Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show a ratings disaster

[marmar]

Conan’s Ratings Off 47% from Leno’s ‘Tonight Show’
by James Sims

Oct 29th, 2009 | 10:57


Halloween is still a few days away but there’s already a ghost haunting Conan O’Brien and it goes by the name of Jay Leno.

When O’Brien made the move to Los Angeles he walked into a seemingly glamorous position as host of ‘The Tonight Show,’ replacing Leno on the storied program. Then NBC decided to give Leno a prime-time gig and that’s when the nightmare started.

‘The Tonight Show’ — once the leader of late night — is now falling behind David Letterman’s show, but more interesting is how low the ratings have dropped compared to last year, according to the New York Times.

O’Brien’s ‘Tonight Show’ has averaged 2.53 million viewers, compared to Leno’s 4.75 million during the same time last year — representing a decline of 47%. While a sex scandal might have boosted Letterman’s ratings, he’s still averaging 4.59 million viewers.

Beyond the O’Brien vs. Leno battle, NBC has been dealing with recent complaints from local affiliates concerning Leno’s effect on 11 p.m. newscasts. No word on how NBC will rectify that situation, if at all.


http://www.fancast.com/blogs/tv-news/conans-ratings-off-47-from-lenos-tonight-show/?cmpid=FCST_hero

[Mojambo]

1. That entire network is suffering Leno poisoning. n/t

[MadBadger]

8. Conan's numbers at the Tonight Show were this poor, even when Leno's show wasnt on yet.

So what point are you trying to make in regards to The Tonight show?

[Mojambo]

11. My only point is that Leno sucks shit and is on way too much.

Hell, I avoid even channel surfing through NBC in the evening to avoid accidentally seeing a second of that talentless hack.

Having Leno on 5 times a week at 10:00 is so fucking stupid. They're basically punting 5 hours of prime time every week.

[tridim]

2. I feel bad for Conan, his old show was so much better.

Late night is his sweet spot.

[IndianaGreen]

17. Conan should have stayed in late night

I still miss Johnny!

[onehandle]

3. Leno, the very rich and unfunny man, needs to retire.

Go spend time with your six zillion cars, you dinosaur.

[rusty charly]

7. Last night's interview with Chelsea Handler

was painful.

[vi5]

4. NBC execs are morons....

..and being able to stand out as stupid among tv execs is no mean feat.

I mean that Leno 5 nights a week at 10PM thing was the worst fucking idea ever. So now their 10PM ratings are down, AND the tonight show ratings are down because they'd diluted the pool with having talk/variety/comedy shows at 10PM, 11:30 and 12:30. Great move geniuses.

[Skip Intro]

5. But the bottom line is, are Leno and Conan profitable? Dave spent years in the #2 position -

there's gotta be a better way to phrase that...

Is Leno taking the edge off Conan's show by having a similar show just an hour and a half earlier, every night?

I dunno. I like Conan. Hate to hear things are really not good in the ratings for his show. Loved his 12:30 show, and he seemed more at ease with that show. I can't imagine the pressure. Although I'm sure he'll make more this year than I've made in the last 10 or 20, so it is kind of hard to feel too bad for him.

Still, I like Dave, and glad to see him on top. Probably a better way to phrase that too...

[onehandle]

6. I like Conan. I like Dave.

Leno needs to go.

[dflprincess]

12. I like Conan too

but his old show was better and I don't think it't the Leno lead in that's doing it. I haven't been watching Leno but when I turn into Conan something is just not right and it hasn't been since the new show started.

My nephew thinks it's the move to LA that's hurting Conan and that he should have stayed in NYC because he seemed more comfortable.

[Tempest]

9. They both suck

Craig Ferguson is the only network talk show host worth watching.

[man4allcats]

10. The only one I find worthwhile anymore is

the very talented Craig Ferguson. The networks could dump Letterman, O'Brien and Leno tomorrow, and I wouldn't miss them at all. I wish Ferguson had Letterman's time slot. I'm not up late often enough to catch his show as regularly as I'd like to.

[IndianaGreen]

16. I agree, Craig Ferguson has a very good show

I love the hand puppets too!

[tigereye]

21. he is very imaginative- his stuff doesn't seem as "canned"...

[Bitwit1234]

13. Who ever is in charge

at NBC is seriously lacking in judgement. Nothing they put on TV is worth watching. Look at Medium. A very good written show. They moved it from place to place to put those stupid reality shows on which flopped. CBS took it and has a hit. And the shows they do put on suck...suck. Who in the world every watched Conan O'Brien in the first place. He is the most unfunny unanything guy out there.

[mackerel]

14. Maybe Conan should start sleeping with his staff members...

look what it did for Letterman.

[SnakeEyes]

15. Demos are what matter nt

.

[global1]

18. L:etterman Beats Out Conan 4 Out Of 5 Nights With The Quality Of His Guests.......

I thought the move to California would be a boon to Conan and that he would snag a higher star quality of guests for his show. But it seems that most of his guests are NBC people with a lot of SNL people. Come on - Letterman gets Paul McCartney and Conan gets Norm McDonald. That to me is the difference.

Leno even gets better guests than Conan. NBC has put so much of an effort into making Leno's show popular that they neglected Conan. The result is that they are both mediocre.

The other thing I would do with the Conan show is involve Andy Richter more. In the original Conan show when he first came on I watched his show as much for Andy Richter's involvement as I did for Conan. Both are funny guys - but put the two together - they are dynamite.

So far Andy seems to be relegated to standing behind his lectern and laughing at Conan's jokes. They need to start the show off more like the old Johnny Carson show where Ed McMahon was more of a part.

I've noticed that my own watching habits have changed. I tried Leno out the first week he was on - but now I just watch re-runs of the King of Queens. I watched Conan when he first started the Tonight Show - but because Letterman out guests him - I watch Letterman more often. I actually look as to what guest will be on each program each night and make my decision based on that.
Jim Carey or Amy Poehler. Big decision - huh?

I don't even tune into Fallon's show. I tried him out a few nights when he started - but he is too nervous for me and just to inane. I bounced over to Craig Ferguson and now have become a fan. This guy is truely funny and irreverent. I even can sense that his guests enjoy coming on the show and engaging with him. His interviews are off the wall and out of the box and are both interesting and funny. And when he tells the guest that its over - they seem disappointed because they were having so much fun.

This is my analysis of the talk shows. I guess I left out Jimmy Kimmel. I catch him occasionally - but he is usually left out of any consideration that I have for my viewing enjoyment.

[njlib]

19. Spot on analysis

Ferguson is definitely the best! I hate to admit that I'm a grown woman who enjoys his puppets and his lip synching routines crack me up every time. He makes me laugh out loud at least once every show...he's the quickest wit on TV.

I forgot to watch Wanda Sykes last Saturday, so I'll have to remember to check out her show this Saturday. I love her and hope the show will be as funny as she is. Did anyone happen to catch it??

[tigereye]

20. it's a shame, I love Conan

I still think he's more a "late night" kinda guy, though.