Tuesday, May 4, 2010

NBC to Conan: You lie!

You've got to click on this link to see the least flattering photo ever taken of Conan O'Brien. If only that microphone was a flashlight -- he'd look just like someone's crazy uncle telling spooky campfire stories.

The story accompanying the photo (and one of Jay Leno, whose famous chin is less noticeable in this shot than his puffy cheeks) claims that NBC sources told TMZ that Conan "was flat out wrong when he said NBC gave him the axe rather than Leno because Jay's buyout would have been bigger. Sources say the buyouts for Conan and Jay were roughly the same."

What about Coco's claim that "Tonight" would not have lost money with him at the helm? "NBC sources say the show would not only have lost more than $5 million this year had they kept Conan on, but the loss was specifically discussed with Conan -- 'They were well-informed of that fact,' said one source."

Is that claim damage control? This informative article & chart show that Leno's ratings within the 18-49 demo during the past three weeks are exactly the same as the ratings of Conan O'Brien's "Tonight" in the same week of the show’s run.


  1. Thomas said...

    To be entirely fair, yes, Conan's Tonight Show probably lost money. But you have to be a little unfair with the numbers for it. Conan's new studio, and moving over a lot of his staff, probably cost millions of dollars. But that's an inevitable one-time thing. Take out these one-time costs, and it is indeed impossible that Conan *lost* money. So... technically, both Conan and NBC are right. The Tonight Show lost money, but the thing they lost money on is unfair to hold Conan accountable for. He'd make plenty of money in a 'normal' year.