Conan considers leaving NBC as contract expires
David
Conan's Late Start
By BILL CARTER
In February, Conan O'Brien brought his hit NBC late-night show from
New York to Toronto, of all places, as a favor to a city still reeling
from the SARS crisis, and for a week twentysomething Canadians went a
little crazy, lining up for hours and filling the elegant 1300-seat
Elgin Theater with the energy of a rock concert.
Last September, a similarly frenzied New York crowd packed the Beacon
Theater on the Upper West Side for the taping of a prime-time special
to celebrate Mr. O'Brien's 10th anniversary as host of "Late Night."
The audience was treated to the Conan specialties: outrageous
characters, wicked, self-deprecating wit and a roster of performers
from Jack Black to Will Ferrell.
Then there was the night 18 months ago when Mr. O'Brien scored a
critical triumph as host of the Emmy Awards — displaying his highly
energized surreal silliness with a brief acoustic version of Jethro
Tull's "Aqualung."
But lately things have gone quiet. Conan is back in his office in
Rockefeller Center, sitting at his old familiar desk, getting ready to
put on another edition of "Late Night" in the 200-seat Studio 6A that
has been his home for the last decade. And he can't help feeling,
well, a little bummed.
"It was hard to experience something like that in Toronto and go back
to 6A," Mr. O'Brien says, with a sort of shrug in his voice. "It's
like when you go back to third grade and suddenly you notice the water
fountain is like 4 inches off the ground." It's plain that Conan
O'Brien, who has always been exceedingly tall but has lately become
indisputably big in the world of late-night television, is aching to
stretch. "A big question is looming," he acknowledges. "It's the
elephant in the room that no one is talking about." He utters the
question somewhat reluctantly, knowing that even that could be enough
to stir up a lot of unwanted attention. But utter it he does: "What's
next?"
The most obvious next step is to be host of a show earlier in the
evening — in the coveted 11:30 period, made famous by Jack Paar and
Johnny Carson. At NBC, that job is currently held by Jay Leno, who
consistently trounces all competition. Until recently, it was possible
for Mr. O'Brien and his team to imagine a time in the not-too-distant
future when Jay might step down from his throne, and Conan might step
up. But last week, NBC announced it was extending Mr. Leno's contract
to the end of the decade. The decision has inescapable implications
for Mr. O'Brien's career, as everyone around him knows.
Gavin Polone, Mr. O'Brien's manager and long-time friend, puts it in
the plainest terms. "There's just no question that he's going to be on
earlier than 12:30," he says. "He's going to 11:30. It's going to
happen."
There it is: the late-night star at 12:30 is pondering a move to 11:30
(it's really 12:35 and 11:35, rounded off for convenience). If it
sounds at all familiar, it's because we've been here before — same
time, and yes, same channel. David Letterman starred in the original;
after more than a decade as host of the later show, he was blocked
from advancing to the main room, the 11:35 show, the franchise, NBC's
"Tonight" Show, because NBC decided to give Johnny Carson's chair to a
guy its executives believed was a more mainstream — and cooperative —
star.
Now Conan O'Brien is getting set for the remake. And Jay Leno is being
cast yet again as the man in possession of the prize. Mr. O'Brien has
a little over a year and half left on his NBC deal, which means in
only a matter of months he's likely to find himself in the precise
position that David Letterman did in 1993: choosing between staying in
his comfortable 12:35 home on NBC and chasing that hour-earlier dream
on other networks.
Mr. O'Brien takes pains to point out the distinctions. "The difference
with Dave, which even NBC will admit, is that there was no way Dave
could continue to do the job at 12:30 with Jay as the `Tonight' show
host, because they were peers. I'm 15 years younger. With me at 12:30,
you can still feel there's order in the heavens somewhat."
Still, he is aware of the permutations. "By the end of my contract I
will have done the show 13 years, 2 more than Dave did it," he says.
"No one at NBC has said: `Here's what we're going to do. Here's the
offer.' It's hard to figure these things out in a vacuum. I know I
have a great job now. I think it's natural to at some point want to
move earlier. I think I've proved I can do a show that I don't think
has to exist at 12:30."
Mr. O'Brien and his NBC bosses are heading unavoidably toward a
relationship dilemma. After the announcement that he had signed Mr.
Leno to a new long-term deal, Jeff Zucker, the president of NBC
Entertainment and the man into whose hands this exploding cigar has
fallen, said, "Conan is a huge star, and I believe he's going to have
a long future with NBC with a lot of tremendous opportunities."
The network has so far courted Mr. O'Brien as best it can. Nobody on
either side will confirm, but neither will they deny, that in the
event of some misfortune befalling Mr. Leno, Mr. O'Brien has a Prince
of Wales clause. Mr. O'Brien wants to create comedy shows through his
production company and NBC is already steering business his way —
particularly one promising comedy pilot starring Macaulay Culkin. And
Mr. O'Brien had only to ask once to do a prime-time Christmas special
this year.
But these are side dishes, and everybody knows it. "The production
company is fun," he says. "But it's never going to be the passion that
the show is. I've got the bit in my teeth with this show and I'm very
determined to take it as far as it will go."
When and where he will take it are the questions of the moment. Mr.
O'Brien turns 41 this year. By the time the new Leno contract runs
out, Mr. O'Brien will be almost 47 — about the same age that Mr.
Letterman was when he decided he was too old for post-midnight. If he
stays at NBC, he will have done a 12:35 show for a television
eternity: 17 years.
In their fondest dreams, Mr. O'Brien and his team, which also includes
his executive producer, Jeff Ross, and his agents from the Endeavor
talent agency, would have liked NBC to draw up a formal plan of
succession: say, three or four more years and then Conan gets the
"Tonight" job. But that scenario would essentially have involved NBC's
asking Mr. Leno, whose show is bringing in more profits than any show
except "Today," to set himself up as a lame duck.
"It's hard for me emotionally to say: how can Leno deserve to be
there, when I deserve to be there? I don't feel that in my bones," Mr.
O'Brien says. "My agents can say that — and they do. But I have no
control over them. They're Rottweilers that I bought. Their job is to
attack. My job is to say: dear me. But I don't expect things that are
unrealistic."
Mr. Leno said last week that he thinks very highly of Mr. O'Brien: "I
know he's really good. What he does he does great." He also said that
there shouldn't be much distinction between 11:35 and 12:35 now that
viewers can easily record shows and play them when they like. Given
his reputation for a work ethic to shame a boatload of galley slaves,
it is not surprising that NBC doesn't seem to be contemplating Mr.
Leno's retirement — ever. As Mr. O'Brien jokes: "Jay may decide he
wants to do the show until 2025. Jay could say: my brain will be in a
jar and we'll wheel it out and I'll do the monologue."
But Mr. O'Brien's team has no intention of waiting around to see,
especially after last week's news. "I was a little surprised by what
NBC did with Jay," Gavin Polone says, referring to both the length of
NBC's commitment and the fact that it was made without first locking
Mr. O'Brien in. But, Mr. Polone says: "Conan has a lot of great
choices ahead of him. NBC has probably only a lot of anxiety ahead of
them."
He sees late-night opportunities everywhere. "I think Fox has to
offer," Mr. Polone says, an easy prediction since the Fox network made
a serious run at Mr. O'Brien two years ago. "I believe CBS might have
to offer," he continues, speculating that Mr. Letterman might be ready
to step aside by early 2006 — a prospect Mr. Letterman's close
associates discount as extremely unlikely. "And ABC obviously has to
offer," he says. Just two years ago, ABC's executives were so eager to
land a successful 11:35 entertainment show that they were willing to
dump the much honored "Nightline" if Mr. Letterman would take its
place. "Nightline" eventually won a reprieve, but ABC's guarantee to
continue the news program runs out just around the same time that Mr.
O'Brien's contract comes up for renewal.
"You might have three companies that need new jetliners at the same
time, and we'll be the only company actually building a jet," Mr.
Polone concludes. "Other people may be building washing machines. But
why go to a company offering washing machines when you need a jet?"
Some late-night fans can already hear jet-like noises coming from the
direction of Comedy Central, where Jon Stewart has burnished a
reputation for smart, topical comedy on "The Daily Show." If the
network late-night wheel swings again, Mr. Stewart, who is 41, would
seem to be positioned alongside Mr. O'Brien in the line for the next
11:35 ride.
Mr. Stewart re-upped last month for four more years at "The Daily
Show." The president of Comedy Central, Larry Divney, asserted that no
network can steal Mr. Stewart away until 2008. But: Comedy Central is
owned by Viacom, which also happens to own CBS. Presumably if Mr.
Letterman surprised the world and decided to step down, the CBS
chairman, Leslie Moonves, could dial some familiar numbers. "If Les
called could he get Jon away?" Mr. Divney said. "That's a good
question."
None of the outside options seem all that clear-cut to Mr. O'Brien —
at least at the moment. "There may be possibilities, but are they
viable?" he says. "NBC at 12:30 is still better than a lot of things.
Following the `Tonight' show is still better than a poke in the eye
with a sharp stick. There is the curiosity to take the show earlier.
But if going to another network for more money still means being seen
by fewer people, what are you doing? Then it's just an ego thing."
In the last contract season, Fox came at Mr. O'Brien with a deal he
acknowledges would have "put me financially in the same league as the
other guys." The round, fat number of $25 million a year has been
mentioned. Mr. O'Brien settled for about a third as much to stay at
NBC. "I'd like to make more money, like everybody else," he says. "But
it's more important to do this well and be in a situation where I can
do it well. So if the Pax network offers me $60 million next year to
do a Christian talk show, and the $60 million is guaranteed, a lot of
people would say: `Look, go take the 60 million and if the show goes
under, you're fine.' I would say I'm not fine. I'm a really rich guy
who doesn't get to do the thing he really loves, cause it got canceled
after four weeks."
Far more important to him is the fear that he might be on the shoulder
waiting for the road to clear when a member of his own generation
zooms by. "If NBC said, `Listen, Conan, Jamie Kennedy is going to do
the `Tonight' show and we really want you to continue at 12:30.' Or
`Carrot Top is going to get the 'Tonight' show'; well, I'd be out the
door. No offense to Carrot Top."
Mr. O'Brien means no offense to any parties — particularly the guy
whose job he really wants. "I like Jay and I wouldn't want to do
anything with NBC that I wouldn't be able to tell Jay I was doing," he
says. "I do not want to manipulate my way into this job. I do not want
to do anything that I couldn't comfortably say to Jay Leno I was
doing."
Statements like this are made all the time in show business. What
makes it a bit different with Mr. O'Brien is that he is, his show's
staff members and his NBC bosses acknowledge, an almost shockingly
nice and normal human being to be caught up in the ego-and
neurosis-driven business of late-night. This is true even though he,
more than any of the others who have dispensed humor into American
bedrooms past midnight, has every right to be bitter, twisted and full
of bile.
There was a night, after all, just as he was finishing up his first
year, when Mr. O'Brien sat on the floor of Jeff Ross's office
listening to Gavin Polone on the speaker phone delivering the
gut-wrenching news that the network, reneging on a previous oral
promise of a one-year contract extension, was instead offering a
"week-to-week" renewal. Nothing like that had ever been done to a
television star before — not even Lassie.
At that point the NBC hierarchy was disposed to write off Conan as a
loony failed experiment. A comedy writer for "The Simpsons," he had
been plucked from obscurity, like Lana Turner at a soda fountain, by
Lorne Michaels, the man who created "Saturday Night Live." Mr.
Michaels had the novel idea that a new face might be able to make it
in late night.
John Agoglia, then NBC's chief deal-maker, made little secret of his
doubts about Mr. O'Brien — and especially his then-sidekick, Andy
Richter, whom nobody at NBC got in the least. NBC later relented,
though only to the point of giving Mr. O'Brien 13-week renewals. One
night, NBC actually ordered Mr. O'Brien canceled, only to rescind the
order the next morning, a night he didn't know of until years later.
"I swear I've made my peace with all of it," he says, taking the high
road. "I got an unprecedented break, and I went for it. It wasn't
easy. I took my lumps. I have no problems with any of it." But Mr.
O'Brien has been studying carefully recent events in late-night — and
all the while he's been fingering the scar.
"I have watched a lot of people launch late-night shows since I
launched mine and I don't think any of them have been as good."
(Hello, Craig Kilborn; that means you, Jimmy Kimmel.) "And they got
harsh criticism. But their networks stood behind them steadfastly. I
feel my first week of shows are still better than a lot of these other
shows that have come along since, and they've had 10 times the network
support I had.
"I don't have any complaint with anybody finding fault with me as a
performer in the first two years of the show because there was fault
there and I'll take it." Here Mr. O'Brien's affable demeanor takes a
turn. "But NBC made it more difficult than it had to be. That 13-week
renewal stuff is unprecedented in the history of show business. I'm a
forgiving person. I tend to let things go and move on. But if John
Agoglia somehow fell to the bottom of a coal mine and I was the only
one who knew about it, I'm not saying I wouldn't alert the
authorities, but I might take my time about it, maybe wait a week or
two — provided he had plenty of fresh water."
Outburst finished, Mr. O'Brien stresses that this apparently weighty
psychic baggage will not be a factor in future decisions. "I really am
past all that. It's all good. They treat me really well." By they he
means Mr. Zucker — and especially the NBC chairman, Bob Wright, who
supported Mr. O'Brien earlier than most others, and with whom he has
forged an unusually close personal relationship. "I would walk across
broken glass for Bob Wright," Mr. O'Brien says. "He did the right
thing with me and it worked out. I'm very happy to do anything Bob
Wright asks me to do."
Surely the biggest request Mr. Wright is likely to come up with is:
Conan, will you stay?
On the couch in Jeff Ross's office, where he first heard about NBC's
one-week contract offer, Mr. O'Brien flops down, his stilt-size legs
draped over one armrest. Toronto, the prime-time special, those are
now dimming memories: the adoring crowds, the booming high-ceilinged
laughs, the guy who held up a sign that read: "I took Conan for my
Confirmation name."
Mr. O'Brien knows he could have been at Fox for more than a year
already. Possibly, he could even have been at CBS. ABC's run at Mr.
Letterman coincided almost precisely with the final days of Mr.
O'Brien's last negotiation with NBC. "At the last second, CBS called:
`We'd like to talk to Conan.' Of course my agents started howling,
yipping, and flipping." CBS was looking for protection if Mr.
Letterman bolted. But Mr. O'Brien had none of it. "I told my guys he
wasn't going, and I don't want to be the stick for CBS to hit David
Letterman with. I have undying respect and admiration for the man."
The connection with Dave goes well beyond the fact that Conan is host
of the show that Mr. Letterman created. "I started watching Dave's
morning show and was really interested in comedy," Mr. O'Brien says.
"Then it's like: Yup, that's my guy. He got to me at that age when you
can really affect people. When they're between 15 and 22. You make an
emotional connection, sort of the way Led Zeppelin made an emotional
connection with people at a certain age, and for the rest of their
lives all they want to do is put on a Led Zepplin record. It's the
same thing in late night. I think I've grown a generation of people
who think our show is their show."
We are entering the prime of Conan O'Brien — and he knows it. "It
sounds smug, but I just know time is on our side. When I went in front
of that Emmy crowd it was like they had marked my height when I was
about 4 years old. Then it's 10 years later and 6-foot-4 Conan walks
in, and they're shocked. Because their frame of reference is always
Letterman or Leno. I don't think young people were shocked at all."
The onstage Conan, once geeky, often trying too hard, needing support
from Andy Richter, has been replaced by the confident performer who
does it all alone, who saves bad material with physical shtick, who
can use his intellectual gifts to elicit both humor and information
from an interview segment. The offstage Conan brims with the same
élan. "I have infinite confidence that I'm good at this. If you cut my
legs and arms off, I'd go out there and put on a good show."
Jack Paar, the first host to make the "Tonight" show a phenomenon,
befriended Mr. O'Brien several years before his death. "He wrote me a
letter and he just told me he liked my style," Mr. O'Brien says. "He
told me to marry a nice girl, get a nice dog, and a lot of blue
shirts. All of which I have since done. And he said: `Just think what
I could have done if I had your hair.'
"And he was right. I think aside from John Davidson, I have the best
hair on television. So if I keep doing good shows and the hair stays,
it will all work out."
Conan pauses, then adds, "Let's just hope it gets ugly and then we'll
all have fun."
Elaine
> from the new york times
>
> Conan's Late Start
> By BILL CARTER
>
> In February, Conan O'Brien brought his hit NBC late-night show from
> New York to Toronto, of all places, as a favor to a city still reeling
> from the SARS crisis, and for a week twentysomething Canadians went a
> little crazy, lining up for hours and filling the elegant 1300-seat
> Elgin Theater with the energy of a rock concert.
>
> Last September, a similarly frenzied New York crowd packed the Beacon
> Theater on the Upper West Side for the taping odim...@yahoo.com (David)
opened in news:40718dcd.4292495052f a prime-time special
As Howard Stern says, "Nice guy, no talent". Let's hope they cancel him
and no one signs him!
sdfasa
pick this guy up..he can anchor the entire network and get them back
on their feet
D.F. Manno
Elaine <elain...@nospam.com> wrote:
> > from the new york times
> >
> > Conan's Late Start
> > By BILL CARTER
<snip>
> As Howard Stern says, "Nice guy, no talent". Let's hope they cancel him
> and no one signs him!
You wasted everybody's time scrolling down 300 lines just to offer up
that witless comment?
--
D.F. Manno
domm...@netscape.net
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." (Benjamin Franklin)
Uniblab
interesting). Leno's show is making a ton of dough for the network, second
only to the "Today" show, so you can't blame them for signing him up for a
while. But Conan is definitely part of the next generation. At some point,
Leno will start to dwindle in the key demos (just as his predecessor Johnny
Carson did, as his audience grew older) and if they lose Conan, they may not
have anyone else to turn to.
Back in the late 90s, the contract for Matt Lauer, who was "Today"'s news
reader, was up and he was looking for a promotion. Rather than lose Matt to
another network, NBC pretty much forced Bryant Gumbel off the show, although
he was allowed to say it was his choice. And there have always been rumors
that Carson wanted to do another year to get to an even 30, but NBC was less
than enthusiastic, and Carson knew that his time was up. It'll be
interesting to see if Leno will need a similar nudge out the door when the
time comes.
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Ian J. Ball
>Mr. O'Brien 13-week renewals. One
>As Howard Stern says, "Nice guy, no talent". Let's hope they cancel him
>and no one signs him!
We kind of hope the same thing happens to you, Miss "I am incabale of trimming
the quoted material when I post a reply..."
--
Ian J. Ball | http://homepage.mac.com/IJBall/TV.html
IJB...@aol.com |
John Duncan Yoyo
wrote:
>As Howard Stern says, "Nice guy, no talent". Let's hope they cancel him
>and no one signs him!
I doubt anyone would sign Howard Stern these days....
--
John Duncan Yoyo
------------------------------o)
Brought to you by the Binks for Senate campaign comittee.
Coruscant is far, far away from wesa on Naboo.
David
<john-dun...@cox.net> wrote:
>On Mon, 05 Apr 2004 18:54:50 GMT, Elaine <elain...@nospam.com>
>wrote:
>
>>As Howard Stern says, "Nice guy, no talent". Let's hope they cancel him
>>and no one signs him!
>
>I doubt anyone would sign Howard Stern these days....
But... but... he's the king of all media! And he brought down
"Saturday Night Live"! Oh, right...
SPAMMERS DIE@spam.com Michael
"David" <diml...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:4071db19...@news.individual.net...
As much as I do occasionally enjoy Howard Stern, he really is a one-trick
pony.
Michael H.
@news.individual.net:
> one promising comedy pilot starring Macaulay Culkin
Say it ain't so.
Jim Dandy
CO is one of those people, like Whoopi Goldberg, Roseanne Barr, or Arsenio
Hall, who has never said or done anything that would make me even consider
wanting to laugh.
Why he is still on the air is a mystery to me.
Uniblab
news:DWkcc.11591$6n7...@newssvr15.news.prodigy.com...
because some of those jackasses really need their egos deflated. But the sex
stuff gets really tired after while, and there's a relentlessly negative
tone to the show that has made me avoid it over the past few years.
Ian J. Ball
sdfasa <bl...@jll.com> wrote:
If ABC can get him, they should dump Kimmel in a hot second, and sign
Conan.
--
Ian J. Ball | No good TV quotes lately... [shrug]
TV lover, and |
Usenet slacker |
ijball@macDOTcom | http://homepage.mac.com/ijball/TV.html
David
<ijball***SPAM-No***@mac.com.invalid> wrote:
>In article <2je370hjdbev6pfr2...@4ax.com>,
> sdfasa <bl...@jll.com> wrote:
>
>> don't have time to read right now but bottom line: ABC or FOX better
>> pick this guy up..he can anchor the entire network and get them back
>> on their feet
>
>If ABC can get him, they should dump Kimmel in a hot second, and sign
>Conan.
But would Conan be happy moving down only a half hour? ABC could try
dumping "Nightline" again but I'd think they wouldn't want to go
through that publicity nightmare again, especially if in the end they
fail to sign Conan.
I'm afraid Conan may be setting himself up for a fall. There's only so
many choices people can make before midnight and with Jon Stewart,
Cartoon Network, Letterman, Leno and the various sitcom reruns there
may not be space left for another show, even one with an established
host. This is one of those time periods where people fall into a habit
and it'll be tough to break. Someone who's been falling asleep
watching Leno for 12 years isn't likely to suddenly switch. The most
likely place for Conan to end up is probably FOX at 11 but they may
run into problems with affiliates who can make more money from
"Seinfeld" and "Simpsons" reruns. It'll probably be best if Conan
waits for either Letterman or Leno to retire, which will probably
happen within another five years.
Uniblab
I think Conan would be making a mistake going up against Leno and Letterman
at 11:30 -- I don't think there's room for another comedy/talk show to
succeed on the major networks at that time. "Nightline" is good
counterprogramming. I could see him perhaps making a go of it on Fox at
11:00. But his best bet is probably to hold out for the 11:30 slot on NBC or
CBS.
NOW STAND BACK YOU ITs Mr Hole
Psst, ABC already has a latenight schedule that provides the best two
shows in their timeslots, having Conan O'Brian move there would mean a
considerable drop in quality.
..
Mr. Hole
Doug Mehus
> from the new york times
>
> Conan's Late Start
> By BILL CARTER
>
> In February, Conan O'Brien brought his hit NBC late-night show from
> New York to Toronto, of all places, as a favor to a city still reeling
> from the SARS crisis, and for a week twentysomething Canadians went a
> little crazy, lining up for hours and filling the elegant 1300-seat
> Elgin Theater with the energy of a rock concert.
<snip>
<--- Wow. That was a long 44 paragraph column, one of the longest I've
read for a newspaper. Definitely insightful.
I hope he jumps to another network, preferably CBS which could sign
him for January 2006 or fall 2006 once his NBC contract expires.
Imagine this as a stellar line-up for CBS in late night.
11:35 - The Late Show with Conan O'Brien
12:37 - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (which could be expanded to
one hour and air at 11 PM on Viacom-owned Comedy Central and also air
at 12:37 AM on CBS. This would give it broader exposure and allow it
to earn more money. It would also allow him exposure on CBS to morph
into a new show called "The Late Late Show with Jon Stewart," which
could debut in 2008.)
Craig Kilborn, if he's lucky, might be able to nudge out Jimmy Kimmel
and make the jump to ABC. Carson Daly would be elevated to the 12:35
slot on NBC, most likely, and NBC would no longer be king of late
night because all it would have is the washed up, old Leno and the
unwatchable Carson Daly. CBS, meanwhile, would return to the #1 slot
and CBS would be giving O'Brien and Stewart praises.
Ah, wishful thinking...
Doug
William George Ferguson
Consider the possibility that he doesn't need to make you personally
laugh, if he makes enough other people laugh. The reason he is still on
the air is that he makes NBC money, because enough other people laugh.
--
"Who needs the big picture? Not me! Hints are fine."
-Joan Girardi
(after God showed her just a little of his omnipresent brain)
Mike B.
>
> Consider the possibility that he doesn't need to make you personally
> laugh, if he makes enough other people laugh. The reason he is still on
> the air is that he makes NBC money, because enough other people laugh.
>
Ok, then explain Saturday Night Live to me...
Elaine
news:20040405184852...@mb-m29.aol.com:
Perfectly said. The funniest segment is when he talks to characters on the
TV set next to his desk, and even that he doesn't do well. His comic takes
are horrendous, and his timing is even worse. He may just be the richest and
worst TV performer of ALL TIME! NBC - please cancel him!!!!!! Rip up his
contract! Force him to take a civil service exam and get some other job
where he'll bore the daylights out of co-workers.
she...@glick.com
4ax.com:
> don't have time to read right now but bottom line: ABC or FOX better
> pick this guy up..he can anchor the entire network and get them back
> on their feet.
You're in a dreamworld. Conan stinks out loud.
Elaine
@news.individual.net:
> 'm afraid Conan may be setting himself up for a fall
What are you afraid of? He's stolen enough money doing nothing except boring
most of the people in show biz. No one in the industry watches that
shmecklehead.
jessi...@gh.com
news:bpm3705pd74s0kh8p...@4ax.com:
>>As Howard Stern says, "Nice guy, no talent". Let's hope they cancel him
>>and no one signs him!
>
> I doubt anyone would sign Howard Stern these days....
How long do you think Conan would keep an audience tuned in if he had a
radio show? 4 minutes? Maybe. He's a colossal bore.
Joseph Nebus
We can't get enough of that Hanz and Franz they have there.
--
Joseph Nebus
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
William December Starr
"Mike B." <MOVE_ON_...@biteme.COM> said:
>> Consider the possibility that he doesn't need to make you
>> personally laugh, if he makes enough other people laugh. The
>> reason he is still on the air is that he makes NBC money, because
>> enough other people laugh. William George Ferguson]
>
> Ok, then explain Saturday Night Live to me...
Lorne Michaels. Deal with the Devil. Devil not happy.
--
William December Starr <wds...@panix.com>
David
wrote:
>diml...@yahoo.com (David) mentioned in news:40720edd.30572363
>@news.individual.net:
>
>> 'm afraid Conan may be setting himself up for a fall
>
>
>What are you afraid of?
I'm afraid to find out why he bothers you so much that you can't stop
posting in a thread about him.
Uniblab
She probably works for Kimmel or Kilby. Or she's just a crackpot.
Chas McGuire
news:QVrcc.21750$7r2.3...@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net:
> How long do you think Conan would keep an audience tuned in if he had
> a radio show? 4 minutes? Maybe. He's a colossal bore.
Yeah, almost as boring as someone who keeps changing nyms in order to make
the same point over and over, Elaine...I mean, Shelly...I mean,
Jessiesgirl....
Chas McGuire
news:Xns94C317026...@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net:
> You're in a dreamworld. Conan stinks out loud.
Whatever you say, Shelly aka Elaine aka jessiesgirl.
Chas McGuire
@news.individual.net:
> I'm afraid to find out why he bothers you so much that you can't stop
> posting in a thread about him.
And under three different nyms as well.
Aaron Pynn
> Hall, who has never said or done anything that would make me even consider
> wanting to laugh.
Ummmmm..guess you never laugh ed at the Simpsons then huh?
Corwin2
> sdfasa <bl...@jll.com> wrote:
>
>> don't have time to read right now but bottom line: ABC or FOX better
>> pick this guy up..he can anchor the entire network and get them back
>> on their feet
>
>If ABC can get him, they should dump Kimmel in a hot second, and sign
>Conan.
They could move Conan to 11:35, Kimmel to 12:35 and Koppel to 1:35.
(Sure, Ted, go back to / keep taping some of the shows weeks ahead of time.)
Corwin2
>
>"David" <diml...@yahoo.com> wrote
>> I'm afraid Conan may be setting himself up for a fall. There's only so
>> many choices people can make before midnight and with Jon Stewart,
>> Cartoon Network, Letterman, Leno and the various sitcom reruns there
>> may not be space left for another show, even one with an established
>> host. This is one of those time periods where people fall into a habit
>> and it'll be tough to break. Someone who's been falling asleep
>> watching Leno for 12 years isn't likely to suddenly switch. The most
>> likely place for Conan to end up is probably FOX at 11 but they may
>> run into problems with affiliates who can make more money from
>> "Seinfeld" and "Simpsons" reruns. It'll probably be best if Conan
>> waits for either Letterman or Leno to retire, which will probably
>> happen within another five years.
>
>I think Conan would be making a mistake going up against Leno and Letterman
>at 11:30 -- I don't think there's room for another comedy/talk show to
>succeed on the major networks at that time. "Nightline" is good
>counterprogramming. I could see him perhaps making a go of it on Fox at
>11:00. But his best bet is probably to hold out for the 11:30 slot on NBC or
>CBS.
Conan might not be the one to fail, although that's the way to bet.
CBS and NBC are the strongest prime time nets and provide the best
lead-in so Conan would have to be considerably superior (as Letterman
was when he first moved to CBS), not just superior. His best shot
might have come and gone when Letterman did not move to ABC.
Conan should try for a matching salary to Leno from NBC and if he
gets it, I agree he should then wait for a retirement. But if NBC
does not offer a matching salary upfront, than he should shop around.
However if 11:30 is his priority, he can take a lower than market
salary to try and get the position. He could take, say, a 5 year
contract for $5 million a year (as compared to $26 ? mil for Leno
and $30 ? mil for Letterman.) But his contract would near a penalty
clause - a $90 million dollar penalty for cancelling the show or not
airing it at 11:30 or 11:35. (Ok, maybe the penalty should be 200
million just to make sure the network supports him through thick
and thin.)
Just by staying at 11:30 for five years he might squeeze out
Leno or Letterman ahead of schedule.
(J)
P.S. I personally find Kilborn the most likeable and watchable although
Kimmel is not available in my area so my judgement doesn't include him.
John Duncan Yoyo
Kimmel is he still on? In DC we get Extra and Celebrity Justice
followed by Oprah. They don't want to run network after Nightline on
the local ABC affiliate.
--
John Duncan Yoyo
------------------------------o)
Brought to you by the Binks for Senate campaign comittee.
Coruscant is far, far away from wesa on Naboo.
John Duncan Yoyo
<john-dun...@cox.net> wrote:
>On 07 Apr 2004 00:46:34 GMT, cor...@aol.comamber (Corwin2) wrote:
>
>>"Ian J. Ball" wrote:
>>
>>> sdfasa <bl...@jll.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> don't have time to read right now but bottom line: ABC or FOX better
>>>> pick this guy up..he can anchor the entire network and get them back
>>>> on their feet
>>>
>>>If ABC can get him, they should dump Kimmel in a hot second, and sign
>>>Conan.
>>
>>They could move Conan to 11:35, Kimmel to 12:35 and Koppel to 1:35.
>>
>>(Sure, Ted, go back to / keep taping some of the shows weeks ahead of time.)
>>
>Kimmel is he still on? In DC we get Extra and Celebrity Justice
>followed by Oprah. They don't want to run network after Nightline on
>the local ABC affiliate.
Well just to show me up the local ABC affiliate began running Kimmel
last week.