# Conan O'Brien to host TBS show



## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

Breaking news.

No link yet, but on the CNN home page:



> Conan OBrien will host a new late-night talk show on TBS, the cable TV network says.


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## IJustLikeTivo (Oct 3, 2001)

Does not bode well for Lopez Tonight.....


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## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

Here we go:

http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/12/conan-obrien-coming-to-tbs/



> And the winner of the Conan O'Brien sweepstakes is ... TBS.
> 
> According to a press release sent out by the cable network (which, like CNN, is a unit of Time Warner), the comedian is joining TBS to host a late-night show that is expected to debut in November. O'Brien's show will be followed on TBS' schedule by George Lopez's "Lopez Tonight," which will move to midnight.
> 
> ...


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

Seriously?
TBS?


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## pjenkins (Mar 8, 1999)

TBS? Very funny...


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## Satchel (Dec 8, 2001)

JYoung said:


> Seriously?
> TBS?


Why not? No local affiliates to make happy with lead in numbers. Every person who has cable or satellite in the country can get TBS on the basic tier.

Turner's money is as good as anyone elses. Plus now he can make fun of FOX News.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Looks like Conan's show will begin at 11 pm ET, and George Lopez' show will shift to midnight.

If nothing else, this solidifies the fact that he won't be able to compete on the same plane and Leno and Letterman, and given his apparently niche fanbase, that's probably better for him anyway.

It would be interesting to know if TBS is getting a sweetheart deal for the first year or two, since NBC is paying Conan's salary for a time. IIRC, Conan's severance would be reduced by whatever amount he was paid from a new job, so unless there was something preventing it in the deal, TBS could pay him only $1 million per year, but he'd still get over $10 million per year until his original NBC contract would have ended.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

Satchel said:


> Why not? No local affiliates to make happy with lead in numbers. Every person who has cable or satellite in the country can get TBS on the basic tier.
> 
> Turner's money is as good as anyone elses. Plus now he can make fun of FOX News.


But other than Baseball, does anyone really watch anything on TBS?

And TBS isn't available on Lifeline Basic cable.


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## terpfan1980 (Jan 28, 2002)

IJustLikeTivo said:


> Does not bode well for Lopez Tonight.....


Zap2It reported that Lopez moves to Midnight to follow Conan's show.
(Ooops, just noticed that nataylor had clipped that part of the news into his quote above)

I'm really surprised that Conan will wind up at TBS rather than FOX. It gets him the time slot he wants (before Leno) with a potential national audience and probably a lot less concern for ratings, but still... I would have expected he'd have preferred to be on broadcast TV.


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## DavidTigerFan (Aug 18, 2001)

Stupid move, although I'm amazed that Lopez has lasted as long as he has.


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## dilbert27 (Dec 1, 2006)

terpfan1980 said:


> Zap2It reported that Lopez moves to Midnight to follow Conan's show.


So he is basicaly doing to Lopez what Leno did to him.


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## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

JYoung said:


> But other than Baseball, does anyone really watch anything on TBS?
> 
> And TBS isn't available on Lifeline Basic cable.


http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/03/3...swim-trutv-tbs-tnt-weekly-ratings-notes/46688



> Riding a wave of strong sitcoms and movies, TBS ranked as ad-supported cable's #1 network in primetime delivery of adults 18-34 (599,000) for March
> 
> TBS garnered eight of ad-supported cable's Top 10 movie telecasts for the month of March among adults 18-34, with a March 7 telecast of Old School taking the top spot.
> 
> TBS boasted four of ad-supported cable's Top 5 sitcoms for the quarter among adults 18-49, with Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns leading a pack that also includesThe Office, Friends and Seinfeld.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

First thought: TBS? Really?

Second thought: Huh. Not a bad idea on several levels. It either has 100&#37; clearance across the country, or darn near it. It's still cable, so if it DOES compete with Leno and Letterman, it's huge news... and if not, chalk it up to "well, it's cable, so what do you expect?" It's a half hour earlier than the rest of the late nighters, so it gets an early jump on the audience... particularly the younger audience who doesn't normally watch the late local news anyway.

I'd be curious to find out why the potential for a FOX deal fell apart... did Turner just outbid everyone, or did the FOX affiliates revolt?


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

JYoung said:


> And TBS isn't available on Lifeline Basic cable.


It is here on Time Warner. (Channel 3) It's one of two cable networks available on the lifeline tier (the other is WGN America at channel 9).


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

I expected basic cable (really, Fox seemed far fetched to me), but was thinking more of something like FX or Comedy Central. TBS is pretty low on the radar for me when it comes to cable stations... but since they have Lopez, it makes sense, maybe they want to be the "late night channel". I think it could be a good deal for TBS and Conan alike.


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## TeighVaux (May 31, 2005)

I'm guessing that FOX couldn't convince its affiliates to give up that time slot.

Glad he landed somewhere.

For us, Conan was in the category of "TIVO episode only if we like the guest/band".

My husband has every Craig Ferguson set on the DVR and I have every Colbert set.

The others, Letterman, Conan, Lopez, Fallon, Kimmel, Stewart, we'll look at the guide and only DVR it for an exceptional guest.

So it doesn't matter to me what channel Conan is on.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

nataylor said:


> http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/03/3...swim-trutv-tbs-tnt-weekly-ratings-notes/46688


18-34 is a bit of an odd number to be crowing about.
18-49 is the key demo they shoot for.
So maybe 600,000 of 18-35 for during primetime?

I know it's not comparing apples to apples but here's the latest numbers for late night:
http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/04/0...th-adults-18-49-25-54-and-total-viewers/47774


> (Week of March 29, 2010)
> 
> TOTAL VIEWERS A25-54(000)/ Rtg A18-49(000)/ Rtg
> ABC Nightline 3,660,000 1,550,000/ 1.2 1,190,000/ .9
> ...


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## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

JYoung said:


> 18-34 is a bit of an odd number to be crowing about.
> 18-49 is the key demo they shoot for.
> So maybe 600,000 of 18-35 for during primetime?
> 
> ...


Of course it's not got the same ratings as broadcast. But you asked who watches TBS, and I was just pointing out that it's not an insignificant number of people.

And here's something that mentions 18-49:

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/02/1...ratings-highlights-for-week-of-feb-8-14/42257



> TBS claimed all of ad-supported cable's Top 10 sitcom telecasts for the week among adults 18-34 and nine of the Top 10 among adults 18-49, with episodes of The Office, Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns, Seinfeld and Friends all scoring positions.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

TeighVaux said:


> I'm guessing that FOX couldn't convince its affiliates to give up that time slot.


I just checked over at Deadline: Hollywood, and Nikki Finke is reporting that while FOX was in the running, it doesn't sound like they were ever a particularly strong candidate, as far as the Conan camp is concerned.

It sounds like it was just that TBS won, pure and simple.


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## terpfan1980 (Jan 28, 2002)

LoadStar said:


> First thought: TBS? Really?
> 
> Second thought: Huh. Not a bad idea on several levels. It either has 100% clearance across the country, or darn near it. It's still cable, so if it DOES compete with Leno and Letterman, it's huge news... and if not, chalk it up to "well, it's cable, so what do you expect?" It's a half hour earlier than the rest of the late nighters, so it gets an early jump on the audience... particularly the younger audience who doesn't normally watch the late local news anyway.
> 
> *I'd be curious to find out why the potential for a FOX deal fell apart... did Turner just outbid everyone, or did the FOX affiliates revolt?*


I'm wondering the same but I suspect it wasn't so much an affiliates revolt as FOX being, at least for now, unable to line-up the national clearance because of syndication deals already in place by many of their affiliates (and even many of their O&O {owned and operated} stations).

Last I saw, it looked like a good percentage of the FOX stations might not be able to put Conan into the negotiated time slot until somewhere around 2 years from now. If that was truly the case, FOX would have had to pay off several stations to get clearance or Conan would have had to wait to really see what his ratings would have been since the broadcast times would have been all over the map.

That said, I have to wonder a bit more that if cable was an option here (as it seems to have wound up) why not go with FX? Still a FOX property with the possibility of perhaps airing on both cable (FX) and the network affiliates if they wanted to go that way and the bonus of perhaps being able to have less censorship on FX while being able to run a sanitized version of the show on the broadcast channels. It seems to me that some folks at FOX should be kicking themselves in the seat of the pants right now.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

terpfan1980 said:


> I'm really surprised that Conan will wind up at TBS rather than FOX. It gets him the time slot he wants (before Leno) with a potential national audience and probably a lot less concern for ratings, but still... I would have expected he'd have preferred to be on broadcast TV.


Of course Conan would prefer to be on broadcast, but I don't think the opportunity was available. He's got to strike while the iron is hot, and now just wasn't the right time for FOX.


LoadStar said:


> First thought: TBS? Really?
> 
> Second thought: Huh. Not a bad idea on several levels. It either has 100% clearance across the country, or darn near it. It's still cable, so if it DOES compete with Leno and Letterman, it's huge news... and if not, chalk it up to "well, it's cable, so what do you expect?" It's a half hour earlier than the rest of the late nighters, so it gets an early jump on the audience... particularly the younger audience who doesn't normally watch the late local news anyway.
> 
> I'd be curious to find out why the potential for a FOX deal fell apart... did Turner just outbid everyone, or did the FOX affiliates revolt?


I think this article in BusinessWeek sums it up pretty nicely. Basically, it would be a long time before all the FOX affiliates could clear their schedules and get his show on after their local news. Too many of them have signed current and upcoming syndication deals that it would not make sense to force them to carry Conan's show and breach those agreements. Also, there is some thought that the late-night slate is already pretty crowded, so it probably makes more sense at a lower-profile outlet where he'd be allowed to grow slowly, rather than immediately being compared to Leno's and Letterman's ratings.


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

The only reason people were thinking Fox is because they don't have any network presence after 10PM. I think Fox and their affiliates are perfectly happy to keep it that way, rather than shell out millions for an unproven "early late night" competitor. Conan simply didn't have the numbers for Fox, IMO.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

nataylor said:


> Of course it's not got the same ratings as broadcast. But you asked who watches TBS, and I was just pointing out that it's not an insignificant number of people.


Compared to broadcast, 600,000 during primetime is pretty much a blip.
And I'm pretty sure that O'Brien's numbers will be lower than that on TBS.



nataylor said:


> And here's something that mentions 18-49:
> 
> http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/02/1...ratings-highlights-for-week-of-feb-8-14/42257


But there are no numbers to compare. That statement really doesn't tell us much.


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## disco (Mar 27, 2000)

Now I need to find TBS in my channel lineup...


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## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

JYoung said:


> But there are no numbers to compare. That statement really doesn't tell us much.


It tells you that of people watching cable, a large number of them watch TBS.


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

dilbert27 said:


> So he is basicaly doing to Lopez what Leno did to him.


But this is different... I don't know why, but I'm sure someone can explain.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

nataylor said:


> It tells you that of people watching cable, a large number of them watch TBS.


But is it enough eyeballs to make TBS money?
(and I'm always a little wary when the networks put out releases like that sans actual numbers)

http://www.thewrap.com/ind-column/shocker-conan-headed-back-tv-tbs-not-fox-16200

Because it looks like TBS outbid Fox and ceded ownership of the show to O'Brien.



> The comedy-focused TBS, by contrast, made it clear that it really, really wanted O'Brien -- and was willing to step up with a monster deal to land him. His new pact with the network will allow O'Brien to own his own show, a la David Letterman, while also giving him an eight-figure compensation package described as "bigger than any other deal he's ever had," one person familiar with the agreement said.


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## Alfer (Aug 7, 2003)

JYoung said:


> B*ut other than Baseball, does anyone really watch anything on TBS?*
> 
> And TBS isn't available on Lifeline Basic cable.


This.

We don't get TBS using the DTV Family package so I'll miss out on this incarnation of Conan.


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## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

JYoung said:


> But is it enough eyeballs to make TBS money?


I'm sure they think so, or there wouldn't be a deal.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

It's weird to think of TBS for original programming (besides baseball, which I don't watch anyway). 

Can't stand George Lopez anyway, so I hope Conan does well there and will certainly be a boost to TBS in terms of bringing on more original programming. I might even watch when I can, although both of my Tivos are pretty busy at 11pm on weekdays.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

Wondering if Conan's crew is part of the deal, given his loyalty to them and vice versa....


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## dilbert27 (Dec 1, 2006)




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## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

Bierboy said:


> Wondering if Conan's crew is part of the deal, given his loyalty to them and vice versa....


If Conan owns the show, as reported above, then I'm sure he'll do what he can to keep his people.


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## pcguru83 (Jan 18, 2005)

Satchel said:


> Why not? No local affiliates to make happy with lead in numbers. Every person who has cable or satellite in the country can get TBS on the basic tier.
> 
> Turner's money is as good as anyone elses. Plus now he can make fun of FOX News.


This isn't true with DirecTV. We're not HUGE TV watchers--mainly just broadcast with very few cable shows. We have the 50+ channel entry level package with DirecTV and we don't get TBS.

I'm kind of disappointed. Conan is "worth more" than a cable talk show in my opinion. He was probably in a better position in his late night role at NBC quite honestly.


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## billypritchard (May 7, 2001)

sharkster said:


> It's weird to think of TBS for original programming (besides baseball, which I don't watch anyway).


My Boys on TBS is a great show, very funny. Good stuff.


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## aindik (Jan 23, 2002)

LoadStar said:


> It is here on Time Warner. (Channel 3) It's one of two cable networks available on the lifeline tier (the other is WGN America at channel 9).


That's a holdover from when both TBS and WGN used to be simulcasts of OTA channels. FCC regulations require that cable companies put any OTA channels they carry in their lowest tier. There is no limitation on that rule for whether the OTA channel is local to the market where the cable company is. If it's OTA, it has to be in the lowest tier. "Superstations" TBS and WGN were originally simulcasts of OTA channels in Atlanta and Chicago, respectively.

Of course, now TBS is no longer a simulcast of an OTA channel, as Atlanta's channel 17 is now PeachTree TV and shows different content (including many of the Braves games that used to be on TBS). But cable companies still keep it in the basic tier because it's always been there. Or perhaps they still have contracts requiring them to do it, from back when FCC rules required them to do it anyway.

Not sure what percentage of WGN America is a simulcast of the OTA stuff. IIRC, it's everything but the local Chicago sports.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

JYoung said:


> But is it enough eyeballs to make TBS money?
> (and I'm always a little wary when the networks put out releases like that sans actual numbers)
> 
> http://www.thewrap.com/ind-column/shocker-conan-headed-back-tv-tbs-not-fox-16200
> ...


Wow, eight figures. That's impressive. I didn't think TBS had the viewership to warrant that kind of payday for Conan. I guess we'll see how it turns out.

I wonder where they'll be shooting the show. Does TBS rent studio space for the show in LA? (I wonder if Universal will be willing to lease his old studio back to TBS until they find another use for it.) Will the show move back to NYC? Will they all now be required to move to Atlanta ?


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

MickeS said:


> But this is different... I don't know why, but I'm sure someone can explain.


According to Deadline: Hollywood, it was Lopez himself that actually reached out to Conan and asked him to join the TBS lineup.

Lopez would have had to have known that for Conan to join the lineup, it would be in late night, and it would be the first of the two shows. In essence, by inviting Conan to come to TBS, Lopez would have to give up the time slot.


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

LoadStar said:


> According to Deadline: Hollywood, it was Lopez himself that actually reached out to Conan and asked him to join the TBS lineup.
> 
> Lopez would have had to have known that for Conan to join the lineup, it would be in late night, and it would be the first of the two shows. In essence, by inviting Conan to come to TBS, Lopez would have to give up the time slot.


OK, so the difference is that Lopez wanted it, and Conan didn't. Makes sense.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

LoadStar said:


> According to Deadline: Hollywood, it was Lopez himself that actually reached out to Conan and asked him to join the TBS lineup.
> 
> Lopez would have had to have known that for Conan to join the lineup, it would be in late night, and it would be the first of the two shows. In essence, by inviting Conan to come to TBS, Lopez would have to give up the time slot.


But that was smart for Lopez. Right now, hardly anyone even thinks to check out his show. But with the press that Conan's going to get, and the lead-in he'll provide, I'll bet that Lopez' ratings go up even with the move to the later timeslot.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

MickeS said:


> OK, so the difference is that Lopez wanted it, and Conan didn't. Makes sense.


Also, part of the difference is that, in Conan's mind, bumping The Tonight Show back to 12:05 was a huge affront to the "institution" of the show. Since Lopez has only been on one year and really hasn't been much of a success, there's no "institution" to mess with.


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## scooterboy (Mar 27, 2001)

Good news that he'll definitely be back _somewhere_.

My only concern is that the show ends *exactly* on time every night. I don't want a single millisecond of George Lopez anywhere on my hard drive.


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

DevdogAZ said:


> Also, part of the difference is that, in Conan's mind, bumping The Tonight Show back to 12:05 was a huge affront to the "institution" of the show. Since Lopez has only been on one year and really hasn't been much of a success, there's no "institution" to mess with.


I have to  at this... not that you say it, but that Conan said it. I always felt it was complete BS to try and make the fact that he didn't want to do it seem more honorable or something. Nobody else in the world would care.


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## pcguru83 (Jan 18, 2005)

What's up with it only being Monday - Thursday? What comes on Friday's now?


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## aindik (Jan 23, 2002)

pcguru83 said:


> What's up with it only being Monday - Thursday?


Jon Stewart doesn't air Friday shows, either. Neither does Howard Stern. Could be as simple as, he just doesn't want to work, and fewer people are likely watching.



pcguru83 said:


> What comes on Friday's now?


Movies.


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

aindik said:


> Jon Stewart doesn't air Friday shows, either. Neither does Howard Stern. Could be as simple as, he just doesn't want to work, and fewer people are likely watching.


The other talkshows are only filmed 4 days a week too, they just film Friday's show on a different day, IIRC. I've always wanted Stewart and Colbert to do this too, I miss them on Fridays.


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## dilbert27 (Dec 1, 2006)

And I thought I had heard somewhere before that Letterman tapes his Friday shows on I want to say Thursday so that he did not have to work on Friday either.

This was a couple of years ago that I heard this so I dont know if thats still the case or not.


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## Sirius Black (Dec 26, 2001)

I'm with CoCo no matter which network he's on.

The trouble with TBS (and it shows with Lopez Tonight, is the number of episodes he'll run in a row that are new). Lopez seems to run a week of new episodes and then two weeks of reruns. Not the way to build an audience. Granted, I don't _watch_ Lopez Tonight but I do notice when TBS is (way) over-advertising the occasional new episode.


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## Fl_Gulfer (May 27, 2005)

So when is it going to air? I know he can't do a new show till after Aug. from what he said on the air.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

Fl_Gulfer said:


> So when is it going to air? I know he can't do a new show till after Aug. from what he said on the air.


November.


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## Martin Tupper (Dec 18, 2003)

Will TBS be broadcasting Conan in Stretch-O-Vision?


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## appleye1 (Jan 26, 2002)

JYoung said:


> Compared to broadcast, 600,000 during primetime is pretty much a blip.
> And I'm pretty sure that O'Brien's numbers will be lower than that on TBS.
> 
> But there are no numbers to compare. That statement really doesn't tell us much.


This article says that Lopez is doing about a million viewers a night. Still not great but I assume Conan will do better than that.

As for how Lopez feels, the same article implies he's 100% behind it (he originally approached Conan in fact), and feels Conan would be an excellent lead in for his new show at midnight.


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## Fl_Gulfer (May 27, 2005)

THanks Bierboy I just ran accross this it Shark http://www.tvshark.com/read/?art=arc5015

Conan O'Brien is taking his late night act to TBS.

According to a press release just sent out by the cable network, the comedian is joining TBS to host a late-night show that is expected to debut in November.

The program will air Mondays through Thursdays at 11 PM EST and George Lopez's 'Lopez Tonight' will be pushed back to midnight to make room for the move.

The surprise announcement comes the same day that O'Brien starts his two-month, nationwide comedy tour.

"In three months, I've gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I'm headed to basic cable," O'Brien joked in a statement of his own. "My plan is working perfectly."

"The good news: I'll be doing a show on TBS starting in November. The bad news: I'll be playing Rudy on the all new Cosby Show."

The move to TBS will also allow Conan to finally get out of the structured late night format on network TV and try something a bit different -- much like Lopez.

And even though Conan won't have his signature bits (they were property of NBC), with the potential for more outrageous bits, this is definitely a win-win for both TBS and Conan.

"TBS already has a huge audience of young comedy lovers, and Conan's show will give these fans even more reasons to watch our network," says Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks."

Lopez is also excited about the move, and is said to be the one who called Conan to get him onboard: "I can't think of anything better than doing my show with Conan as my lead-in. It's the beginning of a new era in late-night comedy."


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

MickeS said:


> The other talkshows are only filmed 4 days a week too, they just film Friday's show on a different day, IIRC. I've always wanted Stewart and Colbert to do this too, I miss them on Fridays.


Letterman works four days a week and records Friday's show on the previous Monday.
I think Leno actually works five nights a week.



appleye1 said:


> This article says that Lopez is doing about a million viewers a night. Still not great but I assume Conan will do better than that.


But the 18-49 demographic is what they charge the advertisers for so that's the key rating.
Some searching found this:
http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/04/0...-10-in-viewers-and-by-22-in-adult-18-49/46989



> * ABC's "JKL" topped TBS' "Lopez Tonight" on Monday by 108% in Total Viewers (1.92 million vs. 921,000) and by 48% in Adults 18-49 (837,000 vs. 565,000).


Not bad for late night cable but will that audience stick with O'Brien when the change occurs?
I believe that Lopez's audience primarily consists of younger Hispanics.
Will they tune in for O'Brien?


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## sonnik (Jul 7, 2000)

DevdogAZ said:


> But that was smart for Lopez. Right now, hardly anyone even thinks to check out his show. But with the press that Conan's going to get, and the lead-in he'll provide, I'll bet that Lopez' ratings go up even with the move to the later timeslot.


Ditto this.

I think ownership was a big factor; it was a big factor for Dave to have "Late Show" under Worldwide Pants.

I think "Carson Productions" lined Johnny's pockets in the long run as well.

Conan, realizing NBC will play the "IP" card for his catalog, probably wanted to make sure that this didn't happen again.

As LoadStar mentions, the more you think about this - the more sense it makes. Conan's devoted demos will follow him. I DVR'd his show on NBC, I'll DVR his show on TBS.

TBS can likely also rebroadcast each episode a 2nd time later in the night as well, thus allowing folks more of an opportunity to become more familiar with the series (if people have two recordings going on at 11pm, they can record a later showing - much like I can with TDS on Comedy Central).


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## sonnik (Jul 7, 2000)

Also, I saw Chelsea Handler on _Larry King_ last night. She's expressed interest in doing something else.

She may seem irrelevant in the discussion of this thread, and not many participants in this thread care about what she does, but she is funny and would pull a different demo - for say FOX a year or so from now if they still want a show.


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## ElJay (Apr 6, 2005)

"Late Night" had only four shows a week for years. As mentioned earlier, Letterman and Ferguson film five shows in four days. I think just leaving off the Friday show makes the most sense. I think the demographic they're looking for is probably doing something else Friday nights other than watching TV.


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## TiVo'Brien (Feb 8, 2002)

It'll be nice to see what kind of show Conan comes up with. It won't be in HD for me anymore, though.


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## mwhip (Jul 22, 2002)

Nice to see that Lopez actually helped seal the deal

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/12/how-the-conan-obrien-tbs-deal-happened/


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

mwhip said:


> Nice to see that Lopez actually helped seal the deal
> 
> http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/12/how-the-conan-obrien-tbs-deal-happened/


Interesting


> Mr. OBrien will continue to produce his show in Los Angeles, Mr. Polone said.


So I'm guessing that Conoco Productions would rent the Universal Stage as long as they're amenable.


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## Neenahboy (Apr 8, 2004)

And in one fell swoop, this season's baseball playoffs on TBS just became insufferable.


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## Bananfish (May 16, 2002)

Neenahboy said:


> And in one fell swoop, this season's baseball playoffs on TBS just became insufferable.


They announced that Joe Buck was doing them?


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## scooterboy (Mar 27, 2001)

Just tweeted by Conan:

_ConanOBrien: The good news: I will be doing a show on TBS starting in November! The bad news: I'll be playing Rudy on the all new Cosby Show._


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

scooterboy said:


> Just tweeted by Conan:
> 
> _ConanOBrien: The good news: I will be doing a show on TBS starting in November! The bad news: I'll be playing Rudy on the all new Cosby Show._


_Just_ tweeted? I read that in an article about the TBS thing several hours ago. I wonder if he used that joke in a live/telephone media interview, and then decided to recycle it for his Twitter followers, or whether the story I read earlier got it from his Twitter feed.


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## scooterboy (Mar 27, 2001)

DevdogAZ said:


> _Just_ tweeted? I read that in an article about the TBS thing several hours ago. I wonder if he used that joke in a live/telephone media interview, and then decided to recycle it for his Twitter followers, or whether the story I read earlier got it from his Twitter feed.


Sorry I just checked my reader and it was indeed posted at 1:21 pm EST. My mistake.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

scooterboy said:


> Sorry I just checked my reader and it was indeed posted at 1:21 pm EST. My mistake.


Eh, no worries. I wasn't getting on you. I was just curious if Conan was recycling jokes.


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## trainman (Jan 29, 2001)

Excellent...having DirecTV on the West Coast, I'll be getting Conan at 8:00.

I just hope the show repeats later in the evening in case of DVR conflicts.


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## Waldorf (Oct 4, 2002)

DevdogAZ said:


> Also, part of the difference is that, in Conan's mind, bumping The Tonight Show back to 12:05 was a huge affront to the "institution" of the show. Since Lopez has only been on one year and really hasn't been much of a success, there's no "institution" to mess with.


Would be funny if - on the first episode - he has George Lopez on as a guest and "promises" to retire and bequeath the timeslot and show to George in 5 years.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,702402,00.html


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## mrdbdigital (Feb 3, 2004)

JYoung said:


> So I'm guessing that Conoco Productions would rent the Universal Stage as long as they're amenable.


They don't have any studio space available in Atlanta that is not occupied by TBS Sports and/or NBA TV.


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## mrdbdigital (Feb 3, 2004)

I seem to remember some folks here telling me in another Conan thread that I was crazy when I suggested Conan might show up on TNT on Turner Broadcasting. Well, since TBS is the daddy network of all the Turner networks, I am now somewhat vindicated in my earlier prediction. 

I'll have to make a call and see if I can find out anything from some of my former work friends at TBS.


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## JETarpon (Jan 1, 2003)

The cool thing about this is that he'll be on the air here on TBSHD at 7pm.


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

I guess this makes it possible for Conan to be a little more edgier than the old Late Nite show, and especially more edgier than the Tonight Show.

I don't think it is a big problem, and I think Conan could be really successful there. It is not like the audience for the big networks is growing, they are getting smaller every year.

The bottom line is if he can get a deal that provides him enough money to do what he wants and run the kind of show that he wants... it should be fine. The pressure will certainly be much less, and the only real comparison he will have is if he is beating George Lopez.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

trainman said:


> Excellent...having DirecTV on the West Coast, I'll be getting Conan at 8:00.
> 
> I just hope the show repeats later in the evening in case of DVR conflicts.


Does DirecTV carry both the East and West coast feeds of TBS?


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

mrdbdigital said:


> They don't have any studio space available in Atlanta that is not occupied by TBS Sports and/or NBA TV.


Wouldn't matter. You couldn't run a talk show like this anywhere but LA or NYC. You'd just never get the guests otherwise. Celebs are in or around both of those places, so getting guests is fairly easy, but you'd never get guests to travel to Atlanta on a regular basis just to be on the show, and they wouldn't have a big enough base of last minute fill ins.

That's why they've already announced that the show is staying in LA.


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## bigpuma (Aug 12, 2003)

LoadStar said:


> Does DirecTV carry both the East and West coast feeds of TBS?


No, just the East Coast feed so this will be on at 8pm out here on the West Coast.


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## Einselen (Apr 25, 2006)

How much edgier can Conan now be on basic cable vs. major network?


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## ElJay (Apr 6, 2005)

Will TBS and its advertisers let him swear? The silly self-imposed censorship on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report is rather lame.


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## aindik (Jan 23, 2002)

Einselen said:


> How much edgier can Conan now be on basic cable vs. major network?


How edgy he can be is a function solely of TBS and its advertisers.

Then again, that was pretty much true on NBC, too. There is no FCC regulation of indecency between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. You can be as indecent as you want so long as you don't cross the line into "obscene," which is pretty much impossible to get to if there's still a comedic element to the content.


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

DevdogAZ said:


> Wouldn't matter. You couldn't run a talk show like this anywhere but LA or NYC. You'd just never get the guests otherwise. Celebs are in or around both of those places, so getting guests is fairly easy, but you'd never get guests to travel to Atlanta on a regular basis just to be on the show, and they wouldn't have a big enough base of last minute fill ins.
> 
> That's why they've already announced that the show is staying in LA.


Oprah!


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

DevdogAZ said:


> Wouldn't matter. You couldn't run a talk show like this anywhere but LA or NYC. You'd just never get the guests otherwise. Celebs are in or around both of those places, so getting guests is fairly easy, but you'd never get guests to travel to Atlanta on a regular basis just to be on the show, and they wouldn't have a big enough base of last minute fill ins.
> 
> That's why they've already announced that the show is staying in LA.


It worked for Space Ghost: Coast to Coast. 

(To be fair, I think they relied on satellite feeds)


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## aindik (Jan 23, 2002)

With this news, you can't help but wonder if he'd rather be doing this, or doing a show on NBC at 12:35.


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## TomK (May 22, 2001)

I might watch Conan again if he ditches the very unfunny Andy Richter.


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

TomK said:


> I might watch Conan again if he ditches the very unfunny Andy Richter.


I feel the opposite. I really hope Richter comes with him.


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

aindik said:


> With this news, you can't help but wonder if he'd rather be doing this, or doing a show on NBC at 12:35.


I'm pretty sure that if Conan could get a magic time-eraser and go back to undo the last year, he would... the only reason he left was so he could get the Tonight Show... I doubt he would have left for any other reason.


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## scooterboy (Mar 27, 2001)

TomK said:


> I might watch Conan again if he ditches the very unfunny Andy Richter.





MickeS said:


> I feel the opposite. I really hope Richter comes with him.


I hope so too. But I felt differently about Paul Shaffer when Letterman went to CBS. I was really hoping Paul Shaffer wouldn't be going along for the ride. I find him really smarmy and annoying.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

aindik said:


> How edgy he can be is a function solely of TBS and its advertisers.
> 
> Then again, that was pretty much true on NBC, too. There is no FCC regulation of indecency between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. You can be as indecent as you want so long as you don't cross the line into "obscene," which is pretty much impossible to get to if there's still a comedic element to the content.


But with East Coast and West Coast feeds, he'd still have to be careful because 11 pm ET is 8 pm PT. Better to just stay away from indecent stuff altogether.


marksman said:


> Oprah!


Well, that's a good point. Chicago probably has a fair amount of celebs as well, and you can get celebs to come there, but the fact that it's Oprah is more important than the location. Celebs will go there to plug their new project because the return on an appearance on Oprah is unbelievable. That's not the case with just any old late night talk show appearance.


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## aindik (Jan 23, 2002)

DevdogAZ said:


> But with East Coast and West Coast feeds, he'd still have to be careful because 11 pm ET is 8 pm PT. Better to just stay away from indecent stuff altogether.


On TBS it doesn't matter. The FCC can only enforce indecency regulations against over the air licensed radio and TV broadcasts. Everyone else (e.g., TBS) can be indecent whenever they want.

On NBC he was never on anywhere before 10:00.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

aindik said:


> On TBS it doesn't matter. The FCC can only enforce indecency regulations against over the air licensed radio and TV broadcasts. Everyone else (e.g., TBS) can be indecent whenever they want.
> 
> On NBC he was never on anywhere before 10:00.


You're right. I had a bit of a brain fart there. But it won't matter. TBS would never allow him to go blue out of fear of the advertisers.


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## inaka (Nov 26, 2001)

aindik said:


> On TBS it doesn't matter. The FCC can only enforce indecency regulations against over the air licensed radio and TV broadcasts. Everyone else (e.g., TBS) can be indecent whenever they want.


this


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## sonnik (Jul 7, 2000)

I wouldn't say he'd go blue... (I agree)

If you watched "The Daily Show" - you may recall that Comedy Central would try to edit out some things, but they'd usually (at least accidentally) make it to air anyway. (Usually stronger language). Viacom/CBS/MTV Networks (whatever it's called now) got a little more paranoid after the Janet Jackson fines...

"Mad Men" on AMC (another basic cable outlet) takes quite a few liberties that it couldn't on Broadcast.

Conan probably wouldn't want to NOT have language "bleeped" ... but he does have more of a comedic envelope to push.


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## FilmCritic3000 (Oct 29, 2004)

Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks, has promised Conan "the biggest marketing campaign in the history of cable."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/business/media/13conan.html


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

FilmCritic3000 said:


> Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks, has promised Conan "the biggest marketing campaign in the history of cable.
> 
> http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/business/media/13conan.html


Oh great.  That means even more Conan spots this fall than we had Frank Caliendo spots a couple of years ago.


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## ElJay (Apr 6, 2005)

I liked the promos Comedy Central had for Conan when they were re-airing "Late Night." I think they have the potential of being less annoying than Frank Caliendo (i.e. perhaps actually funny) if they do it right. 

"Old lady please go to sleep"
...
"Old lady please shut up"


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## TeighVaux (May 31, 2005)

I wonder what percentage of cable companies have TBS in High Def. I know my Comcast does broadcast TBS in HD. The other talk shows would be broadcast in HD since they are on networks.


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## JETarpon (Jan 1, 2003)

TeighVaux said:


> I wonder what percentage of cable companies have TBS in High Def. I know my Comcast does broadcast TBS in HD. The other talk shows would be broadcast in HD since they are on networks.


I get TBS in HD. I do not get ABC in HD.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

JETarpon said:


> I get TBS in HD. I do not get ABC in HD.


Is that because your local ABC station hasn't gone HD yet?

Most people in the United States have to option of of receiving Leno, Letterman, Kimmel, Ferguson, and Fallon in HD.

TBS only gets to about 87% of the households in the United States.
And I'm not sure if you have to pay extra to get the HD version of TBS.

Still, considering the number of people that seem perfectly happy with watching SD on their HD sets (shudder), I guess the availability of the HD version of the new O'Brien show is close to meaningless.


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## JETarpon (Jan 1, 2003)

JYoung said:


> Is that because your local ABC station hasn't gone HD yet?


Yes. They suck.

Rumor is they are looking into it before the fall 2006 programming, though.


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

I wonder if they will make this show available online (full episodes)?


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

JETarpon said:


> Yes. They suck.
> 
> Rumor is they are looking into it before the fall 2006 programming, though.


They're behind schedule


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## smak (Feb 11, 2000)

JETarpon said:


> Yes. They suck.
> 
> Rumor is they are looking into it before the fall 2006 programming, though.


The 3rd season of Lost looks like it will look great in HD.

-smak-


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## RayChuang88 (Sep 5, 2002)

TeighVaux said:


> I wonder what percentage of cable companies have TBS in High Def. I know my Comcast does broadcast TBS in HD. The other talk shows would be broadcast in HD since they are on networks.


I believe the vast majority of cable systems plus DirecTV and Dish Network have TBS HD as part of their basic programming tier. As such, Conan's new show will be widely available on HD and could end up being one of the most popular HD shows on cable.


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## pcguru83 (Jan 18, 2005)

RayChuang88 said:


> I believe the vast majority of cable systems plus DirecTV and Dish Network have TBS HD as part of their basic programming tier. As such, Conan's new show will be widely available on HD and could end up being one of the most popular HD shows on cable.


DirecTV does not have TBS (or TBS HD) as part of their base programming package.


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## TheDewAddict (Aug 21, 2002)

pcguru83 said:


> DirecTV does not have TBS (or TBS HD) as part of their base programming package.


They most certainly do. At least when I type in my zip code and look at the "Choice" programming package (the cheapest one), it has TBS. That's what I subscribe to, plus I pay for HD, and I get TBS HD.


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## bigpuma (Aug 12, 2003)

TheDewAddict said:


> They most certainly do. At least when I type in my zip code and look at the "Choice" programming package (the cheapest one), it has TBS. That's what I subscribe to, plus I pay for HD, and I get TBS HD.


There are actually cheaper unadvertised packages with DirecTV like the Family pack. I am not sure if TBS is included in those.


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## sonnik (Jul 7, 2000)

I think all carriers use HD as an excuse to milk a few extra bucks from you, whether it's a charge for the service in general, a Cablebox, a Smartcard, or a DVR.

Hence, I don't know of any carriers where any HD is truly part of a real "basic" package.

I think many cable companies will give you certain (mostly local) channels via in-the-clear QAM. However, many won't give you HD versions TBS, TNT, ESPN without a cable box or smartcard. 

I heard Comcast was doing offering certain satellite networks a few years ago via in-the-clear QAM, but I don't know if they still do.


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## daveak (Mar 23, 2009)

Conan Leno(ed) Lopez.

Well, not really, but I just had to type that.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

daveak said:


> Conan Leno(ed) Lopez.
> 
> Well, not really, but I just had to type that.


I heard that on Alan Sepinwall's podcast last night. First time I'd heard "Leno" used as a verb to mean "bumping someone to a later timeslot." Pretty good stuff.


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## daveak (Mar 23, 2009)

DevdogAZ said:


> I heard that on Alan Sepinwall's podcast last night. First time I'd heard "Leno" used as a verb to mean "bumping someone to a later timeslot." Pretty good stuff.


I knew I could not have been the first one to think that. Now if only I had TBS..... Hopefully they will have at least some excerpts available via the internet.


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

Technically "Leno" should mean "TRY to bump someone to a later time slot, only to have that person refuse and quit instead".


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

That is a weird use of Leno's name, besides what MickeS says, even if Conan didn't quit, Leno didn't bump him anywhere.


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## calitivo (Dec 6, 2002)

marksman said:


> That is a weird use of Leno's name, besides what MickeS says, even if Conan didn't quit, Leno didn't bump him anywhere.


You seem to constantly come to Leno's defense. You do understand you have horrible taste in comedy, yes?


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## Einselen (Apr 25, 2006)

I don't think Leno should be a verb (or any derivative of Leno). All Leno did was pull the Favre which before that was the Jordan which before that was....


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## stiffi (Jun 14, 2006)

Einselen said:


> I don't think Leno should be a verb (or any derivative of Leno). All Leno did was pull the Favre which before that was the Jordan which before that was....


The George Foreman?


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Einselen said:


> I don't think Leno should be a verb (or any derivative of Leno). All Leno did was pull the Favre which before that was the Jordan which before that was....


I don't even think he did that. Nobody forced Favre or Jordan out when they weren't ready in order to give a younger guy their job. They retired on their own. With Leno, it was clear even back in 2004 that this wasn't his idea and that he was just reciting the company line he'd been told to give. At the time, he probably figured 2009 was too far away to make it worth rocking the boat, and he'd wait and see what happened in the meantime. And ultimately, he never said he'd retire from performing comedy on TV. He only said he'd retire as host of The Tonight Show, which he did. It's not his fault that NBC decided they wanted him back after less than a year.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

calitivo said:


> You seem to constantly come to Leno's defense. You do understand you have horrible taste in comedy, yes?


You do understand that you don't have to necessarily prefer Leno's brand of comedy to recognize that Leno was not at fault for what happened to Conan, and that NBC jerked both of them around, yes?


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

DevdogAZ said:


> You do understand that you don't have to necessarily prefer Leno's brand of comedy to recognize that Leno was not at fault for what happened to Conan, and that NBC jerked both of them around, yes?


Dude,
don't you know that Leno is the source of all evil on television?
He also killed that talk show host on the last episode of Castle and is responsible for the recession and the volcano in Iceland?

No doubt he also sacrifices naked Girl Scouts to the TV God during a full moon as well.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

JYoung said:


> Dude,
> don't you know that Leno is the source of all evil on television?
> He also killed that talk show host on the last episode of Castle and is responsible for the recession and the volcano in Iceland?
> 
> No doubt he also sacrifices naked Girl Scouts to the TV God during a full moon as well.


Those are good points. I should have taken those into consideration. Please forgive me.


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

JYoung said:


> Dude,
> don't you know that Leno is the source of all evil on television?
> He also killed that talk show host on the last episode of Castle and is responsible for the recession and the volcano in Iceland?
> 
> *No doubt he also sacrifices naked Girl Scouts to the TV God during a full moon as well.*


You have him confused with Tiger Woods for that one.


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## daveak (Mar 23, 2009)

MickeS said:


> You have him confused with Tiger Woods for that one.


None of Tiger's mistresses looked like Girl Scouts to me, but he sure got a lot of cookies out of the cookie jar...


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## highwire (Jan 14, 2001)

Excellent news for CoCo. Bad news for us up here in the frozen wasteland of Canuckistan. TBS is not allowed in Canada to protect Canadian culture and the interests of the Canadian broadcast industry.


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## trainman (Jan 29, 2001)

highwire said:


> Excellent news for CoCo. Bad news for us up here in the frozen wasteland of Canuckistan. TBS is not allowed in Canada to protect Canadian culture and the interests of the Canadian broadcast industry.


Surely some Canadian cable network will pick up Conan's show, similar to the way you get "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report."


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## Inundated (Sep 10, 2003)

Some questions/observations:

* Is there a west coast feed of TBS? I thought they had one feed (dating back to their days as a live simulcast of WTBS/Atlanta as "SuperStation WTBS"). Thus, DirecTV wouldn't carry the "east coast" feed, but the "only" feed. I could have missed them adding a Pacific time zone feed in recent years.

* Canada does indeed not get TBS, since it split from broadcast channel 17 in Atlanta. It's been confirmed in the Canadian media that the former WTBS, now WPCH-TV "Peachtree TV", will not carry Conan's show separately. As Trainman speculated, I'm sure a Canadian network will carry the show.

* TBS HD has fairly wide coverage now. Most of it was gained when they first started running the MLB playoffs.

We had TBS (analog) in the local "lifeline basic" tier for years here. It was moved up into the 30's analog about a decade ago. Today's WGN America is on my cable lineup at 13.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

Inundated said:


> * Is there a west coast feed of TBS? I thought they had one feed (dating back to their days as a live simulcast of WTBS/Atlanta as "SuperStation WTBS"). Thus, DirecTV wouldn't carry the "east coast" feed, but the "only" feed. I could have missed them adding a Pacific time zone feed in recent years.


I found a few references to them launching one back in September 2003.


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## RayChuang88 (Sep 5, 2002)

There is a West Coast feed for TBS on their _standard_ definition channel, but there is no West Coast feed for TBS on their HD channel. As such, we'll be seeing O'Brien's new show at 8:00 pm Pacific time if you have HD cable or satellite.


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## bicker (Nov 9, 2003)

> But there was one truth they could not spin, one fact that no amount of buzz could overcome. And it is the sole reason why Conan O'Brien is heading to cable: His television audience isn't big enough for a major late-night slot in broadcast television given the current economics of the daypart. And it is for that reason- and only that reason-that O'Brien will debut on TBS this fall, and not on Fox or ABC.


http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/451634-The_Reason_Conan_Really_Went_to_TBS.php


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## Inundated (Sep 10, 2003)

LoadStar said:


> I found a few references to them launching one back in September 2003.


Ah, not long after I moved back to Ohio, which is why I probably missed it. (That, and the fact I don't watch a lot of TBS.) I was in California until 2001.

By the way, TBS' "Lopez Tonight" does air in Canada, on the TLN Telelatino network. Wonder if there's a "TIN" ("Teleirish Network") in Canada? 

But yes, TBS did sell the Canadian rights to its existing late night show, and Conan will show up north of the border on SOME channel in November - probably a higher-profile cable or even broadcast channel. Remember, CTV runs "The Daily Show".


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## Inundated (Sep 10, 2003)

Item from the L.A. Times (2003) on TBS adding a west coast feed:

http://articles.latimes.com/2003/apr/30/entertainment/et-quick30.3

I did not find this originally, because I was searching for "Pacific time" and not "west coast".

I see at least one reference that says satellite viewers only get the east coast feed.


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## pcguru83 (Jan 18, 2005)

TheDewAddict said:


> They most certainly do. At least when I type in my zip code and look at the "Choice" programming package (the cheapest one), it has TBS. That's what I subscribe to, plus I pay for HD, and I get TBS HD.





bigpuma said:


> There are actually cheaper unadvertised packages with DirecTV like the Family pack. I am not sure if TBS is included in those.


Mostly what bigpuma said, but it is advertised. The Family package has been around for at least a year or two now. It's the very first package listed when I type in my zip code:


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## bigpuma (Aug 12, 2003)

pcguru83 said:


> Mostly what bigpuma said, but it is advertised. The Family package has been around for at least a year or two now. It's the very first package listed when I type in my zip code:


Yeah, it is strange that when I am logged into my account at directv.com it doesn't come up as a package option when I click on change programming. Also it looks like TBS is NOT included in this package.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

pcguru83 said:


> Mostly what bigpuma said, but it is advertised. The Family package has been around for at least a year or two now. It's the very first package listed when I type in my zip code:


It looks to me like you're seeing the Family Package when you're logged into your account because that's the package you have ("Current Package"). I seriously doubt that someone on Choice or higher would see the Family Package as an option if they were to log into their account.


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

DevdogAZ said:


> It looks to me like you're seeing the Family Package when you're logged into your account because that's the package you have ("Current Package"). I seriously doubt that someone on Choice or higher would see the Family Package as an option if they were to log into their account.


Some of the cheaper packages are probably not shown that prominently to ANYONE that doesn't already have it. I know Cox used to just put their cheapest packages in the "fine print" in order to get people to buy higher.


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## trainman (Jan 29, 2001)

Inundated said:


> I see at least one reference that says satellite viewers only get the east coast feed.


Yeah, there are very few West Coast feeds carried by DirecTV and Dish Network -- basically just kids' channels (Nickelodeon, Disney, Cartoon Network) and premium channels (HBO, Showtime, etc.). Even if there were a West Coast feed of TBS-HD, it most likely wouldn't be carried by the satellite providers.


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## highwire (Jan 14, 2001)

trainman said:


> Surely some Canadian cable network will pick up Conan's show, similar to the way you get "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report."


I hope so. So far, the silence from the Canadian networks has been deafening. Many original programs on Turner's networks just don't show up anywhere in Canada.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

highwire said:


> I hope so. So far, the silence from the Canadian networks has been deafening. Many original programs on Turner's networks just don't show up anywhere in Canada.


There probably hasn't been a big demand for The Bill Engvall Show and My Boys. But I'd guess that there will be a demand for Conan's show and that someone in Canada will license it. But there really isn't anything to license yet. TBS only just signed the deal a week ago. Remember, it's going to be Conan's show, not TBS'*, so Conaco will need to develop the show and once they get it ready for marketing, they'll be able to market the show internationally. I suspect that will be several months down the road.

*Unless there's something in the Conan/TBS deal that gives TBS the exclusive distribution rights, even for countries where TBS doesn't broadcast their signal.


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## Mike10 (Mar 1, 2006)

highwire said:


> Excellent news for CoCo. Bad news for us up here in the frozen wasteland of Canuckistan. TBS is not allowed in Canada to protect Canadian culture and the interests of the Canadian broadcast industry.


somebody would have to apply to bring TBS to Canada for it to not be allowed
but yeah I am sure that somebody will eventually pick it up


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## Inundated (Sep 10, 2003)

DevdogAZ said:


> There probably hasn't been a big demand for The Bill Engvall Show and My Boys. But I'd guess that there will be a demand for Conan's show and that someone in Canada will license it.


I would be incredibly shocked if Conan's show doesn't find a home in Canada, and it'll probably be a high-profile network.

Again, "Lopez Tonight" even airs in Canada.


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