Why Conan O'Brien Should Jump to the Internet

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-louderback/why-conan-obrien-should-j_b_427527.html

by raganwald • 17 years ago

14 22 17 years ago

ryandvm• 17 years ago

Internet TV will be a viable platform when more than 15% of households have a TV with an actual Internet connection. I have no interest in seeing Conan do a face plant for the sake of being Revision3's IPTV pioneer.

steveklabnik3• 17 years ago

I'm admittedly in the "young kid just out of college" demographic, but I'm not sure I know anyone who doesn't just use their TV as a big monitor, or has an AppleTV with Boxee, or doesn't own a TV and watches Hulu on their laptop.

And isn't this Conan's core fanbase anyway?

I'm not saying it wouldn't be a risky move, but history rewards the bold.

jerhinesmith• 17 years ago

I don't do any of those things and I'm only 5 years out of college. Does that mean I'm old?

Either way, I think there's still something to be said for just watching 'tv' in the historical definition. My guess is that you and your acquaintances are still in a very small minority (though I'd be happy to be proved wrong as I'm not entirely happy with my cable service provided).

mbreese3• 17 years ago

You are in a very small minority. I think the better question is: do your parents? I'm ten years out of college, and while I am able to connect my computer to my TV to watch Hulu, etc, it isn't a permanent setup. I have the cables in place to just plug things in, but only on the TV in my living room. My bedroom TV is capable, but I don't have the cables in place.

Conan has a pretty broad fan base. He's been doing this for years. So, unless you can sell me on the fact that 85% of his target audience has this type of setup, it's a bad idea.

Not only that, but the setup has to be permanent and drop-dead simple. So, unless you are a 100% Hulu kinda person, we're talking about a dedicated device attached to the TV that could tune in his show from a remote control. Access to the show would have to be as ubiquitous as a traditional TV. This is the only way to keep the numbers in the range that advertisers would demand.

nir• 17 years ago

One reason for Conan (and anyone with similar status) not to switch to the internet is that on mainstream media competition has a high entry barrier - very few people get a show on NBC, or a column in the NY Times - while online a PR piece by Revision3 can get published on a major news website like any other content.

If you're a newcomer who wants to compete with Conan O'Brien, the web can be a good starting point. If you are Conan O'Brien, the web is suicide.

dasil0033• 17 years ago

I'd say that's just the tip of the iceberg. Money and production values are just way more abundant on a television network. Even though talk show budgets are a drop in the bucket compared to scripted dramas, it's an astronomical cost for Internet publishers who can't bring in any advertising dollars.

The only way it makes sense for Conan to move his show to the Internet is by starting his own business and making a real go of it. Figure out a real business model, and yes, salaries would have to take a hit, but he could conceivably create something amazing and future-proof rather than riding the (slowly) sinking ship that is traditional network television. Signing on to try to help someone else's startup would be insane; nothing more than an act of charity. However there is an opportunity, however slim, for Conan to go big on the Internet and prove that he is still innovative and do something that's never been done before.

raganwald• 17 years ago

The only way it makes sense for Conan to move his show to the Internet is by starting his own business and making a real go of it.

Some years ago I recall reading a list of top entertainment money makers. The top two women that year were Madonna and Oprah. The interesting thing was that while Madonna grossed more revenue overall, Oprah made more money because Oprah owns all of her own businesses and almost everyone is an employee. Madonna, by contrast, did business with people who took a portion of the proceeds.

This is not to say that Madonna was doing the wrong thing. It allowed her to focus on her 'core competence.' Perhaps business is Oprah's core competence, so each might have been doing the right thing for themselves.

I would say that Conan could make a lot more "running his own show" on TV or the Internet, but only if he has a talent for it.

walkon• 17 years ago

I'm confident that an internet version of The Conan O'Brien show will be funnier, edgier, more credible and more innovative. And that will translate into more profits - both for Conan and for Revision3

It seems possible it could be more innovative and funny if it was internet based, but I am highly skeptical of this translating to more profit for Conan. How much is Conan worth to the big networks for a year of shows? 15 million? Where's Revision3 going to get that kind of money?

Why Conan O'Brien Should Jump to the Internet

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