Rich wrote: >>> Only thing I disagree with is that Leno's audience will return to its >>> previous numbers. Yeah, the true believers will always be there, but a lot >>> of late-night viewers have not only changed habits and may not be so eager >>> to return. They've also seen the mighty Leno fail, and rather badly. Yes, I >>> know there are some who say they'll never watch NBC again, but I don't >>> think that'll be that much of a factor.
I agree with you, Rich, although for at least slightly different reasons. I don't think viewers who are inclined to watch him will be affected by his recent failure; by that rationale, you could make the case that Conan won't have any viewers when he migrates. I think people who like Leno will watch Leno wherever he goes if it's convenient for them, and for most people in that category, 1130pm was convenient for them before. I think Leno's numbers will fall because a significant percentage of casual viewers have soured on him, not because of his failure, but because of what he's done over the past two weeks. First and perhaps most obviously, there are the Leno/Conan viewers... a number that has probably grown as Conan's original viewers have grown up and gotten jobs and real responsibilities and started to not be able to make it to 1235am. Then there are those who didn't necessarily care for Conan and perhaps didn't even have much against Jay Leno's I-don't-believe-America's-that-smart sense of humor, but over the past two weeks came to realize that Jay Leno is really not a very good guy. I believe the latter group will turn out to be larger than folks think. People in my circle who aren't Conan fans have been asking me why a fight among millionaires has bothered me so much and why I've turned into a real obnoxious dinner party participant for the past two weeks. My answer is that these developments pushed so many of my buttons. -- I am a deeply loyal, 17-out-of-17 years-loyal viewer to Conan, and -- I find Jay Leno to be awful... but even putting aside these two specifics: -- I hate when people who ought to be done with something are too greedy to accept that; -- I hate giant corporations that make decisions based not on quality, but on perceived financial benefit only; -- I hate when things aren't fair and have been tilted in favor of the already-winning; -- I hate when someone goes back on his word; -- I hate the victory of predictable blandness over unpredictable innovation. I am not the only one in the 18-34/18-49 age group who feels this way. I wasn't just angered by this whole mess -- I was *offended* by it. I won't soon forget it. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "World News Now Discussion List" 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/wnndl?hl=en.
