LOS ANGELES Fox Broadcasting is inching closer to bringing Conan O'Brien back to late night.
Key Fox executives, including Rupert Murdoch, are onboard with the plan and would like to finalize a deal in coming weeks so they can make a splash May 17 when the network unveils its new fall lineup. Several significant issues remain and the Fox talks could fall apart, according to people close to the negotiations who asked not to be identified because the discussions were meant to be private.
But people close to O'Brien are cautiously optimistic.
“We'll get there,” one of them said Tuesday.
Fox executives have been huddling to figure out how much it will cost to mount a late-night talk show that would be profitable for Fox stations and affiliates. Stations, hammered by the advertising recession, rely on the profits generated by syndicated reruns such as “The Simpsons” and “The Office.” It's unclear how many stations would be willing to substitute those shows for a risky venture 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 Murdoch's News Corp., has had its eye on entering the late-night talk-show wars for years. Indeed, it was Fox's overtures to O'Brien nine years ago that prompted NBC's Jeff Zucker to promise O'Brien the “Tonight Show” to keep him. Zucker's plan famously unraveled when Jay Leno decided that 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. But their bosses have told them to demonstrate that a late show would be financially viable. A breakthrough came last week when they outlined a late-night scenario that one executive described as “a deal that we could live with.”
It hasn't been decided whether the show would launch in the fall or January.
Fox, however, is unwilling to spend the money that NBC had been paying to support “The Tonight Show” with O'Brien. NBC spent close to $90 million a year to produce the show, which included O'Brien's salary of more than $12 million a year. Fox wants to spend less than $60 million a year, said people close to the discussions.
The major hurdle comes from Fox stations, which are obligated to air reruns, including “30 Rock,” at specific time periods, in some cases after the 9 p.m.news. That would mean forcing a proposed O'Brien show, at least initially, to air at different time periods: 10 p.m.in some markets, and 10:30 p.m. or later in other cities.
“Without a uniform start time, it would be hard to get traction for a show and hard to promote it,” said Jason Maltby, a top ad buyer for the firm Mindshare.
After the expiration of the stations' agreements for sitcoms in late night, the proposed O'Brien show would run at the same time likely 10 p.m. The challenge would be getting to the two-year mark by maintaining a large enough audience, and enough advertisers, to make the show successful.
“Late night is already pretty full everyone has carved out their own niche,” said Maltby. “It comes down to the available audience, and how you slice it.”
Fox is the likely outlet for a traditional network late-night show, replete with a band, but it's not O'Brien's only option, said people close to the comedian. Several cable channels have expressed an interest, although Comedy Central which would appear to be a natural fit currently 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 would be at 11 p.m.
It's unlikely that would be acceptable to O'Brien, who surrendered “The Tonight Show” when NBC said it planned to shift his start time to 11:05 p.m.
Key Fox executives, including Rupert Murdoch, are onboard with the plan and would like to finalize a deal in coming weeks so they can make a splash May 17 when the network unveils its new fall lineup. Several significant issues remain and the Fox talks could fall apart, according to people close to the negotiations who asked not to be identified because the discussions were meant to be private.
But people close to O'Brien are cautiously optimistic.
“We'll get there,” one of them said Tuesday.
Fox executives have been huddling to figure out how much it will cost to mount a late-night talk show that would be profitable for Fox stations and affiliates. Stations, hammered by the advertising recession, rely on the profits generated by syndicated reruns such as “The Simpsons” and “The Office.” It's unclear how many stations would be willing to substitute those shows for a risky venture 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 Murdoch's News Corp., has had its eye on entering the late-night talk-show wars for years. Indeed, it was Fox's overtures to O'Brien nine years ago that prompted NBC's Jeff Zucker to promise O'Brien the “Tonight Show” to keep him. Zucker's plan famously unraveled when Jay Leno decided that 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. But their bosses have told them to demonstrate that a late show would be financially viable. A breakthrough came last week when they outlined a late-night scenario that one executive described as “a deal that we could live with.”
It hasn't been decided whether the show would launch in the fall or January.
Fox, however, is unwilling to spend the money that NBC had been paying to support “The Tonight Show” with O'Brien. NBC spent close to $90 million a year to produce the show, which included O'Brien's salary of more than $12 million a year. Fox wants to spend less than $60 million a year, said people close to the discussions.
The major hurdle comes from Fox stations, which are obligated to air reruns, including “30 Rock,” at specific time periods, in some cases after the 9 p.m.news. That would mean forcing a proposed O'Brien show, at least initially, to air at different time periods: 10 p.m.in some markets, and 10:30 p.m. or later in other cities.
“Without a uniform start time, it would be hard to get traction for a show and hard to promote it,” said Jason Maltby, a top ad buyer for the firm Mindshare.
After the expiration of the stations' agreements for sitcoms in late night, the proposed O'Brien show would run at the same time likely 10 p.m. The challenge would be getting to the two-year mark by maintaining a large enough audience, and enough advertisers, to make the show successful.
“Late night is already pretty full everyone has carved out their own niche,” said Maltby. “It comes down to the available audience, and how you slice it.”
Fox is the likely outlet for a traditional network late-night show, replete with a band, but it's not O'Brien's only option, said people close to the comedian. Several cable channels have expressed an interest, although Comedy Central which would appear to be a natural fit currently 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 would be at 11 p.m.
It's unlikely that would be acceptable to O'Brien, who surrendered “The Tonight Show” when NBC said it planned to shift his start time to 11:05 p.m.
