Conan O’Brien Signs Late Night Deal With TBS
Fox has lost out in negotiations with Conan O’Brien, who signed a deal with Time Warner-owned cable network TBS to start a late night show beginning in November 2010. Fox wanted O’Brien but there were limitations to their offer, including less money, no chance for O’Brien to own his own show and difficulties convincing affiliates to change their lucrative rerun schedules. TBS and O’Brien began negotiations over the last week with TBS offering O’Brien the chance to own his own show along with an eight-figure compensation package, larger than any of his previous compensation packages. The show will be based in Los Angeles and is expected to air four nights a week. George Lopez is the current late night talk show guy with his show Lopez Tonight on TBS and will be moving from 11:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight to accommodate O’Brien’s new show schedule. Lopez was supportive of O’Brien’s move and said “I can’t think of anything better than doing my show with Conan as my lead-in,” he said. “It’s the beginning of a new era in late-night comedy.” The starting time of 11:00 p.m will also give O’Brien a head start on capturing the late night audience of Leno and Letterman.
The news of the late night deal was announced today as O’Brien starts his nationwide live comedy tour in Eugene, Oregon. O’Brien commented on the news in his typical comic style: “In three months I’ve gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I’m headed to basic cable, my plan is working perfectly.”
The opportunity to own his own show should give O’Brien the kind of job security that David Letterman, who owns his late night show, has on CBS. Considering how well other hosts are doing on cable (Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are prime examples), its no wonder O’Brien went for this sweet deal.
