• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

WSJ: "CONAN" FALLS FLAT IN SEASON ONE

Perhaps these shows just don't work without the lead-in of late local news?
 
The audience in question finds The Daily Show quite easily with no local news lead in.
 
I started watching Conan on his run on TBS because I liked the first week of shows, and really, after the dust settled, the shows aren't funny anymore. The monologue is ok, the comedy bits aren't that funny or innovative, the interviews can get boring and monotonous and the music acts are subpar at best. It just seems like Conan's not trying as hard as he used to because it's not "The Tonight Show". If that's the case then, he really needs to get his head out of that gutter.

Maybe he should have gone to FX, their lead-ins would have been great for his show, especially with the addition of UFC this week.
 
They just admitted the problem in that article. He appeals to the younger demos that don't have cable or are cutting the cord anyways. This demographic is used to watching TV on their computers, or through a computer connected to the TV. The sooner networks can monetize that space and use it in tandem, the better. And the answer is NOT to have people pay for the program. The reason people are moving to internet for video is they want it for very VERY cheap or free. And at even $1 per month for just one show, that still kills them.

Perhaps they can partner with Netflix on distribution. Conan the day after he airs on TBS on my Netflix for $8 per month, plus everything else I already get on Netflix streaming.
 
radiojomo said:
I started watching Conan on his run on TBS because I liked the first week of shows, and really, after the dust settled, the shows aren't funny anymore. The monologue is ok, the comedy bits aren't that funny or innovative, the interviews can get boring and monotonous and the music acts are subpar at best. It just seems like Conan's not trying as hard as he used to because it's not "The Tonight Show". If that's the case then, he really needs to get his head out of that gutter.

Maybe he should have gone to FX, their lead-ins would have been great for his show, especially with the addition of UFC this week.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it does seem that outside of Conan, they aren't really trying. Repeats aren't a good lead in, they need good, ORIGINAL programming to lead up to Conan. I can see The Big Bang Theory on my local station for free, why pay TBS to show me the same episodes?

And as far as the shows not being funny, it also comes with having the budget for a good writing staff, and having the "clout" for the big name guests. What act in their right mind hears "The Tonight Show wants you" and says "No Thanks"? But, a lot of acts might here "Hey, you wanna be on Conan" and they think "Oh, he's still around?" or "Oh, so I can be on in the middle of the night".
 
mnradiofan said:
And as far as the shows not being funny, it also comes with having the budget for a good writing staff, and having the "clout" for the big name guests. What act in their right mind hears "The Tonight Show wants you" and says "No Thanks"? But, a lot of acts might here "Hey, you wanna be on Conan" and they think "Oh, he's still around?" or "Oh, so I can be on in the middle of the night".
Click to expand...

Well, he has the same exact writing staff he did on The Tonight Show, one of the conditions of his move to any network was that he would be able to bring his entire staff from NBC to the new network and it's a giant staff too, 18-20 writers. But I agree with you completely about the big name guests, he had better guests on Late Night to be honest.
 
Personally, I'm sorry to hear that. I think the show is very clever, and I'm an older viewer. His monologues are constently funny (IMO) and just as topical as anything Leno or Lettermen due. Yes - he does the "string dance" and other physical comedy, but he's good at it, so I doubt that turns people off. He has good guests and seems to have excellent rapport with them. Sometimes, a skit falls flat, but that's true of all of the late night hosts. If you recall, Johnny Carson's skits were often duds - but of course, you don't see the clunkers on the Best of Carson DVDs.

I think it's possible that many people were turned off by Conan's performance on The Tonight Show - which was inferior to his new show by a mile - and haven't given him another chance.

Of course, with so many shows to choose from, viewers have to make a choice. Personally, I prefer Stewart and Colbert, so I DVR Conan and watch the following day.
 
The article makes is sound like TBS is happy, the real issue is that they overpaid Conan for it. If he was not costing TBS so much money, they would be quite happy with his performance.

Bring back Bill Tush :)
 
Forget about Conan, the article mentions that tbs will be paying $2 million AN EPISODE for 'The Big Bang Theory'! Talk about a waste of money!
 
(all times reflect the Central time zone)

If it were not for the local newscasts at 10:00 PM and "Bloomberg West", a technology news program, between 10:00 PM and 11:00 PM, I would be able to watch "Conan" on a regular basis rather than the occasional times when I'm still awake past 12:00 AM when "Conan" is broadcast again. I wish Bloomberg would schedule "Bloomberg West" for 4:00 PM and TBS would reschedule "Conan" for 10:30 PM, which would be great for folks who don't want to miss their local news programs.
 
I think it boils down to Conan being rather unpopular- even amongst 18 to 49s. I think he rode in on a wave of goodwill, as the big bad bully Leno didn't make any friends, so the public sentiment was with Conan. At the end of the day, though, his program is an acquired taste- to put it politely.

As the article points out, there are more viewers of the Daily Show and Chelsea Lately, despite them being on lesser channels with worse lead-ins. Without Leno or the local news/NBC programming to feed people into Conan, I don't think he's personally able to carry a show worth what they're paying him.

He has his place on television, but I think the past two years have proven, its neither as the host of a broadcast late night show or even a cable late night show.
 
TBS is probably a lot more disappointed in Conan than they're spewing out in press releases, they really don't have the right to complain without making them look bad. At the end of the day, the media is pro-Conan and will always make him look like his talents are undervalued when really they don't appeal to the mainstream.
 
Mario-500 said:
(all times reflect the Central time zone)

If it were not for the local newscasts at 10:00 PM and "Bloomberg West", a technology news program, between 10:00 PM and 11:00 PM, I would be able to watch "Conan" on a regular basis rather than the occasional times when I'm still awake past 12:00 AM when "Conan" is broadcast again. I wish Bloomberg would schedule "Bloomberg West" for 4:00 PM and TBS would reschedule "Conan" for 10:30 PM, which would be great for folks who don't want to miss their local news programs.
Click to expand...

I left out an important detail about "Bloomberg West" from my previous message: the program is broadcast live at 5:00 PM and a recorded version is broadcast at 10:00 PM every Monday through Friday. Both of those time slots are inconvenient to me due to local news programs (at 5:00 PM and 10:00 PM) and national news programs (at 5:30 PM).
 
No, not worse than Leno at 10.

I enjoy the monologue, but agree with others here that the show loses my interest after the first 15-20 minutes. (Even though in my time zone it airs at 9pm!)

It is basically the same show as on NBC, albeit with slightly more edge. Not sure how to improve ratings on this one. The concept is in place, and tinkering with it probably would just make it worse.
 
nomadcowatbk said:
Turner is competing with itself. Adult Swim draws more young men than any late night talk show, cable or network
Click to expand...

How about adding a Conan repeat during Adult Swim? Say from 1-3 AM?
I'm surprised that TBS doesn't run the show more throughout the day like Comedy Central does with TDS and Colbert. For my timezone, CC runs those two at 11AM, 4PM, 8PM and 11PM. Maybe TBS can add a midday or afternoon rerun?
 
radiojomo said:
nomadcowatbk said:
Turner is competing with itself. Adult Swim draws more young men than any late night talk show, cable or network
Click to expand...

How about adding a Conan repeat during Adult Swim? Say from 1-3 AM?
I'm surprised that TBS doesn't run the show more throughout the day like Comedy Central does with TDS and Colbert. For my timezone, CC runs those two at 11AM, 4PM, 8PM and 11PM. Maybe TBS can add a midday or afternoon rerun?
Click to expand...

In Canada, Conan is on CTV, right after The Daily Show and Cobert, and on The Comedy Network at 4 AM.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom