NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
01-22-10, 08:32 AM
#376
DVD Talk Hero
01-22-10, 08:39 AM
#377
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
(full disclosure: I've never watched Conan, on any show. That bit is the only thing I've ever seen him do. And it wasn't funny.)
-jason
01-22-10, 08:42 AM
#378
DVD Talk Hero
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Did you miss the intro to that clip that he admitted it wasn't "so much funny as it was crazy expensive"?
01-22-10, 08:49 AM
#379
DVD Talk Hero
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
If that's the funniest "bit" he's done in 7 months (it's certainly the one that's gotten the most press), no wonder he's having the show taken away from him.
(full disclosure: I've never watched Conan, on any show. That bit is the only thing I've ever seen him do. And it wasn't funny.)
-jason
(full disclosure: I've never watched Conan, on any show. That bit is the only thing I've ever seen him do. And it wasn't funny.)
-jason
.
01-22-10, 09:03 AM
#380
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
If that's the funniest "bit" he's done in 7 months (it's certainly the one that's gotten the most press), no wonder he's having the show taken away from him.
(full disclosure: I've never watched Conan, on any show. That bit is the only thing I've ever seen him do. And it wasn't funny.)
-jason
(full disclosure: I've never watched Conan, on any show. That bit is the only thing I've ever seen him do. And it wasn't funny.)
-jason
You must be a Leno fan.
01-22-10, 09:05 AM
#381
DVD Talk Legend
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Considering that a case can be made that the poor performance of Leno's show as a lead-in to local news and The Tonight Show contributed to lower ratings for The Tonight Show, I can see where Conan has a legitimate gripe about NBC's decision to give the 11:30 slot to Leno. Oh, and though Jay didn't go ballistic in 04 when the decision was made to give Conan the Tonight Show in 09, as video that's been linked in these threads shows, he certainly didn't shut up about the issue, he addressed it directly on his show.
If Jay Leno's ratings at 10:00 were satisfactory, or if Jay Leno never had a TV show at 10:00 at all, how safe would Conan's job be as the host of the Tonight Show at 11:35? On a scale of 1 to 10.
Does anybody really think it would be lower than a 9?
01-22-10, 09:08 AM
#382
DVD Talk Legend
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
The bottom line is this:
If Jay Leno's ratings at 10:00 were satisfactory, or if Jay Leno never had a TV show at 10:00 at all, how safe would Conan's job be as the host of the Tonight Show at 11:35? On a scale of 1 to 10.
Does anybody really think it would be lower than a 9?
If Jay Leno's ratings at 10:00 were satisfactory, or if Jay Leno never had a TV show at 10:00 at all, how safe would Conan's job be as the host of the Tonight Show at 11:35? On a scale of 1 to 10.
Does anybody really think it would be lower than a 9?
01-22-10, 09:16 AM
#383
DVD Talk Legend
01-22-10, 09:21 AM
#384
DVD Talk Legend
01-22-10, 09:30 AM
#385
DVD Talk Godfather
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
The bottom line is this:
If Jay Leno's ratings at 10:00 were satisfactory, or if Jay Leno never had a TV show at 10:00 at all, how safe would Conan's job be as the host of the Tonight Show at 11:35? On a scale of 1 to 10.
Does anybody really think it would be lower than a 9?
If Jay Leno's ratings at 10:00 were satisfactory, or if Jay Leno never had a TV show at 10:00 at all, how safe would Conan's job be as the host of the Tonight Show at 11:35? On a scale of 1 to 10.
Does anybody really think it would be lower than a 9?
01-22-10, 09:31 AM
#387
DVD Talk Hero
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Sure makes you wonder. What if instead of a 10pm show, Leno was simply the first guest on Conan's Tonight Show?
01-22-10, 10:48 AM
#388
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Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
That's why I chuckle when people bring up Conan's ratings. It's the difference between "reason" and "excuse," and Ebersol, Leno, and others have tried to blur those lines.
01-22-10, 11:24 AM
#389
DVD Talk Legend
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
You're a salesman. Your sales are OK. Not outstanding, not bad, could and should be better. There's another salesman at your company who just isn't cutting it. Instead of firing the salesman who just isn't getting it done, your boss says that you've gotta give half of your clients to the guy who really should be fired because of his poor results. And not only would it just be half of your client list, it'd be the better half of your customer base.
You'd really just suck it up and take that?
01-22-10, 11:30 AM
#390
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Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
O'Brien, NBC contend with latenight aftermath
Peacock looks to save face; 'Tonight' host mulls moves
By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER
Now comes the hard part -- for both Conan O'Brien and NBC.
Both sides are sprinting to map out what happens next now that the $45 million exit deal for Conan O'Brien has been finalized.
Exit agreement brings to a close an extraordinary fortnight of fighting among high-profile TV personalities and industry power players.
Once O'Brien and the Peacock go their separate ways after Friday night's final seg of "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien," both camps have a lot of work to do.
O'Brien and his reps are going to hunker down and sort out the best next move for the host, who's unlikely to be unemployed for too long given his highly desirable skill set. Yet carving out a new late-night home at Fox isn't a slam dunk -- and it's unclear where he might go if a deal with that net can't be worked out.
NBC, meanwhile, has the Herculean task of rehabilitating its image after being the butt of jokes for weeks amid the chaotic O'Brien-Jay Leno shuffle.
Peacock also faces the tricky job of promoting Jay Leno's return to helm of the "The Tonight Show" -- which, on its face, is an admission that its experiment with the 10 p.m. "Jay Leno Show" was a failure.
For NBC execs, the decision that spurred the standoff with O'Brien -- the effort to move Leno back to 11:35 p.m. and bump O'Brien's "Tonight Show" to 12:05 a.m. -- was "strictly a business decision," said NBC Universal TV Entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin.
"Based on business fact, the 'Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien' was scheduled to lose quite a bit of money in 2010," Gaspin said. "If you look at the ratings in households, NBC is down 14 %, while Conan is down 49%. In adults 18-49, NBC was down 16% but 'Tonight' was down 23%."
Those figures don't include the ratings bump that O'Brien has seen in the past few days, Gaspin admitted, but that doesn't change anything.
"These were the numbers when I made the decision," he said. "When you see those kinds of stats, plus you know Jay used to win regularly there, and you have a problem at 10 p.m. with the affiliates forcing your hand, you have to come up with a decision."
Gaspin said he believed the plan -- which he outlined to the press during the TV Critics Assn. press tour earlier this month -- "was a reasonable compromise based on these facts."
O'Brien, meanwhile, is limited in what he can say about the debacle by the terms of the exit agreement that was signed and sealed early Thursday morning.
As part of the agreement, NBC will pay O'Brien $32 million -- more or less the amount of money that the host was owed for the 2 1/2 years that remained on his contract.
An additional $12 million will go toward paying off contracts, handing out severance to staffers and paying other shut-down costs. O'Brien has also been given additional funds (around $600,000) to help out his "Tonight Show" staff; O'Brien's reps say the host will also use some of his own money -- said to be in the seven figures -- to aid his staff as their jobs end.
That's a hefty payout, as O'Brien's executive producer, Jeff Ross, also has a large contract. The show's other talent -- from Andy Richter and members of "Max Weinberg and the Tonight Show Band" -- are negotiating their exits as well. Everyone, from the show's writers and all the way down to the janitorial team will receive a severance package.
Such a setup was said to be important to O'Brien, particularly because much of his staff uprooted from New York to Los Angeles last year when the host inherited the "Tonight Show." Indeed, it's understood that some staffers have been in discussions with NBC about moving back to Gotham on the network dime.
"In the end, Conan was appreciative of the steps NBC made to take care of his staff and crew and decided to supplement the severance they were getting out of his own pocket," O'Brien's manager, Gavin Polone, said. "Now he just wants to get back on the air as quickly as possible."
O'Brien will have the opportunity to launch such a new late-night program starting Sept. 1, when a short non-compete window expires. (A new show would take at least that long to launch, insiders note.)
Despite previous speculation that NBC would pay less if O'Brien quickly landed another job, there is no "offset" clause in the deal. Indeed, even if O'Brien eventually signs with Fox or another net and receives a new salary, he'll still get that $32 million payout -- as long as he abides by the agreement.
In exchange for the $32 million payout, NBC execs got the concessions from O'Brien that they wanted "for a cooling-off period."
Besides that noncompete window, stipulations include a disparagement clause that will limit what O'Brien can say in the press or on TV. As a result, O'Brien will likely lie low in the coming weeks and months and not give an interview on the circumstances, insiders said.
The disparagement clause also expires Sept. 1. On recent editions of "The Tonight Show," O'Brien has made light of what he can or can't say about NBC going forward. Insiders said he's still allowed to poke fun at NBC on "Tonight" -- but once that show goes dark, his lips are zipped.
O'Brien also won't be able to bring the intellectual property that he created at NBC over the years, including even Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. But David Letterman faced the same thing -- and found ways around it -- when he left for CBS in 1993.
"Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" staffers will be given the next few weeks to clear out and depart the show's Universal Studios offices and soundstage. After that, the net will likely look to lease the stage out. Although there's been talk of renting the studio to a future O'Brien show, that seems unlikely given the raw feelings on both sides.
Additionally, O'Brien's production shingle -- Conaco -- will remain at NBC Universal for the time being, although the status of the company at the Peacock is still being worked out. Some Conaco projects may remain at NBC U, while others may not. Conaco, run by former Universal TV topper David Kissinger, had a year and a half left on its pact with the Peacock.
Insiders earlier said most of the exit agreement's larger points had been settled days ago and an announcement of O'Brien's departure was expected for several days, but was delayed as lawyers for NBC and the host hammered out small deal points.
A pact was finally signed around 1 a.m. Thursday morning.
Timing allowed O'Brien to alert viewers on Thursday's "Tonight Show" that the following evening's episode would be his last.
Robin Williams was set to be a guest on O'Brien's second-to-last show, just as he was on Johnny Carson's penultimate "Tonight Show." O'Brien's Friday finale will include guests Tom Hanks, Will Ferrell and Neil Young.
After that, "Tonight" was already set to go on hiatus as of next week. NBC is still mulling what to do in the slot -- either airing more O'Brien repeats or perhaps re-airing old Leno repeats -- until Feb. 11, when late night is preempted for the Olympics.
Meanwhile, Leno will host his final episode of the doomed primetime strip "The Jay Leno Show" on Thursday, Feb. 10. After a break for NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics, Leno returns to the 11:35 slot and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" will makes its return Monday, March 1.
Thursday's official announcement capped a surreal two weeks in the latenight world. In the end, NBC had two latenight hosts who wanted the 11:35 p.m. slot, but there was only room for one.
And just as they did in 1992, when Jay Leno and David Letterman battled for Johnny Carson's chair, NBC execs opted to stick with Leno. Gaspin acknowledged that he made sure to get Leno's signoff on the proposed 11:35 p.m.-12:05 shuffle first. But word of the plan leaked early this month before it could be presented to O'Brien, which inflamed the situation from the get-go.
O'Brien made his unhappiness known -- first via reps, and then by an extraordinary statement issued Jan. 12.
"For 60 years the 'Tonight Show' has aired immediately following the late local news," O'Brien wrote in the statement. "I sincerely believe that delaying the 'Tonight Show' into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The 'Tonight Show' at 12:05 simply isn't the 'Tonight Show.'"
Gaspin admitted that the network never presented O'Brien with an alternative to the 12:05 move.
"I suppose there could have been other possibilities, but nobody actually discussed those possibilities," he said. "The only choice for Conan was keeping the 'Tonight Show' at 11:35. We never got around to any other (options)."
But the network also didn't push another alternative on Leno, whose contract had a time slot guarantee for 10 p.m. In the mind of NBC execs, Leno had already agreed to a compromise -- producing a 30-minute "Jay Leno Show" at 11:35.
"He was willing to compromise, which maybe gave me the false optimism that Conan would agree to this as well," Gaspin said.
Peacock looks to save face; 'Tonight' host mulls moves
By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER
Now comes the hard part -- for both Conan O'Brien and NBC.
Both sides are sprinting to map out what happens next now that the $45 million exit deal for Conan O'Brien has been finalized.
Exit agreement brings to a close an extraordinary fortnight of fighting among high-profile TV personalities and industry power players.
Once O'Brien and the Peacock go their separate ways after Friday night's final seg of "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien," both camps have a lot of work to do.
O'Brien and his reps are going to hunker down and sort out the best next move for the host, who's unlikely to be unemployed for too long given his highly desirable skill set. Yet carving out a new late-night home at Fox isn't a slam dunk -- and it's unclear where he might go if a deal with that net can't be worked out.
NBC, meanwhile, has the Herculean task of rehabilitating its image after being the butt of jokes for weeks amid the chaotic O'Brien-Jay Leno shuffle.
Peacock also faces the tricky job of promoting Jay Leno's return to helm of the "The Tonight Show" -- which, on its face, is an admission that its experiment with the 10 p.m. "Jay Leno Show" was a failure.
For NBC execs, the decision that spurred the standoff with O'Brien -- the effort to move Leno back to 11:35 p.m. and bump O'Brien's "Tonight Show" to 12:05 a.m. -- was "strictly a business decision," said NBC Universal TV Entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin.
"Based on business fact, the 'Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien' was scheduled to lose quite a bit of money in 2010," Gaspin said. "If you look at the ratings in households, NBC is down 14 %, while Conan is down 49%. In adults 18-49, NBC was down 16% but 'Tonight' was down 23%."
Those figures don't include the ratings bump that O'Brien has seen in the past few days, Gaspin admitted, but that doesn't change anything.
"These were the numbers when I made the decision," he said. "When you see those kinds of stats, plus you know Jay used to win regularly there, and you have a problem at 10 p.m. with the affiliates forcing your hand, you have to come up with a decision."
Gaspin said he believed the plan -- which he outlined to the press during the TV Critics Assn. press tour earlier this month -- "was a reasonable compromise based on these facts."
O'Brien, meanwhile, is limited in what he can say about the debacle by the terms of the exit agreement that was signed and sealed early Thursday morning.
As part of the agreement, NBC will pay O'Brien $32 million -- more or less the amount of money that the host was owed for the 2 1/2 years that remained on his contract.
An additional $12 million will go toward paying off contracts, handing out severance to staffers and paying other shut-down costs. O'Brien has also been given additional funds (around $600,000) to help out his "Tonight Show" staff; O'Brien's reps say the host will also use some of his own money -- said to be in the seven figures -- to aid his staff as their jobs end.
That's a hefty payout, as O'Brien's executive producer, Jeff Ross, also has a large contract. The show's other talent -- from Andy Richter and members of "Max Weinberg and the Tonight Show Band" -- are negotiating their exits as well. Everyone, from the show's writers and all the way down to the janitorial team will receive a severance package.
Such a setup was said to be important to O'Brien, particularly because much of his staff uprooted from New York to Los Angeles last year when the host inherited the "Tonight Show." Indeed, it's understood that some staffers have been in discussions with NBC about moving back to Gotham on the network dime.
"In the end, Conan was appreciative of the steps NBC made to take care of his staff and crew and decided to supplement the severance they were getting out of his own pocket," O'Brien's manager, Gavin Polone, said. "Now he just wants to get back on the air as quickly as possible."
O'Brien will have the opportunity to launch such a new late-night program starting Sept. 1, when a short non-compete window expires. (A new show would take at least that long to launch, insiders note.)
Despite previous speculation that NBC would pay less if O'Brien quickly landed another job, there is no "offset" clause in the deal. Indeed, even if O'Brien eventually signs with Fox or another net and receives a new salary, he'll still get that $32 million payout -- as long as he abides by the agreement.
In exchange for the $32 million payout, NBC execs got the concessions from O'Brien that they wanted "for a cooling-off period."
Besides that noncompete window, stipulations include a disparagement clause that will limit what O'Brien can say in the press or on TV. As a result, O'Brien will likely lie low in the coming weeks and months and not give an interview on the circumstances, insiders said.
The disparagement clause also expires Sept. 1. On recent editions of "The Tonight Show," O'Brien has made light of what he can or can't say about NBC going forward. Insiders said he's still allowed to poke fun at NBC on "Tonight" -- but once that show goes dark, his lips are zipped.
O'Brien also won't be able to bring the intellectual property that he created at NBC over the years, including even Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. But David Letterman faced the same thing -- and found ways around it -- when he left for CBS in 1993.
"Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" staffers will be given the next few weeks to clear out and depart the show's Universal Studios offices and soundstage. After that, the net will likely look to lease the stage out. Although there's been talk of renting the studio to a future O'Brien show, that seems unlikely given the raw feelings on both sides.
Additionally, O'Brien's production shingle -- Conaco -- will remain at NBC Universal for the time being, although the status of the company at the Peacock is still being worked out. Some Conaco projects may remain at NBC U, while others may not. Conaco, run by former Universal TV topper David Kissinger, had a year and a half left on its pact with the Peacock.
Insiders earlier said most of the exit agreement's larger points had been settled days ago and an announcement of O'Brien's departure was expected for several days, but was delayed as lawyers for NBC and the host hammered out small deal points.
A pact was finally signed around 1 a.m. Thursday morning.
Timing allowed O'Brien to alert viewers on Thursday's "Tonight Show" that the following evening's episode would be his last.
Robin Williams was set to be a guest on O'Brien's second-to-last show, just as he was on Johnny Carson's penultimate "Tonight Show." O'Brien's Friday finale will include guests Tom Hanks, Will Ferrell and Neil Young.
After that, "Tonight" was already set to go on hiatus as of next week. NBC is still mulling what to do in the slot -- either airing more O'Brien repeats or perhaps re-airing old Leno repeats -- until Feb. 11, when late night is preempted for the Olympics.
Meanwhile, Leno will host his final episode of the doomed primetime strip "The Jay Leno Show" on Thursday, Feb. 10. After a break for NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics, Leno returns to the 11:35 slot and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" will makes its return Monday, March 1.
Thursday's official announcement capped a surreal two weeks in the latenight world. In the end, NBC had two latenight hosts who wanted the 11:35 p.m. slot, but there was only room for one.
And just as they did in 1992, when Jay Leno and David Letterman battled for Johnny Carson's chair, NBC execs opted to stick with Leno. Gaspin acknowledged that he made sure to get Leno's signoff on the proposed 11:35 p.m.-12:05 shuffle first. But word of the plan leaked early this month before it could be presented to O'Brien, which inflamed the situation from the get-go.
O'Brien made his unhappiness known -- first via reps, and then by an extraordinary statement issued Jan. 12.
"For 60 years the 'Tonight Show' has aired immediately following the late local news," O'Brien wrote in the statement. "I sincerely believe that delaying the 'Tonight Show' into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The 'Tonight Show' at 12:05 simply isn't the 'Tonight Show.'"
Gaspin admitted that the network never presented O'Brien with an alternative to the 12:05 move.
"I suppose there could have been other possibilities, but nobody actually discussed those possibilities," he said. "The only choice for Conan was keeping the 'Tonight Show' at 11:35. We never got around to any other (options)."
But the network also didn't push another alternative on Leno, whose contract had a time slot guarantee for 10 p.m. In the mind of NBC execs, Leno had already agreed to a compromise -- producing a 30-minute "Jay Leno Show" at 11:35.
"He was willing to compromise, which maybe gave me the false optimism that Conan would agree to this as well," Gaspin said.
Last edited by devilshalo; 01-22-10 at 11:33 AM.
01-22-10, 11:33 AM
#391
Senior Member
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
From the Conan vs Letterman ratings chart that keeps getting thrown around, it looks like Conan was only just barely being beaten by Letterman, it certainly seems like a stretch to suggest that Conan's Tonight Show was a failure, as some people have said.
I also think Conan has much more potential value than Leno. Conan's humor appeals to a younger "hipper" crowd... new Conan fans are coming of age every day whereas Leno fans are dying off. I think over 5 or 10 years that could be significant. Even though the younger Conan fans might be DVRing, watching online and otherwise affecting his ratings, I think the Conan "brand" is still a huge loss for NBC.
I also think Conan has much more potential value than Leno. Conan's humor appeals to a younger "hipper" crowd... new Conan fans are coming of age every day whereas Leno fans are dying off. I think over 5 or 10 years that could be significant. Even though the younger Conan fans might be DVRing, watching online and otherwise affecting his ratings, I think the Conan "brand" is still a huge loss for NBC.
01-22-10, 11:40 AM
#392
DVD Talk Legend
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
I also think Conan has much more potential value than Leno. Conan's humor appeals to a younger "hipper" crowd... new Conan fans are coming of age every day whereas Leno fans are dying off. I think over 5 or 10 years that could be significant. Even though the younger Conan fans might be DVRing, watching online and otherwise affecting his ratings, I think the Conan "brand" is still a huge loss for NBC.
01-22-10, 11:45 AM
#393
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Everybody who seems to defend Leno and blame Conan, imagine this scenario:
You're a salesman. Your sales are OK. Not outstanding, not bad, could and should be better. There's another salesman at your company who just isn't cutting it. Instead of firing the salesman who just isn't getting it done, your boss says that you've gotta give half of your clients to the guy who really should be fired because of his poor results. And not only would it just be half of your client list, it'd be the better half of your customer base.
You'd really just suck it up and take that?
You're a salesman. Your sales are OK. Not outstanding, not bad, could and should be better. There's another salesman at your company who just isn't cutting it. Instead of firing the salesman who just isn't getting it done, your boss says that you've gotta give half of your clients to the guy who really should be fired because of his poor results. And not only would it just be half of your client list, it'd be the better half of your customer base.
You'd really just suck it up and take that?
You're a salesman. You're the top salesman in your industry, and you have been for a decade. There's another younger salesman at your company who's got a different sales technique that is really impressing some smaller clients, but many people aren't sure if it would work well enough to woo the big clients. Even though you've shown no signs of declining sales, your company thinks you might slow down in the future and they don't want to lose the new guy, so they try to force you to retire so that the new guy can take all of your clients. When they realize you might go to another company instead of retiring, they throw a ton of money at you to go into a consulting capacity so you can still interact with all your old clients. The new guy's sales aren't at the level yours were, in fact your company is now #2 in the industry to your rivals, and nobody likes the new job you're doing because you're not in a position to bring in the sales you used to get. You still love doing sales and the company offers to give you your old job back and boot the new guy who wasn't cutting it.
You'd really suck it up and walk away from what you love? Oh, and I forgot to mention that this company was run by unicorns and dragons.
01-22-10, 12:08 PM
#394
DVD Talk Legend
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
What a bizarre analogy, but I think I can top it. Imagine this scenario:
You're a salesman. You're the top salesman in your industry, and you have been for a decade. There's another younger salesman at your company who's got a different sales technique that is really impressing some smaller clients, but many people aren't sure if it would work well enough to woo the big clients. Even though you've shown no signs of declining sales, your company thinks you might slow down in the future and they don't want to lose the new guy, so they try to force you to retire so that the new guy can take all of your clients. When they realize you might go to another company instead of retiring, they throw a ton of money at you to go into a consulting capacity so you can still interact with all your old clients. The new guy's sales aren't at the level yours were, in fact your company is now #2 in the industry to your rivals, and nobody likes the new job you're doing because you're not in a position to bring in the sales you used to get. You still love doing sales and the company offers to give you your old job back and boot the new guy who wasn't cutting it.
You'd really suck it up and walk away from what you love? Oh, and I forgot to mention that this company was run by unicorns and dragons.
You're a salesman. You're the top salesman in your industry, and you have been for a decade. There's another younger salesman at your company who's got a different sales technique that is really impressing some smaller clients, but many people aren't sure if it would work well enough to woo the big clients. Even though you've shown no signs of declining sales, your company thinks you might slow down in the future and they don't want to lose the new guy, so they try to force you to retire so that the new guy can take all of your clients. When they realize you might go to another company instead of retiring, they throw a ton of money at you to go into a consulting capacity so you can still interact with all your old clients. The new guy's sales aren't at the level yours were, in fact your company is now #2 in the industry to your rivals, and nobody likes the new job you're doing because you're not in a position to bring in the sales you used to get. You still love doing sales and the company offers to give you your old job back and boot the new guy who wasn't cutting it.
You'd really suck it up and walk away from what you love? Oh, and I forgot to mention that this company was run by unicorns and dragons.
If Leno did not have a 10:00 show, or if his 10:00 show was successful, would anybody have every suggested that Conan's job as host of "The Tonight Show" at 11:35 was a failure? Absolutely NOT.
01-22-10, 12:13 PM
#395
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Conan's job wouldn't be in jeopardy, but I think some people would view it as a failure if he wasn't able to maintain the Tonight Show's #1 status.
01-22-10, 12:14 PM
#396
DVD Talk Special Edition
Thread Starter
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
They had to drop Conan regarless of his ratings or potential for future ratings b/c Leno's contract buyout would have cost them 3x as much as Conan's. Period. They're already losing $200m to the Olympics. They can't just throw away another $150m, even if it makes more sense to keep Conan in the long run.
01-22-10, 12:19 PM
#397
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Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
And that is the problem I have with Leno. He's the selfless company guy who just does what he's told, and "Conan wasn't doing well." It was a shitty thing to say in order to elevate himself above the fray when he knows that a) he was not a ratings success at that job for two years until he fell backwards into a scandal, and b) he was one of the major reasons for Conan's ratings performance.
He can take the job or the money or whatever. That's how that works. That's the leverage he earned and negotiated. But pretending to be the victim of a bad network decision who is just cleaning up Conan's mess? That's just being an asshole.
He can take the job or the money or whatever. That's how that works. That's the leverage he earned and negotiated. But pretending to be the victim of a bad network decision who is just cleaning up Conan's mess? That's just being an asshole.
01-22-10, 12:27 PM
#398
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
I can't believe Gawker didn't put up the Letterman clip from the other night where he did his spotlight on an affiliate segment. That was pretty funny stuff.
01-22-10, 12:29 PM
#399
DVD Talk Legend
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Pretty good article about future possibilities, and Wilmington is mentioned, so an added plus
NEW YORK – Shortly before agreeing to the terms of his unpleasant exit from NBC, Conan O'Brien joked on "The Tonight Show" that his plans for next week include making a big move to Fox.
"Megan Fox," he said to the laughter of fans who have made him a folk hero for losing his dream job.
A day after sealing his deal with NBC that gives O'Brien $45 million and allows Jay Leno to return to "The Tonight Show" throne, O'Brien airs his final show, with Will Ferrell, Tom Hanks, Neil Young and promised surprises.
Fox — the network — represents the most attractive landing for O'Brien if he wants to continue hosting a daily television talk show. CBS is comfortable with its late-night lineup of David Letterman and Craig Ferguson, ABC has expressed no interest in O'Brien, so Fox is the only one of the four big broadcast networks with room for the late late-night host. Fox has long sought its own late-night franchise.
Still, there are questions about whether Fox affiliates would welcome the pompadoured redhead or not.
While Fox has signaled an interest in O'Brien, there have been no offers or negotiating, said a person familiar with internal discussions O'Brien's advisers have had, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly.
"Conan needs to kind of decompress for a little bit," the person said. "This has been a traumatic experience for him."
O'Brien will almost certainly wait to hear Fox's decision before making any moves.
Kevin Reilly, Fox's chief entertainment executive, lathered O'Brien with love during a recent news conference. "It's a very compatible fit for our brand," said Reilly, a former NBC executive. Fox seeks a young audience, and O'Brien has proven adept at reaching that age group, particularly men. Done well, the show could produce significant profit at a time the Fox network is shuttered for the night.
O'Brien would also come with a ready-made show and more than 15 years of late-night experience. That's something Fox's previous failures in late night — Joan Rivers and Chevy Chase — didn't have.
Fox, which had no comment Thursday on O'Brien's departure, theoretically could force an O'Brien show on its affiliates but doesn't want to. Many affiliates air sitcom reruns in late night and keep that advertising revenue to themselves. Fox may need to cut a deal to let affiliates in on profits from an O'Brien talk show. One possibility: allow affiliates to air a money-making rerun at 11 p.m. EST and start an O'Brien show half an hour later at the same time as Letterman and Jay Leno.
O'Brien's ratings are a concern, too. The "Tonight" show ratings declined dramatically when O'Brien took over from Leno and, although O'Brien's people argue that struggling NBC's lead-in with Leno and news had much to do with that, he had shown increased vulnerability to Ferguson in his old time slot.
Shelley Goings, the general manager of KFXP-TV, a Fox affiliate in Pocatello, Idaho, said while O'Brien's sense of humor was a better fit on Fox than NBC, she wasn't pleased about potentially losing advertising dollars.
"Revenues for all stations across the country have been hitting rock bottom," she said. "It would not make me happy, for sure."
Thom Postema, vice president and general manager of WSFX-TV, a Fox affiliate in Wilmington, N.C., said he would welcome an O'Brien show after the local news wraps up at 10:30 p.m. Right now, the station airs reruns of "The Office" and two Fox-made programs — "My Name Is Earl" and "Family Guy" — between 10:30 p.m. and midnight Eastern.
"If the network were to promote him correctly, I think for us we couldn't go wrong," Postema said.
Some cable networks will watch the Fox deliberations carefully, but it's questionable how many possibilities would be open to him. Comedy Central, which once aired O'Brien reruns, might seem a natural fit. But with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert ensconced on Comedy Central's schedule, the network might not have the room or money for O'Brien.
HBO hasn't sought to get in the daily late-night game. One possibility taken off the board late last year is the comedy-oriented TBS, where George Lopez has a successful talk show.
Fox's cable sibling, the FX network, is interested in O'Brien but its chief executive said the comic is a better fit on broadcast TV.
"Conan is one of the great comedic talents of our time, and if he ever became available to basic cable, we'd go after him in a heartbeat," said John Landgraf, president and general manager of FX. "I kind of doubt that will happen, but you never know."
"Megan Fox," he said to the laughter of fans who have made him a folk hero for losing his dream job.
A day after sealing his deal with NBC that gives O'Brien $45 million and allows Jay Leno to return to "The Tonight Show" throne, O'Brien airs his final show, with Will Ferrell, Tom Hanks, Neil Young and promised surprises.
Fox — the network — represents the most attractive landing for O'Brien if he wants to continue hosting a daily television talk show. CBS is comfortable with its late-night lineup of David Letterman and Craig Ferguson, ABC has expressed no interest in O'Brien, so Fox is the only one of the four big broadcast networks with room for the late late-night host. Fox has long sought its own late-night franchise.
Still, there are questions about whether Fox affiliates would welcome the pompadoured redhead or not.
While Fox has signaled an interest in O'Brien, there have been no offers or negotiating, said a person familiar with internal discussions O'Brien's advisers have had, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly.
"Conan needs to kind of decompress for a little bit," the person said. "This has been a traumatic experience for him."
O'Brien will almost certainly wait to hear Fox's decision before making any moves.
Kevin Reilly, Fox's chief entertainment executive, lathered O'Brien with love during a recent news conference. "It's a very compatible fit for our brand," said Reilly, a former NBC executive. Fox seeks a young audience, and O'Brien has proven adept at reaching that age group, particularly men. Done well, the show could produce significant profit at a time the Fox network is shuttered for the night.
O'Brien would also come with a ready-made show and more than 15 years of late-night experience. That's something Fox's previous failures in late night — Joan Rivers and Chevy Chase — didn't have.
Fox, which had no comment Thursday on O'Brien's departure, theoretically could force an O'Brien show on its affiliates but doesn't want to. Many affiliates air sitcom reruns in late night and keep that advertising revenue to themselves. Fox may need to cut a deal to let affiliates in on profits from an O'Brien talk show. One possibility: allow affiliates to air a money-making rerun at 11 p.m. EST and start an O'Brien show half an hour later at the same time as Letterman and Jay Leno.
O'Brien's ratings are a concern, too. The "Tonight" show ratings declined dramatically when O'Brien took over from Leno and, although O'Brien's people argue that struggling NBC's lead-in with Leno and news had much to do with that, he had shown increased vulnerability to Ferguson in his old time slot.
Shelley Goings, the general manager of KFXP-TV, a Fox affiliate in Pocatello, Idaho, said while O'Brien's sense of humor was a better fit on Fox than NBC, she wasn't pleased about potentially losing advertising dollars.
"Revenues for all stations across the country have been hitting rock bottom," she said. "It would not make me happy, for sure."
Thom Postema, vice president and general manager of WSFX-TV, a Fox affiliate in Wilmington, N.C., said he would welcome an O'Brien show after the local news wraps up at 10:30 p.m. Right now, the station airs reruns of "The Office" and two Fox-made programs — "My Name Is Earl" and "Family Guy" — between 10:30 p.m. and midnight Eastern.
"If the network were to promote him correctly, I think for us we couldn't go wrong," Postema said.
Some cable networks will watch the Fox deliberations carefully, but it's questionable how many possibilities would be open to him. Comedy Central, which once aired O'Brien reruns, might seem a natural fit. But with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert ensconced on Comedy Central's schedule, the network might not have the room or money for O'Brien.
HBO hasn't sought to get in the daily late-night game. One possibility taken off the board late last year is the comedy-oriented TBS, where George Lopez has a successful talk show.
Fox's cable sibling, the FX network, is interested in O'Brien but its chief executive said the comic is a better fit on broadcast TV.
"Conan is one of the great comedic talents of our time, and if he ever became available to basic cable, we'd go after him in a heartbeat," said John Landgraf, president and general manager of FX. "I kind of doubt that will happen, but you never know."
01-22-10, 12:32 PM
#400
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
I think it speaks volumes, personally, what people in their industry are saying, doing, etc. We would all expect Letterman to hammer Jay about it but you've got Kimmel, Ferguson, Rosie, Stern, and many other all pointing out that Jay is not the "All-American" squeaky clean, nice guy.
The level they are doing it to and the things they are saying make it fairly clear that the people in that industry know Jay isn't some puppet doing the bidding of thy master.
Jay is ripping NBC and NBC doesn't mind because they have a very diverse brand and can recover easier than if the majority of the blame and public scorn ends up at Jay's feet.