The Wall Street Journal, which is owned by News Corp. — which owns Fox — today says that a Conan O’Brien jump to the Fox network would include some hurdles to overcome.
While Fox could get back into late night with an O’Brien show — something that has been expected to be examined once the dust from NBC Late Shift 2010 settles and O’Brien and suitors are formally enabled to speak — Fox has to sell the idea to its corporate brass and to the managers of the 205 Fox stations, some of whom have reservations. (O’Brien wouldn’t be permitted to host another TV show until September at the earliest, it has been largely speculated.)
Executives need to be convinced that Fox can make substantial money on a late-night show after a spotty track record in its limited forays into the time period. Affiliates, meanwhile, run lucrative reruns in late night and they — and the dozens of companies that own them — may be reluctant to stop.
Tribune Co., which owns seven local Fox TV stations, has indicated to Fox that it doesn’t support the idea of a late-night show with O’Brien, a person familiar with the matter told the WSJ.
Some other Fox stations are more enthusiastic. “For us, Conan would definitely be a wise acquisition,” Thom Postema, vice president and general manager of the Wilmington, NC, Fox station owned by Southeastern Media Holdings, told the paper. “It would definitely be better than the syndication [reruns] we’re airing now.”
People familiar with the matter say it is now up to Fox creative folks to make the case for whether Fox would generate significant profit from a five-night-a-week talk show.
A source said Fox would plan to spend “significantly less” on a show than NBC did.
The possibility of adding a show with O’Brien was raised during a regularly scheduled conference call Jan. 12 between Fox network executives and representatives of Fox TV stations, according to the paper.
News Corp.’s FX cable channel said Sunday it is interested in a daily comedy show with O’Brien, though it also said such a show initially would be less viable on cable, where smaller audiences limit potential profits. FX executives indicated they would defer to the Fox network.
