I suppose, again, that it comes down to the definition of success. If Conan defines at as being granted full freedom to do as he chooses, that is great. But if the ratings aren't what TBS wants them to be, TBS will be just as free to cancel his show as NBC was. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I will enjoy Conan's show. I just worry the audience numbers might not be enough to sustain it as a viable series, and that this genuinely wounds Conan's image as a network star.
One thing that cable series have been living off of for the last few years are DVD sales of their shows. Sales of shows will justify keeping a low rated show one the air. But talk shows tend not to produce DVDs other than specials, which means (counting Lopez), TBS will be funding 8 original hours per week without DVD revenue. Unless advertisers pay top dollar to have their "proper amount of suction" promoted during the shows, this would seem to be a short term strategy for both Conan and TBS. The only way I see this working is if Conan's company can launch three or four other new shows for the network within the next year or so, essentially turning TBS into a CW network produced by Conaco. TBS could then use Conan's show as the anchor for each night. I don't know. It is possible, but I don't think it is likely that this career move will benefit Conan in the long run. Imagine Leno going to basic cable. Imagine Johnny Carson or David Letterman going to basic cable. Tough to see this as anything other than a massive step down. On Mon, Apr 12, 2010 at 12:47 PM, David Bruggeman <[email protected]> wrote: > All true. But I think AB's larger point is that Conan has a much better > chance of re-establishing and expanding his brand on cable than he will on > network. He had his cup of coffee on The Tonight Show, and since his > network option at this time would not allow him the kind of opportunities > Letterman or Stewart (he's got a piece of The Colbert Report) have > (production company, influence over the lead-out, etc.), he went where he > could get them. > > That said, I think TBS is a crappy cable network, and don't expect a hell of > a lot of support from them. Their late night efforts have been wildly > uneven, and don't think Conan billboards during baseball playoffs will work > for them promotions wise (a la Frank TV from a few years back). > > Conan, whether you agree or not, feels he has earned the right to do things > as close to on his terms as possible. It sucks that TBS is where he seems > to have the best opportunity. > > David > > ________________________________ > From: Kevin M. <[email protected]> > > > On Mon, Apr 12, 2010 at 12:18 PM, David Bruggeman <[email protected]> wrote: >> I found it persuasive, YMMV. >> >> http://ow.ly/1xuYp > > Aaron cites Stephen Colbert as who to look to as a guide to TV > success, but Colbert didn't go from network to cable. He went from > cable to cable -- same channel 30 minutes later. > > Can Conan be successful on TBS? Sure, as long as you don't define > success as achieving as high or higher ratings as anyone else in > network late night television (no way Conan on TBS beats Leno on NBC). > In fact, Conan will have to compete with Stephen Colbert and Jon > Stewart, since they'll be sharing the same timeslot and roughly the > same demographic. > > -- > Kevin M. (RPCV) > > -- > TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "TV or Not TV" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en > > To unsubscribe, reply using "remove me" as the subject. > > -- > TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "TV or Not TV" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
