Conan O'Brien Makes Surprise Move to TBS

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian Conan O'Brien is joining cable television network TBS to host a late-night talk show, expected to start in November, in a surprise move following his bitter departure from NBC's "The Tonight Show".

TBS, a division of Time Warner Inc.'s Turner Broadcasting System, said on Monday that O'Brien, who had been in talks with rival Fox for several weeks, began negotiations in earnest with the cable channel just last week.

"Conan has been the comedic voice for a generation. 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," Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks, said in a statement.

O'Brien was forced to quit "The Tonight Show" in January after just seven months in the job as low viewership brought complaints from NBC affiliates. Under a $45 million exit deal with NBC, O'Brien was barred from launching a new TV show before September.

Instead, the red-haired comedian is kicking off a comedy tour on Monday called "Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television."

"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," O'Brien joked about the move to TBS, which has fewer overall viewers than broadcast networks NBC, CBS, ABC or Fox.

Show business newspaper The Hollywood Reporter said on Sunday that talks between Fox and representatives of O'Brien had run into problems with Fox's local affiliates over the cost of commitments to sitcoms or other syndicated programs already booked for the late-night slot.

TBS said O'Brien would be a good match for the network, which has a strong comedy slate and a young audience.

O'Brien's new TBS show will precede "Lopez Tonight," the comedy show hosted by George Lopez, which will shift to a midnight time slot, TBS said.

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[Big Frame]

So, Conan is stealing Lopez's time slot, like Leno did to him huh?

Weird move for Conan, TBS really started to suck after they lost the Braves.

 

[speeds]

So, Conan is stealing Lopez's time slot, like Leno did to him huh?

Weird move for Conan, TBS really started to suck after they lost the Braves.

Lopez is reportedly thrilled with the idea of having Conan as a lead-in. He agreed to the idea before TBS made an offer to Conan, then Conan talked to Lopez to make sure it was okay.

Not quite the same thing as Leno asking Conan if it was okay, Conan saying no, and Leno taking it anyway.

 

[Run BJM]

Lopez is reportedly thrilled with the idea of having Conan as a lead-in. He agreed to the idea before TBS made an offer to Conan, then Conan talked to Lopez to make sure it was okay.

Not quite the same thing as Leno asking Conan if it was okay, Conan saying no, and Leno taking it anyway.

Yeah I was thinking this can't be anything but a good thing for Lopez. Makes TBS look like a legit late night channel and more people watching TBS to see Conan will only mean more viewers and publicity for Lopez' show right after. TBS and Lopez get more viewers, perhaps better guests on the shows, etc. etc. I think Lopez would also do quite well competing directly with Fallon and Fergeson in the late-late time slot. I would think that it was only a matter of time before TBS would have pulled the plug on his show anyway, being behind Conan probably buys him a lot more time.

 

[BasX]

Canada needs to pick these up. I don't know if they have Lopez yet but man, that's a killer combo.

 

[speeds]

Canada needs to pick these up. I don't know if they have Lopez yet but man, that's a killer combo.

Dude you must get TBS.

Good news: more wiggle room to be edgy on TBS

Bad news: just four nights a week