NBC Regrets Calling Conan O'Brien "King of Late Night" - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brian Damage · 08-06-2009, 01:19 AM

Conan O'Brien isn't the king of late night after all.

NBC issued a news release calling O'Brien "the new king of late night" after O'Brien's Tonight Show, in its first week, beat The Late Show with David Letterman in ratings.

Since then, Letterman has bounced back. NBC's head of late night, Rick Ludwin, said Wednesday at the Television Critics Association fall TV tour that the news release was "premature."

"There were those who predicted that Conan was not going to be broad-based enough to work at 11:30, and we were so thrilled with the numbers for the first week that far exceeded our expectations, that we used that phrase in that headline, and that was premature," Ludwin said.

http://www.tvguide.com/News/NBC-Regr...g-1008702.aspx

Schmoopie · 08-06-2009, 01:54 AM

I wouldn't call either of them the "King of Late Night" to be honest. Jay was the true "king", if you can call him that.

Adamantium · 08-06-2009, 07:42 AM

Conan's my favorite of the late night hosts. But no, NBC shouldn't have called him that after just one week. They jumped the gun a bit.

In my opinion King of Late Night goes:
1. Johnny Carson - I didn't watch him much, but the guy was a legend. All the late night hosts want to be like Johnny. I know Letterman loved him (based on what I've read).
2. David Letterman - I watched his NBC show a little bit as a kid. That was like the cool late night show to watch. My household was always a Letterman over Leno household.
3. Conan O'Brien - Okay ratings aren't as high as Leno, but then again, Conan has seemed to me to have a cult following. You can't put a cult show on in place of a mainstream show and expect higher ratings. But yeah, Conan's great.

I won't even place Leno in this list. Can't stand the man.

TVFactFan · 08-09-2009, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adamantium

Conan's my favorite of the late night hosts. But no, NBC shouldn't have called him that after just one week. They jumped the gun a bit.

In my opinion King of Late Night goes:
1. Johnny Carson - I didn't watch him much, but the guy was a legend. All the late night hosts want to be like Johnny. I know Letterman loved him (based on what I've read).
2. David Letterman - I watched his NBC show a little bit as a kid. That was like the cool late night show to watch. My household was always a Letterman over Leno household.
3. Conan O'Brien - Okay ratings aren't as high as Leno, but then again, Conan has seemed to me to have a cult following. You can't put a cult show on in place of a mainstream show and expect higher ratings. But yeah, Conan's great.

I won't even place Leno in this list. Can't stand the man.

Don't go making excuses for Conan's latenight failure now, just accept the fact that he is not on Jay's Level and that's it

Adamantium · 08-09-2009, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheLifeAdjuster

Don't go making excuses for Conan's latenight failure now, just accept the fact that he is not on Jay's Level and that's it

Ratings wise, no Conan is not on Jay's level. But Conan is not a failure. He came to Late Night back in 1993, was successful and NBC promoted him, giving him The Tonight Show. He's doing a great job with it too.

Conan has a passionate fan base (of which I'm part of).

Besides, it took Leno a few years to beat David Letterman. So it'll take some time for some non-Conan fans to come around (obviously not all of them will). Of course either way, whether Conan does better or Letterman does better, I'm just glad Jay Leno is no longer on The Tonight Show. That show was too special a show to have Jay Leno as the host. I'm just sorry it took 17 years before NBC realized that.

People may have made a routine of watching the Leno, and I know the old people love him, and they'll still get to see him in the fall. At an earlier time slot, too.

Finally, it's between the two late night hosts that I love!

JulieSomoski · 08-09-2009, 07:01 PM

I'm sorry, but after more than 2 months as host, Conan is as close to a failure in latenight as you can get, on many levels. For one, Conan is down from Leno in every single way possible. He only averaged 2.5 million viewers last week, compared to the 5 million Leno averaged. He had a 1.0 demo, which was .1 ahead of Nightline and .2 ahead of Letterman, yet that's down from the 1.5-1.8 Leno averaged on a weekly basis.

Like him or not, Conan really needs to start stepping up his game. I mean come on, 2.5 million viewers? NBC used to rule latenight with 5 million+, and this is all Conan can pull? I watched his show I think last Friday, and I found the whole monologue nothing short of terrible. Conan isnt used to rushing the monologue, and it clearly shows. He isn't funny and his delivery is just off. Conan was okay in late late night, but he just isn't cut for 11:35. NBC didn't want to bring his "cult" audience over to 11:35. They wanted him to garner a broader audience, younger audience. Instead, he lost half of Leno's audience and ruined The Tonight Show for many latenight viewers.

TVFactFan · 08-09-2009, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JulieSomoski

I'm sorry, but after more than 2 months as host, Conan is as close to a failure in latenight as you can get, on many levels. For one, Conan is down from Leno in every single way possible. He only averaged 2.5 million viewers last week, compared to the 5 million Leno averaged. He had a 1.0 demo, which was .1 ahead of Nightline and .2 ahead of Letterman, yet that's down from the 1.5-1.8 Leno averaged on a weekly basis.

Like him or not, Conan really needs to start stepping up his game. I mean come on, 2.5 million viewers? NBC used to rule latenight with 5 million+, and this is all Conan can pull? I watched his show I think last Friday, and I found the whole monologue nothing short of terrible. Conan isnt used to rushing the monologue, and it clearly shows. He isn't funny and his delivery is just off. Conan was okay in late late night, but he just isn't cut for 11:35. NBC didn't want to bring his "cult" audience over to 11:35. They wanted him to garner a broader audience, younger audience. Instead, he lost half of Leno's audience and ruined The Tonight Show for many latenight viewers.

Post of the Day-LOL My TV defintely is not on NBC at 11:35pm anymore

ryan423 · 08-09-2009, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheLifeAdjuster

Post of the Day-LOL My TV defintely is not on NBC at 11:35pm anymore

Same. I've found mself tuning into Kimmel lately as well as Dave and Jimmy. Conan not so much, which says a lot, cause I loved him on Late Night, but think he has ruined the Tonight show. He needs to seriously fire his writing staff A-SAP!

dakert · 08-09-2009, 10:33 PM

Is La Bamba still with Conan? I loved him--he was a great character.

Adamantium · 08-10-2009, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dakert

Is La Bamba still with Conan? I loved him--he was a great character.

Yeah, he's still there. La Bamba's great.

Adamantium · 08-10-2009, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JulieSomoski

I'm sorry, but after more than 2 months as host, Conan is as close to a failure in latenight as you can get, on many levels. For one, Conan is down from Leno in every single way possible. He only averaged 2.5 million viewers last week, compared to the 5 million Leno averaged. He had a 1.0 demo, which was .1 ahead of Nightline and .2 ahead of Letterman, yet that's down from the 1.5-1.8 Leno averaged on a weekly basis.

All I know is Conan makes me laugh. If I'm in a bad mood, I watch his show and I feel better. Leno NEVER did that. Instead, I reacted to Leno like much of you react to Conan. And I give you credit for at least watching Conan and deciding you don't like him. I'm sure plenty of people didn't give him a chance at all.

I wonder, does anyone know what kind of ratings he got during Late Night as compared to now? I mean has he lost or gained viewers from the move?

tvfreak1987 · 08-11-2009, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adamantium

Conan's my favorite of the late night hosts. But no, NBC shouldn't have called him that after just one week. They jumped the gun a bit.

In my opinion King of Late Night goes:
1. Johnny Carson - I didn't watch him much, but the guy was a legend. All the late night hosts want to be like Johnny. I know Letterman loved him (based on what I've read).
2. David Letterman - I watched his NBC show a little bit as a kid. That was like the cool late night show to watch. My household was always a Letterman over Leno household.
3. Conan O'Brien - Okay ratings aren't as high as Leno, but then again, Conan has seemed to me to have a cult following. You can't put a cult show on in place of a mainstream show and expect higher ratings. But yeah, Conan's great.

I won't even place Leno in this list. Can't stand the man.

IMO I think your list is spot on. Though I would put Leno on the list at #4.

Quote:

I'm sorry, but after more than 2 months as host, Conan is as close to a failure in latenight as you can get, on many levels.

I'm sorry, but 2 months isn't near enough time to build and maintain an audience. It took Leno 2-3 YEARS, not months, YEARS to beat Letterman consistently. It's gonna take at least that long for Conan to do the same. People need to give him a chance.

Quote:

I wonder, does anyone know what kind of ratings he got during Late Night as compared to now? I mean has he lost or gained viewers from the move?

I think in his last days on Late Night he still got around 1.5 to 2 million. So he did gain a little.

JulieSomoski · 08-18-2009, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adamantium

All I know is Conan makes me laugh. If I'm in a bad mood, I watch his show and I feel better. Leno NEVER did that. Instead, I reacted to Leno like much of you react to Conan. And I give you credit for at least watching Conan and deciding you don't like him. I'm sure plenty of people didn't give him a chance at all.

I wonder, does anyone know what kind of ratings he got during Late Night as compared to now? I mean has he lost or gained viewers from the move?

I can't believe I missed this post, lol. I mean, I know where you're coming from. Conan was okay for me in latenight, but he's obviously much better suited for latenight. I watched his first 3 shows and that one a few weeks back, and I just have to say it isn't my cup of tea.

He was right on par with Ferguson in latenight, so that would be around 1.8-2 million, not sure of the demo. So, his audience is slightly bigger now. It'll definitely be interesting to see if ratings can go up any once Jay is back.

JulieSomoski · 08-18-2009, 11:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tvfreak1987

IMO I think your list is spot on. Though I would put Leno on the list at #4.

I'm sorry, but 2 months isn't near enough time to build and maintain an audience. It took Leno 2-3 YEARS, not months, YEARS to beat Letterman consistently. It's gonna take at least that long for Conan to do the same. People need to give him a chance.

I think in his last days on Late Night he still got around 1.5 to 2 million. So he did gain a little.

I understand that argument that Conan needs more time, but he's had 17 years in latenight, isn't that enough? Leno was brand new, except for his few gigs as guest host years earlier. I mean, the proof came I think 2 weeks ago when Letterman was in repeats and still beat Conan in total viewers. People had the chance to try out Conan again, but instead they opted to stick with Letterman repeats. I think that says a lot.

I think at the end of the day, Conan is just always going to have that cult audience watching The Tonight Show, and whether that's good enough shall be seen.

catlover79 · 08-18-2009, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adamantium

Yeah, he's still there. La Bamba's great.

I've always liked La Bamba myself. He's a character.

08-06-2009, 01:19 AM	#1
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	NBC Regrets Calling Conan O'Brien "King of Late Night" Conan O'Brien isn't the king of late night after all. NBC issued a news release calling O'Brien "the new king of late night" after O'Brien's Tonight Show, in its first week, beat The Late Show with David Letterman in ratings. Since then, Letterman has bounced back. NBC's head of late night, Rick Ludwin, said Wednesday at the Television Critics Association fall TV tour that the news release was "premature." "There were those who predicted that Conan was not going to be broad-based enough to work at 11:30, and we were so thrilled with the numbers for the first week that far exceeded our expectations, that we used that phrase in that headline, and that was premature," Ludwin said. http://www.tvguide.com/News/NBC-Regr...g-1008702.aspx
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08-06-2009, 01:54 AM	#2
Schmoopie Keep Calm and Love Snoopy Forum Star Join Date: Jul 13, 2008 Location: Lynnwood, Washington Posts: 15,697	I wouldn't call either of them the "King of Late Night" to be honest. Jay was the true "king", if you can call him that.
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08-09-2009, 07:01 PM	#6
JulieSomoski Roseanne Reboot - March 27! Forum Veteran Join Date: Nov 06, 2004 Location: Michigan Posts: 7,558	I'm sorry, but after more than 2 months as host, Conan is as close to a failure in latenight as you can get, on many levels. For one, Conan is down from Leno in every single way possible. He only averaged 2.5 million viewers last week, compared to the 5 million Leno averaged. He had a 1.0 demo, which was .1 ahead of Nightline and .2 ahead of Letterman, yet that's down from the 1.5-1.8 Leno averaged on a weekly basis. Like him or not, Conan really needs to start stepping up his game. I mean come on, 2.5 million viewers? NBC used to rule latenight with 5 million+, and this is all Conan can pull? I watched his show I think last Friday, and I found the whole monologue nothing short of terrible. Conan isnt used to rushing the monologue, and it clearly shows. He isn't funny and his delivery is just off. Conan was okay in late late night, but he just isn't cut for 11:35. NBC didn't want to bring his "cult" audience over to 11:35. They wanted him to garner a broader audience, younger audience. Instead, he lost half of Leno's audience and ruined The Tonight Show for many latenight viewers.
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08-06-2009, 07:42 AM	#3
Adamantium TVAdam No More Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 11, 2002 Location: Springfield, Ohio Posts: 7,840	Conan's my favorite of the late night hosts. But no, NBC shouldn't have called him that after just one week. They jumped the gun a bit. In my opinion King of Late Night goes: 1. Johnny Carson - I didn't watch him much, but the guy was a legend. All the late night hosts want to be like Johnny. I know Letterman loved him (based on what I've read). 2. David Letterman - I watched his NBC show a little bit as a kid. That was like the cool late night show to watch. My household was always a Letterman over Leno household. 3. Conan O'Brien - Okay ratings aren't as high as Leno, but then again, Conan has seemed to me to have a cult following. You can't put a cult show on in place of a mainstream show and expect higher ratings. But yeah, Conan's great. I won't even place Leno in this list. Can't stand the man.

08-09-2009, 10:33 PM	#9
dakert Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: May 10, 2007 Location: Altoona PA Posts: 3,411	Is La Bamba still with Conan? I loved him--he was a great character.