January 18, 2010, 6:30 pm What if Conan Said, ‘Bye, NBC. Hello, Internet’? By NICK BILTON NY Times
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/18/what-if-conan-said-goodbye-nbc-hello-internet/?ref=technology David Carr’s media column this week looks at the state of affairs with late night television. He argues that the ratings drama surrounding “The Tonight Show” has nothing to do with Conan O’Brien or Jay Leno, but is instead a demonstration of the changing tide of consumer habits from television time slots to the Web. I have to be completely honest, I didn’t even know “The Tonight Show” went on the air at 11:35 p.m. until the drama surrounding the shows’ time change happened recently. Just like Mr. Carr and his daughter, I sit at home watching Web clips of the show on my computer — as I do with all my television programming. Over the last week I’ve enjoyed watching the hosts snipe back and forth as my friends shared links to specific clips, passing along the daisy chain of comedy to others. Mr. O’Brien argued last week, in a letter to NBC and his fans, that “Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet, a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the ‘Tonight Show,’ I believe nothing could matter more.” I’m sure nothing could matter more on spreadsheets and in traditional advertising meetings. But with the 18- to 34-year-old crowd, who have shown undaunted support for Mr. O’Brien, a time slot is as relevant as which brand of frying pan your favorite restaurants use to cook your meal — maybe it makes a difference in the kitchen, but 99 percent of the patrons just want good food. I don’t envy Mr. O’Brien’s position. He took the helm of a steadfast, solid brand in a time of tumultuous change. As newspaper editors and music producers have also learned, the old models don’t apply to the next audience. Mr. O’Brien’s youthful supporters won’t crowd around the television at a specific time, instead they go to YouTube and Gawker to watch their late-night television, and share their own commentary around each clip. So here’s my advice to Mr. O’Brien: After he leaves NBC and spends a few months healing his wounds and pulling the troops back together, he should come back and make the Internet his time slot. He doesn’t need to abandon television — there are still millions of viewers who sit around the living room and tune in at a specific time — but he could take the battle in the direction the audience is clearly migrating: online. It would not be easy, and there are more questions than answers — the cardinal query of how to finance a show like this comes to mind. Mr. O’Brien and his writers and support staff are paid high salaries, and the expenses associated with producing a high-quality show needed to attract celebrity guests quickly add up. But there are certainly advertisers that would jump at the chance to follow Mr. O’Brien’s show online and reach his target audience, as they have in the past with other big-name celebrities like Seth McFarlane. There would also be lots of opportunities to try new financing models and break some of the traditional rules of television, something Mr. O’Brien has always done well in the past. It’s clear we are approaching a fork in the road, and the road sign for the next generation clearly points to the Web. For Mr. O’Brien’s core audience, the time slot is being replaced by a URL. -- ================================ George Antunes, Political Science Dept University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204 Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927 Mail: antunes at uh dot edu *********************************** * POST TO [email protected] * *********************************** Medianews mailing list [email protected] http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
