Guest Speed Racer Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 So then you can argue that the Tonight Show viewers jumped ship to Letterman. Not really, because we don't actually have any data on who's watching what. It's also possible that so-called Tonight Show viewers were in fact Leno viewers; a behavior they can now replicate while logging an hour and a half more sleep per weeknight. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shakespeare In The Alley Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 So then you can argue that the Tonight Show viewers jumped ship to Letterman.But actual ratings are hard to interpret nowadays, what with the internet and all. Letterman & Conan fans might be watching Letterman on TV, and Conan online. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GtrPlyr Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 I think any time other than 11:35 p.m. for the Tonight Show will be the kiss of death for it in the ratings, regardless of who is hosting. A lot of people don't want to stay up until 1:05 a.m. and I think a lot of fans will just slide on over to Letterman instead. With all the media attention right now, I think it would be in NBC's best interest to keep Conan at 11:35. I'm sure his ratings have increased this week already. Reshuffling all their late show time-slots is going to adversely effect the ratings of all the shows. Why would you do that to accommodate one person (Leno)? Towards the end of Leno's run on the Tonight Show he was routinely losing to Letterman in the ratings. And now they're going to bring this already sinking ship back? I seriously doubt that Leno at 11 p.m. is going to be lucrative enough to make it worth screwing over all the other shows. I'm sure Jay will do what it takes to stay on board. I get the feeling his ego won't allow him to go out this way. After all these years he wants to go out on top, and dropping out now would feel like failure; his legacy tarnished. Plus the guy is an obvious workaholic who hardly ever takes vacations. He doesn't know how to do anything else. Carson Daly's show isn't that bad now, since he changed the format. No more painful monolog.He has on a lot of cool guests that you wouldn't see on the earlier late night shows. And he visits them at a neutral venue or at their house etc.Plus, the majority of his live acts are filmed performances from Los Angeles venues.I catch it on occasion and it's a lot better than it was. His show has on musical acts the others wouldn't consider which makes it a good venue for up and coming bands. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dude Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Interesting new development: 'Tonight Show' Ratings Soar As Viewers Vote Team ConanBy Josef Adalian Published: January 13, 2010 Conan O'Brien's shot heard 'round the world sent his "Tonight Show" numbers soaring as viewers seemed to vote for Team Conan with their remotes. Tuesday's episode scored a 1.7/7 in adults 18-49 in Nielsen's 25 major markets with people meters. That's a dramatic gain of more than 40 percent from Monday, when Conan averaged a 1.2. Conan's "Tonight," in what may well be one of its final broadcasts, crushed "Late Show with David Letterman" in the demo -- nearly doubling Dave's 0.9/4. Final numbers won't be in til next week, and the averages will likely change. But this date suggest a massive boost for O'Brien. By contrast, Tuesday's "The Jay Leno Show" was down about 10 percent from last Tuesday. A lower lead-in from an "American Idol" impacted "Biggest Loser" played a role-- but it's worth noting CBS's "The Good Wife" seemed to benefit from the gazillion "Idol" viewers looking for something to watch after the Fox show wrapped. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted January 13, 2010 Author Share Posted January 13, 2010 Conan got screwed the first time when Leno's 10 PM show started. Conan's ratings were decent when his version of The Tonight Show started, then plummeted when Leno's show began. Why? Because Leno's show tanked. His lead-in to the local news was weak -- people didn't hang around to watch the news, and didn't come back afterwards to watch Conan. Conan got screwed the second time when NBC decided to give Leno the option to displace him from the 11:35 slot. His ratings would have plummeted further, because A) People who prefer Conan over Leno would watch Letterman (or something else, or nothing) at 11:35, and wouldn't be nearly as likely to switch to Conan at 12:05 (because guess what? It's later! People go to sleep!). People who like Leno would watch his half-hour show and then turn off the TV at 12:05. This is basically what happened when Leno was at 11:35 and Conan at 12:35 (check the ratings), and it would've happened again. The "late late" shows always have lower ratings than the "early late" ones. Instead of having the coveted 11:35 slot with the local news lead-in, Conan would be in a no-man's-land. The best he could hope for is that people switch over after Colbert. Not to mention that Conan moved his whole staff across the country to do a show at 11:35, not a show at 12:05. The Tonight Show franchise has been an 11:30/11:35 animal since 1966 (before that it was 11:15!). By placing another late-night talk show ahead of it, its cultural significance, ratings, and appeal are severely undercut. Conan would no longer be competing with Letterman at 12:05 -- he'd be trying to get sloppy seconds from Letterman's second half-hour. Some in the media are trying to downplay the significance of the time slot, but the time slot is everything. There's a reason you want to be on at 11:35 instead of 12:35, or 12:05. Letterman and Conan both paid their dues at 12:35 for well over a decade, and were eventually rewarded with their own 11:35 slots. If the time slot doesn't matter, why are the ratings so much higher at 11:35? Why are the 11:35 hosts paid more? To argue that Conan isn't being screwed here is willfully ignoring the reality of the situation merely for the sake of argument. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shakespeare In The Alley Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 What that guy just said. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Speed Racer Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Ditto. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 bobbob's been listening to a lot of Rush Limbaugh lately (for research is my best guess), so that should be taken into account. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
u2roolz Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 This still isn't up on youtube or anywhere. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted January 13, 2010 Author Share Posted January 13, 2010 I can't watch video at work, so I don't know if this works. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
u2roolz Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 I can't watch video at work, so I don't know if this works. Yes! Finally! Good sleuthing skills. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobbob1313 Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Isn't it possible that Leno being on at 12:05 could increase Conan's ratings at 12 with a better lead in? As I've said, I mostly just have a problem with what seems to be the believe among many here that Leno is fucking Conan over. That's not the reality of the situation. Yeah, NBC is fucking retarded, and they're both getting screwed around. The difference is they are giving Jay the option of the 11:35 slot, and he's not turning it down so he's the villain. If it was the other way around, and Leno was forced off the air because Conan refused to give up the 11:35 spot, wouldn't he be getting fucked over? I'm guessing none here would shed a tear, because it has nothing to do with the situation and everything to do with the people involved. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dude Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 This is a pretty good bit, too: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/13/nbc-ceos-voicemails-for-c_n_422005.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shakespeare In The Alley Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Isn't it possible that Leno being on at 12:05 could increase Conan's ratings at 12 with a better lead in?Huh? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shakespeare In The Alley Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 But Leno already did give up the 11:35 slot. You're missing that point. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobbob1313 Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Huh? If Leno pulls in good numbers at 11:35, that would help Conan's ratings at 12:05 more than the evening local news at 11:35. Or something. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shakespeare In The Alley Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 If Leno pulls in good numbers at 11:35, that would help Conan's ratings at 12:05 more than the evening local news at 11:35. Or something.Your post said Leno at 12:05, Conan at 12. That's what I meant. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobbob1313 Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 But Leno already did give up the 11:35 slot. You're missing that point. No, I get that. And now NBC is saying "Leno, you're moving back to 11:35 or your not on the air. Conan can move back a half an hour." As far as I know, this is not his choice to move back there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Speed Racer Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 they are giving Jay the option of the 11:35 slot, and he's not turning it down so he's the villain. Yes. If it was the other way around, and Leno was forced off the air because Conan refused to give up the 11:35 spot, wouldn't he be getting fucked over? I'm guessing none here would shed a tear, because it has nothing to do with the situation and everything to do with the people involved. No. As has been said, the 11:35pm slot is coveted - it is the corner office of late night television. Jay retired, and then pulled a Michael Jordan. The fact that he is not ceding this position to Conan, who still has a ways to go establishing himself as both a Tonight Show host and comedian of Leno's caliber, is simply selfish. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shakespeare In The Alley Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 I refuse to believe that Leno has nothing to do with this. I'm sorry, I'll admit that NBC is most to blame, but I just don't see it as likely that Leno is merely doing what NBC wants, and not a little bit of vice-versa. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Speed Racer Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 As far as I know, this is not his choice to move back there. Pretty much every news outlet is reporting that Leno has final say over the situation. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ThisIsNowhere Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Jay retired He didn't?? Unless you call forcefully taking away the 11:30 timeslot and giving it to Conan retiring, then no he didn't retire. NBC just thought he was getting to old. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobbob1313 Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 I should have been like Matt and just not gotten involved, I don't really care about this that much. I think the hysterics are a bit silly and overblown from a lot of people on this, I guess. I'm just going to back out, sorry. If anyone wants me, I'll be in the baseball thread. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 He didn't?? Unless you call forcefully taking away the 11:30 timeslot and giving it to Conan retiring, then no he didn't retire. NBC just thought he was getting to old. You should maybe either read up on this story or go back to sleep dude. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Speed Racer Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 I think the hysterics are a bit silly and overblown from a lot of people on this, I guess. People are really only referencing facts of the situation in the face of your "Conan isn't getting dumped on" argument. That 5 or 6 people are doing that at once might be a little much, but it's hardly hysterical (and in fact, saying so might be overblown). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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