Cable Coup: TBS Snatches Conan O’Brien Away from Twitter
Twitter is the biggest new thing in the media world, but old media like basic cable still have a lot of juice left…and apparently plenty of money to throw at martyred former network personalities like Conan O’Brien, who has announced that he is getting back into the TV game with an 11 PM ET show on TBS. It’s too early to say what effect this will have on Conan’s recent gig as a Twitter gadfly, but I’m guessing it will cut into his tweeting big-time, if not altogether eliminate it – no great loss as, frankly, Conan’s Twitter page has been underwhelming if not downright irrelevant. Conan’s natural outlet is television, where he can do his goofy dances and cart out his silly characters, and have fun with Abe Vigoda. So, this is great news for him.
But the really big winner in this is TBS, which has been trying desperately in recent months to re-brand itself as a relevant cable network, and not just the home of Everybody Loves Raymond reruns. For them to score Conan is a giant step toward legitimacy. Now all they need is a critically-acclaimed hard-hitting drama along the lines of Damages, and possibly a reality show starring midget blacksmiths.
Filed Under: Features
