The ratings for The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien have been slipping since he took over, which is to be expected. Possibly less expected is that while he's been dipping, Late Show With David Letterman has seen a slow increase. So much so that last night, David Letterman beat Conan O'Brien in the ratings. That should certainly help Letterman's negotiations for that contract extension to 2012. The real question is how will this ratings battle settle down?Certainly there's no reason for the Tonight Show camp to panic yet. Letterman stomped Leno for awhile early in Leno's run, when Letterman first jumped to CBS. But Leno is a very different comedian and host than O'Brien. Perhaps too different? The concern isn't so much that O'Brien's numbers are dipping, because the curiosity factor was going to inflate his initial numbers anyway, it's that Letterman's are on the rise. That could be defectors from the Leno era making a move. But should O'Brien even want to bring them back, or should his battle be for new viewers that maybe weren't watching Letterman or Leno.
I used to be a Letterman fan when he was on Late Night. When he jumped ship to CBS, I followed him for awhile but then I just kind of got disenchanted with the whole thing. I could never get into Leno as I just didn't enjoy anything he did other than "Headlines" and "Jaywalking." The only late night shows that I've been able to enjoy have been Conan O'Brien and Craig Ferguson. But surely I'm not the only one. Did O'Brien's fans not follow him to The Tonight Show? Did they just accept Jimmy Fallon on Late Night and leave Conan to rot? Or was Conan off the air for too long and his fans have forgotten to follow him?
The big discussion about O'Brien's show was if he would tone down some of his zaniness when he moved to The Tonight Show. Certainly Letterman, who hosted Late Night before Conan on NBC, toned down his schtick a lot. I think too much. Maybe you have to in order to succeed at 11:30. And Conan has toned himself down a bit.
But as much as I hate to say it, I think the loss of Leno is so much better for Letterman. Leno's fans are looking for comfortable in that time slot, because that's what Leno gave them. Right now, Letterman is a much more comfortable alternative than O'Brien. Letterman's show is so mellow compared to what it used to be, and certainly his monologue is way better than Leno's. O'Brien is still a bit of an acquired taste. He's still awkward and self-deprecating in a way that might make those Leno fans uncomfortable. Or maybe he's just too young. Who knows? Only time will tell.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
6-10-2009 @ 2:15PM
Ryan said...
I know when I was watching last week when Conan mimed a ton during the monologue, did the bit about Max being a horrible horrible person, and the year 2000/3000 that any remaining old people have left.
I think Conando/Telenovela on Monday killed any remaining old people trying to hang on.
I've been enjoying it. Some skits have not worked. Some have. But I keep noticing the odd ones that make me think that people are turning off the show.
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6-10-2009 @ 2:18PM
M-D said...
I think the problem isn't Conan - the problem is NBC's primetime lineup. Of course it's going to be weak during the summer, but the two-hour blocks of "I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here" are probably dragging the ratings down like a lead weight. CBS in reruns currently has a stronger lineup than NBC in first-run, although that might change once "America's Got Talent" starts (assuming the Boyle buzz is good for anything).
I haven't watched the Tonight Show on a regular basis since the waning weeks of Carson's run back in 1992 - but I've tuned into every Conan episode so far. Yes, he's toned it down a bit - he's not doing the string dance as often, some of the high-concept sketches are gone (and, of course, no M-bating Bear or Triumph to speak of). But his remotes have been solid, the desk bits have been funny, and damnit if "Noches de Pasion con Senior O'Brien" didn't have a little of the "Mighty Carson Art Players" feel to it. Best of all, Conan hasn't humiliated a single passer-by or audience member in the name of comedy, unlike his predecessor.
No question, Conan has an uphill battle - especially since he has to establish himself and his brand of comedy before Leno returns at 10pm.
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6-10-2009 @ 2:53PM
Just the Facts said...
Jimmy Kimmel needs to move to 11:30.
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7-23-2009 @ 1:45AM
impost3r said...
riiiiiiight... then NBC will not only lose its older audience but its female audience as well!
6-10-2009 @ 3:15PM
matt said...
I give Conan a year before NBC dumps him for a standup comedian. Some of his stuff would be funny if someone with timing was delivering it. 12:30 is a totally different demograhic then 11:30. aat 11:30 you have the middle aged and older people finish the local news then tune in the tonight show, at 12:30 you have people getting home from the bar and a little tipsy, so to them conan was hillarious but to the older people conan is just dumb doing thing to appeal to 12 year old boys
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7-23-2009 @ 1:52AM
impost3r said...
You have that because that's what Leno and Letterman have turned it into. Once the younger crowd starts tuning in things will change and improve.
Conan's timing is perfect btw. There's a reason why he's on the tonight show, and it's because he's the funniest. NBC cares more about the funny and less about catering to old people.
6-10-2009 @ 3:29PM
Cullen said...
"Did they just except Jimmy Fallon on Late Night and leave Conan to rot?"
see anything wrong with this sentence?
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6-10-2009 @ 3:39PM
Jason Hughes said...
Yeah, I see that even though I went back and changed that, it didn't keep for some reason. The software we use can be buggy with updates sometimes. Thanks for catching that it went live like that. Fixed now.
6-10-2009 @ 3:22PM
Wii60 said...
I think this is all to be expected. He's clearly uncomfortable and finding his niche. The Conan we're seeing now is not the Conan you'll see next month.
Letterman is good, but not really trying very hard, and remember, NBC can't afford to lose Conan. If they fire him, he'll have his pick of any other spot on any other channel. That's why they gave him the gig in the first place. This means he has all the time in the world to get it right. The Tonight Show is a juggernaut, it has a very rich history and it and its current host aren't going anywhere.
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6-10-2009 @ 3:29PM
Cullen said...
"Did they just except Jimmy Fallon on Late Night and leave Conan to rot?"
See anything wrong with this sentence? It's called editing guys...
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6-11-2009 @ 8:27AM
StillBash said...
Yeah and it's called the "Corrections?" link at the top of the page, double-posting wiseass ;-))
6-10-2009 @ 3:32PM
Midnight13 said...
I think people are deciding who they are going to watch more. With Leno VS. Letterman there was a clear division of fans. Maybe there were some who would flip back and forth but mostly if you liked Leno you watched Leno, if you like Letterman you watched Letterman. However, O'Brien sort of comes from the same sense of humor as Letterman. He kind of revels in the absurd the same way that Letterman does. I used to watch Letterman and 11: 35 and O'Brien at 12:35, now that they are competing with each other, I flip back and forth but honestly I find myself staying on Letterman longer.
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6-10-2009 @ 3:45PM
Jimmy said...
Lesson for the day:
Letterman > Ferguson > Kimmel > Conan > Daly > Leno
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6-10-2009 @ 6:10PM
Wii60 said...
O'Brien>Ferguson>Letterman>Kimmel>Leno>Fallon>Daly
Letterman just isn't what he used to be, otherwise you'd be right.
7-23-2009 @ 1:41AM
impost3r said...
Hmmm, yeah. I can do that too.
Lesson for the day.
Conan > Leno > Letterman > Daly > Ferguson > Kimmel
Owned? No... my opinion means as much as yours, nothing.
6-10-2009 @ 3:49PM
Paul said...
Of all the late night hosts to chose from as Leno's replacement, NBC went with the one person who has virtually NO interview skills whatsoever! O'Brien cannot help but make every single conversation entirely about himself. So what's the point in booking any guests at all? And who in their right mind expected The Tonight Show's ratings to do anything BUT plummet?
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6-10-2009 @ 4:09PM
Mills said...
"Letterman stomped Leno for awhile when Leno first took over." Not exactly..... Leno was at the Tonight Show desk for nearly 15 months, and being followed by Letterman at 12:30, before Dave jumped to CBS.
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6-10-2009 @ 4:14PM
Walt said...
Who had "Day 7" in your books for when Letterman would beat Conan?
I have to admit, I originally guessed "Day 10" but after seeing several minutes of last Friday's Conan, I knew it was over. Letterman was poor, but Conan had simply run out of stuff that wasn't, er, culled from the Conan show.
So, to sum up, The Tonight Show, isn't The Tonight Show, it's Conan O'Brien In An Earlier Timeslot.
This means just one thing: Letterman finishes off beating this tall red headed stepchild during the summer, and no matter what contract Letterman signed until the end of the earth or 2012, (which comes at the same time, don't you know) Letterman has a health scare and retires by Christmas 2009 or Easter 2010 at the latest.
And then Craig will be given the promotion and the money Ferguson will think seriously about blowing on hookers and blow, but then turn around and start beating Conan like a red headed... well, you get the point.
And you don't need darkened lights and a flashlight under your chin to see this coming.
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6-10-2009 @ 4:33PM
omar said...
its not that people arent watching conan its that this week they are all watching colbert and his iraq thing.
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6-10-2009 @ 4:46PM
The Guy Behind The Guy said...
I watched Conan all the time. Why not. It's kind of late and things are funnier when you're half asleep.
I like Conan with guests. He actually has real reactions and follow up questions. It seams like Kimmil also has some real reactions with guests. The other guys just seam to sit there and nod and ask the next prerehearsed/prearranged questions. I think Conan is fun with guests but most of the skits are not funny. They have never been funny. There were some good ones. Some great Triumph skits.
Conan's monologue is not funny. It was never funny, and they only do like 3 to 6 jokes.
When did not being funny become funny? Conan points out how not funny things are sometimes and people laugh. He did a whole focus group last night about how not funny he is (which was funny).
The big problem is that it's just so different than Jay which was working and #1. Jay had "real" jokes. Real headlines. Real people on the streets with Jay Walking. Real humor about real life. Conan puts on fake jokes. He used to do fake advertisements. Fake celebrity questionnaires, fake tweets fake 3000 news. Whether it's funny or not, it's completely different. No matter who they put there people are going to reevaluate what to watch but Conan is so different from Jay Leno. It has nothing to do with lead ins. It's not hard to change the channel to watch the show you want to watch.
These days I try to record all the nightly shows and choose later which interview I want to see when there's nothing to watch. I always liked Conan's fake interview with the celebrities in the TV with just the lips moving.
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