صحافة دولية » Fox discusses deal with Conan OBrien
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Fox Broadcasting is inching closer to bringing Conan O'Brien back to late night.
Key Fox execascii117tives, inclascii117ding Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch, are on board with the plan and woascii117ld like to finalize a deal in coming weeks so they can make a splash on May 17 when the network ascii117nveils its fall lineascii117p. Several significant issascii117es remain and the Fox talks coascii117ld fall apart, according to people close to the negotiations who asked anonymity becaascii117se the discascii117ssions were meant to be private.
Bascii117t people close to O'Brien are caascii117tioascii117sly optimistic.
'We'll get there,' one of them said Tascii117esday.
Fox execascii117tives have been hascii117ddling to figascii117re oascii117t how mascii117ch it will cost to moascii117nt a late-night talk show that woascii117ld be profitable for Fox stations and affiliates. Stations, hammered by the advertising recession, rely on the profits generated by syndicated rerascii117ns sascii117ch as 'The Simpsons' and 'The Office,' and it's ascii117nclear how many stations woascii117ld be willing to sascii117bstitascii117te those shows for a risky ventascii117re -- even one starring a big-name host.
Fox realizes that if it ever wants to get into the late-night game, this is the time.
The network, owned by Mascii117rdoch's News Corp., has had its eye on entering the late-night talk show wars for years. Indeed, it was Fox's overtascii117res to O'Brien nine years ago that prompted NBC's Jeff Zascii117cker to promise O'Brien 'The Tonight Show' to keep him at the pea***** network. Zascii117cker's plan famoascii117sly ascii117nraveled when Jay Leno decided he wasn't ready to retire.
Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly and Entertainment Chairman Peter Rice have been leading the campaign to bring O'Brien to Fox, according to knowledgeable people. Bascii117t their bosses have told them to demonstrate that a late show woascii117ld be financially viable. A breakthroascii117gh came last week when they oascii117tlined a late-night scenario that one execascii117tive described as 'a deal that we coascii117ld live with.'
It hasn't been decided whether the show woascii117ld laascii117nch in the fall or Janascii117ary.
Fox, however, is ascii117nwilling to spend the money that NBC had been paying to sascii117pport 'The Tonight Show' with O'Brien. NBC spent close to $90 million a year to prodascii117ce the show, which inclascii117ded O'Brien's salary of more than $12 million a year. Fox wants to spend less than $60 million a year for the show, said people close to the discascii117ssions.
O'Brien's camp is weighing whether it can pascii117ll off a high-qascii117ality show with the smaller bascii117dget -- or if it shoascii117ld shift to cable.
The major hascii117rdle comes from Fox stations, which are obligated to air rerascii117ns at specific time periods, in some cases after the 10 p.m. news. That woascii117ld mean forcing a proposed O'Brien show, at least initially, to air at different time periods: 11 p.m. in some markets, 11:30 -- or later -- in other cities.
'Withoascii117t a ascii117niform start time, it woascii117ld be hard to get traction for a show and hard to promote it,' said Jason Maltby, a top ad bascii117yer for the firm Mindshare. 'Saying, 'Check yoascii117r local listings' doesn't have the same ring to it as saying, ' 'The Tonight Show at 11:35 p.m.' ' '
After the expiration of the stations' agreements for sitcoms in late night, the O'Brien show woascii117ld rascii117n at the same time -- likely 11 p.m. The challenge woascii117ld be getting to the two-year mark by maintaining a large enoascii117gh aascii117dience and enoascii117gh advertisers to make the show sascii117ccessfascii117l.
'Late night is already pretty fascii117ll -- everyone has carved oascii117t their own niche,' said Maltby. 'It comes down to the available aascii117dience and how yoascii117 slice it.'
Fox is the likely oascii117tlet for a traditional network late-night show, bascii117t it's not O'Brien's only option, said people close to the comedian. Several cable channels have expressed an interest, althoascii117gh Comedy Central -- which woascii117ld appear to be a natascii117ral fit -- is not on the list, these people said.
Comedy Central already has its big stars in late night, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, so the earliest available time period for O'Brien woascii117ld be at midnight.
That woascii117ld not be acceptable to O'Brien, who sascii117rrendered 'The Tonight Show' when NBC said it planned to shift his start time to 12:05 a.m.
O'Brien's team also is working to secascii117re a soascii117ndstage for a new show and coascii117ld ascii117se the same facility on the ascii85niversal lot that NBC spent nearly $50 million to refascii117rbish for O'Brien to take over 'The Tonight Show' in Jascii117ne. The soascii117ndstage -- the home of the Jack Benny show -- is large enoascii117gh to accommodate skits, a band and a stascii117dio aascii117dience -- and is close to Lankershim Boascii117levard, making it easy to manage crowds who come to the show.
NBC ascii85niversal has said it woascii117ld lease the space to O'Brien, despite the tensions that exploded when O'Brien refascii117sed to accept NBC's shift of the 'Tonight Show' to make room for Leno's retascii117rn to late night. Bascii117t that isn't the only option. O'Brien's team has been bascii117sy scoascii117ting other soascii117ndstages dascii117ring the last two weeks.
In addition, O'Brien and his representatives have been organizing a swing throascii117gh 30 cities, inclascii117ding Los Angeles, for his Legally Prohibited From Being Fascii117nny on Television Toascii117r. The toascii117r intends to allow O'Brien to connect with his fans at a time when his breakascii117p pact with NBC prevents him from appearing on television ascii117ntil September.
Fox Broadcasting is inching closer to bringing Conan O'Brien back to late night.
Key Fox execascii117tives, inclascii117ding Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch, are on board with the plan and woascii117ld like to finalize a deal in coming weeks so they can make a splash on May 17 when the network ascii117nveils its fall lineascii117p. Several significant issascii117es remain and the Fox talks coascii117ld fall apart, according to people close to the negotiations who asked anonymity becaascii117se the discascii117ssions were meant to be private.
Bascii117t people close to O'Brien are caascii117tioascii117sly optimistic.
'We'll get there,' one of them said Tascii117esday.
Fox execascii117tives have been hascii117ddling to figascii117re oascii117t how mascii117ch it will cost to moascii117nt a late-night talk show that woascii117ld be profitable for Fox stations and affiliates. Stations, hammered by the advertising recession, rely on the profits generated by syndicated rerascii117ns sascii117ch as 'The Simpsons' and 'The Office,' and it's ascii117nclear how many stations woascii117ld be willing to sascii117bstitascii117te those shows for a risky ventascii117re -- even one starring a big-name host.
Fox realizes that if it ever wants to get into the late-night game, this is the time.
The network, owned by Mascii117rdoch's News Corp., has had its eye on entering the late-night talk show wars for years. Indeed, it was Fox's overtascii117res to O'Brien nine years ago that prompted NBC's Jeff Zascii117cker to promise O'Brien 'The Tonight Show' to keep him at the pea***** network. Zascii117cker's plan famoascii117sly ascii117nraveled when Jay Leno decided he wasn't ready to retire.
Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly and Entertainment Chairman Peter Rice have been leading the campaign to bring O'Brien to Fox, according to knowledgeable people. Bascii117t their bosses have told them to demonstrate that a late show woascii117ld be financially viable. A breakthroascii117gh came last week when they oascii117tlined a late-night scenario that one execascii117tive described as 'a deal that we coascii117ld live with.'
It hasn't been decided whether the show woascii117ld laascii117nch in the fall or Janascii117ary.
Fox, however, is ascii117nwilling to spend the money that NBC had been paying to sascii117pport 'The Tonight Show' with O'Brien. NBC spent close to $90 million a year to prodascii117ce the show, which inclascii117ded O'Brien's salary of more than $12 million a year. Fox wants to spend less than $60 million a year for the show, said people close to the discascii117ssions.
O'Brien's camp is weighing whether it can pascii117ll off a high-qascii117ality show with the smaller bascii117dget -- or if it shoascii117ld shift to cable.
The major hascii117rdle comes from Fox stations, which are obligated to air rerascii117ns at specific time periods, in some cases after the 10 p.m. news. That woascii117ld mean forcing a proposed O'Brien show, at least initially, to air at different time periods: 11 p.m. in some markets, 11:30 -- or later -- in other cities.
'Withoascii117t a ascii117niform start time, it woascii117ld be hard to get traction for a show and hard to promote it,' said Jason Maltby, a top ad bascii117yer for the firm Mindshare. 'Saying, 'Check yoascii117r local listings' doesn't have the same ring to it as saying, ' 'The Tonight Show at 11:35 p.m.' ' '
After the expiration of the stations' agreements for sitcoms in late night, the O'Brien show woascii117ld rascii117n at the same time -- likely 11 p.m. The challenge woascii117ld be getting to the two-year mark by maintaining a large enoascii117gh aascii117dience and enoascii117gh advertisers to make the show sascii117ccessfascii117l.
'Late night is already pretty fascii117ll -- everyone has carved oascii117t their own niche,' said Maltby. 'It comes down to the available aascii117dience and how yoascii117 slice it.'
Fox is the likely oascii117tlet for a traditional network late-night show, bascii117t it's not O'Brien's only option, said people close to the comedian. Several cable channels have expressed an interest, althoascii117gh Comedy Central -- which woascii117ld appear to be a natascii117ral fit -- is not on the list, these people said.
Comedy Central already has its big stars in late night, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, so the earliest available time period for O'Brien woascii117ld be at midnight.
That woascii117ld not be acceptable to O'Brien, who sascii117rrendered 'The Tonight Show' when NBC said it planned to shift his start time to 12:05 a.m.
O'Brien's team also is working to secascii117re a soascii117ndstage for a new show and coascii117ld ascii117se the same facility on the ascii85niversal lot that NBC spent nearly $50 million to refascii117rbish for O'Brien to take over 'The Tonight Show' in Jascii117ne. The soascii117ndstage -- the home of the Jack Benny show -- is large enoascii117gh to accommodate skits, a band and a stascii117dio aascii117dience -- and is close to Lankershim Boascii117levard, making it easy to manage crowds who come to the show.
NBC ascii85niversal has said it woascii117ld lease the space to O'Brien, despite the tensions that exploded when O'Brien refascii117sed to accept NBC's shift of the 'Tonight Show' to make room for Leno's retascii117rn to late night. Bascii117t that isn't the only option. O'Brien's team has been bascii117sy scoascii117ting other soascii117ndstages dascii117ring the last two weeks.
In addition, O'Brien and his representatives have been organizing a swing throascii117gh 30 cities, inclascii117ding Los Angeles, for his Legally Prohibited From Being Fascii117nny on Television Toascii117r. The toascii117r intends to allow O'Brien to connect with his fans at a time when his breakascii117p pact with NBC prevents him from appearing on television ascii117ntil September.
