unwilling to clear air time for O’Brien’s new show. On TBS however, O’Brien’s late-night show will reach almost every home during its allotted time slot. The network will also allow O’Brien’s production company to own the rights to the show and has promised an extensive promotional campaign for the new show, which has yet to be titled.
"In three months I've gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I'm headed back to basic cable," O’Brien said in a statement.
Hosting NBC’s “The Tonight Show” allowed O’Brien to compete with hosts like David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel on broadcast television. O’Brien’s move to a cable network like TBS will also mean a move to another group of contenders. Jon Stewart from “The Daily Show” and Stephen Colbert, from “The Colbert Report,” both air on Comedy Central starting at 11 p.m.
A deal with TBS means O’Brien will return to doing what he loves, but at what cost? TBS is not NBC, nor is it another broadcast television network. A show on a broadcast network will also mean that he does not get to compete with Jay Leno, who still remains on NBC. O’Brien might be in an environment more fitting to his repertoire but how will it affect his career?
According to The Nielsen Company, TBS ranks seventh amongst all of the cable networks in prime time and averages 1.7 million viewers. Compare that to CBS, the most watched network, which averages 12.1 million viewers.
America has already been witness to O’Brien’s varying success, given that it was televised. O’Brien is well known from the many years he spent at NBC prior to “The Tonight Show,” and it may very well be that viewers will flock to wherever he lands, even if it is a second tier cable network.
Both O’Brien and TBS are taking a gamble. When O’Brien was hosting “The Tonight Show,” his ratings were dismal, and TBS is still willing to combine O’Brien and Lopez in a two-hour comedic duo; with the latter just starting his late-night career.
If the new show is a flop, TBS might not limp away as damaged as O’Brien will. After all, where would the 47-year-old comedian look to next?
When all is said and done, TBS might have been the best place for someone like O’Brien in the beginning of his career. Shows like “Family Guy” and re-runs of “The Office” appeal to the same demographic that watched his late night hour on NBC. But like every show on television, it’s up to the viewers to decide if he will succeed.
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