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HOME > TV >News>‘Conan’ Is A Hit, Insists Conan’s Agent and Conan’s Mom

‘Conan’ Is A Hit, Insists Conan’s Agent and Conan’s Mom

Tuesday, January 25 by

When is a hit show possibly not a hit show? When everyone is DVRing it.

Some folks are saying Conan O’Brien‘s ratings aren’t very good, because he’s getting beaten regularly by rivals Jay Leno and David Letterman. First, please take a moment to “boo” the name Jay Leno out loud in front of your computer.

Done? Good. Now, here’s the problem: “Conan” on TBS seems to always have less total viewers and often less 18-49 year old viewers than the shows of his older counterparts. However, thanks to newfangled TV gadgets, we now have “plus 7 ratings,” which counts viewers who watch a show on DVR up to 7 days after recording it (and has nothing to do with sneaking way too many of your friends into a party).

If you factor in O’Brien’s plus 7, as his William Morris Endeavor agent Rick Rosen said he does in a recent statement, then Coco is a Hit-O.

“The ratings system needs to catch up to the viewing patterns and the world,” declared Rosen, adding: “To me it’s the most significant challenge to television today.”

Conan‘s audience is younger too. On average, O’Brien’s audience is a Twitter-Trackin’ 34, compared to Leno and Letterman’s Twitter-Fearin’ mid-50s. So maybe “size” isn’t everything. Being young and gangly counts for something too. (Hollywood Reporter)

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COMMENTS

  1. January 25, 2011 10:32 pm

    Emma

    When DVR viewings are pulled up like this, it is a good sign his show is in big trouble. Sponsors only care about who watches their commercials not in how many people fast forward over them.


  2. January 25, 2011 10:32 pm

    Emma

    When DVR viewings are pulled up like this, it is a good sign his show is in big trouble. Sponsors only care about who watches their commercials not in how many people fast forward over them.


  3. January 25, 2011 10:32 pm

    Darn Tootin'

    Conan’s on cable. Conan’s on 35 minutes earlier than Jay and Dave. Conan’s only comparative competition is on Comedy Central and E!.


  4. January 25, 2011 10:32 pm

    Darn Tootin'

    Conan’s on cable. Conan’s on 35 minutes earlier than Jay and Dave. Conan’s only comparative competition is on Comedy Central and E!.


  5. January 25, 2011 10:32 pm

    Brian Huntington

    Who the hell watches a daily show 7 days later?


  6. January 25, 2011 10:32 pm

    Brian Huntington

    Who the hell watches a daily show 7 days later?


  7. January 25, 2011 10:32 pm

    Anonymous

    Last week Conan hit a series low in the 18-49 Demo. It hit a 0.5 and just 1 million. If Monday wasn’t a 1.2 million viewers it would have went under since Tuesday through thursday were well under 1 million viewers. So I think it’s time to stop trying to explain the numbers away and make excuses and just flat out accept that Conan’s show is more niche than the others. I just hope TBS is willing to deal with broadcast advertising rates for a show that isn’t pulling broadcast numbers.

    Looking at Jay’s numbers, he pulled a 1.1 or more in the 18-49 Demo. Letterman likely a 0.9 and Nightline due to Egypt likely a 1.3. Despite Jay getting bombasted by the media and the Internet, he is still beating the comedy competition.


  8. January 25, 2011 10:32 pm

    Shenanigansk

    I watch everything on dvr, as do most people I know who have cable/satalite, logic would say this is likely how most people will view media as the tech becomes more prolific. these numbers are important and only going to become more so. that said I haven’t seen Leno or lettermans dvr numbers so maybe they still have a larger audience, but you can’t say +7 ratings don’t matter


  9. January 25, 2011 10:32 pm

    Shenanigansk

    I watch everything on dvr, as do most people I know who have cable/satalite, logic would say this is likely how most people will view media as the tech becomes more prolific. these numbers are important and only going to become more so. that said I haven’t seen Leno or lettermans dvr numbers so maybe they still have a larger audience, but you can’t say +7 ratings don’t matter


  10. January 25, 2011 10:32 pm

    Anonymous

    It may be important in presentation but it is not important on who is making money. Advertisers pay for just that, advertisements. With a DVR, you can just ignore them. That defeats the purpose of advertisements therefore life watching has more meaning than the “technology argument”. People are still watching TV, shows like NCIS are getting over 21 million viewers.

    The Facts are: Late Night is down, Jay is still winning. Nightline wins a week or two when a news story breaks. Letterman . . .never wins. Sometimes Fallon ties Letterman in the 18-49 Demo such as this past Friday 0.7 to 0.7.

    Cable wise: Adult Swim beats them all with 1.0 in the Demo. And that is cable and folks are apparently watching that live with that young skewing show. Conan’s show is etching barely 1 million viewers with a 0.5/0.6 in the Demo per episode. And he typically looses to Jon Stewart now and is competitive with Colbert and Chelsey Handler.


  11. January 25, 2011 10:32 pm

    Anonymous

    It may be important in presentation but it is not important on who is making money. Advertisers pay for just that, advertisements. With a DVR, you can just ignore them. That defeats the purpose of advertisements therefore life watching has more meaning than the “technology argument”. People are still watching TV, shows like NCIS are getting over 21 million viewers.

    The Facts are: Late Night is down, Jay is still winning. Nightline wins a week or two when a news story breaks. Letterman . . .never wins. Sometimes Fallon ties Letterman in the 18-49 Demo such as this past Friday 0.7 to 0.7.

    Cable wise: Adult Swim beats them all with 1.0 in the Demo. And that is cable and folks are apparently watching that live with that young skewing show. Conan’s show is etching barely 1 million viewers with a 0.5/0.6 in the Demo per episode. And he typically looses to Jon Stewart now and is competitive with Colbert and Chelsey Handler.


  12. January 25, 2011 10:32 pm

    Anonymous

    Adult Swim on Cable pulls more viewers and the Demographic than Conan as well. Cable is more available than people assume. It’s just they aren’t watcing Conan.


  13. January 25, 2011 10:32 pm

    Anonymous

    Adult Swim on Cable pulls more viewers and the Demographic than Conan as well. Cable is more available than people assume. It’s just they aren’t watcing Conan.


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