NBC to send Conan packing? WTF?

That reminds of when a pitcher is described as an "innings eater." Is he any good? Well, no, but you can use him three days in a row and he never goes on the DL.

 

Good analogy. When it comes to late night TV, not a lot of people on the East Coast make it past the first guest, so those 11 minutes plus the post-commercial comedy bit count for a lot.

 

I don't know what this says about Conan's future, but I can confirm that Masturbating Bear interviewed for the GA job at the Orlando Sentinel. It's pretty much a money issue at this point.

 

NBC could throw tons -- tons -- of money at Stewart to try to lasso the coveted 18-35 demograpic.

 

The 18-35 demo doesn't want to be caught dead watching any talk show at 11:30, much less the NBC show, because it associates that show/time slot with the bluehairs, as Mizzou dubbed 'em.

That said, I can totally see NBC blowing millions to learn what I'd tell them for free.

 

And Conan's audience is what?

 

Watching at 12:35.

Edit: And as I theorized earlier, Conan moving to 11:35 in 2009 is a natural progression for the show and its target audience. By that point, a lot of *gulp* us will be out of the 18-35 bracket and willing to follow him to 11:35.

Will 18-35 jump to NBC just to see Stewart? I'm not so sure.

 

Jay Leno=Walt Terrell

 

The answer to your question, BYH, is very simple: A big *maybe* that the younger of the demographic will jump, and No, the older of the 18-35ers will not jump to NBC to see Stewart, IMHO.

 

A problem for Stewart whether he stays at the Daily Show or goes somewhere else, is that Bush won't be President anymore, and the Dems will probably win. His entire fan base is from the left, his stock in trade is making fun of the right. If the President is a democrat, making fun of him/her will not seem as funny to his fan base.

The smartest thing he could do is leave at the end of his contract and reinvent himself after taking a hiatus to see how the political situation shakes out. For NBC to hire him over Conan is ridiculous, Conan is very well liked by the 18-35 demographic, and isn't nearly as polarizing.

 

The election of a democratic president would have little to no affect on Stewart's popularity.

 

You're probably right, Zeke. But it's tough to argue that eight years of my boy Dubya have been a gold mine for Stewart. The Daily Show wasn't anything like its current self in 1999.