Team Conan Backs NBC PR Into a Corner

Are you on Team Conan or Team Leno?

Even before Conan O’Brien released his must-read statement, the online crowd seemed to be in Conan’s corner in the NBC’s late-night television feud. Team Conan was pulling ahead.

And then he released a brilliant, clever, witty, effective statement, which said in part:

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over “The Tonight Show” in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004, I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

…

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the “Tonight Show” to 12:05 to accommodate the “Jay Leno Show” at 11:35. For 60 years, the “Tonight Show” has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the “Tonight Show” into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The “Tonight Show” at 12:05 simply isn’t the “Tonight Show.” Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the “Late Night” show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

And then the Twitterverse exploded, with nearly 90% of the tweets voicing support for Conan.

Conan, 1. Leno/NBC 0.

Watching the situation unfold is entertaining enough from a pop culture perspective, but it also presents an excellent public relations learning opportunity. First, what did you think of Conan’s statement? Second, If you’re head of NBC’s PR team — or Leno’s publicist — how would you respond? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Tagged as: conan, conan o'brien, Crisis Communication, leno, PR

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lauraclick

Great post. I agree - Conan's statement was artfully written. Perhaps more importantly, the statement was authentically Conan. A lot of companies and PR folks could take a page from his book on this.

I think NBC has already made a huge mess of the situation. Admittedly, I'm a fan of Conan. But, from a practical standpoint, I think that NBC would be wise to give Leno the boot, not Conan. @TJDietrich is right - Leno's audience is older, which is why you don't see much support for him in the social space. Leno has had his day (or decades). I think reverting to the old regime is boring and stodgy. And, it shows that NBC is completely out of touch. Do they honestly think that Conan's ratings were low because of Conan? No one wanted to watch Jay's new show, and it was a trickle down effect to the local news affiliates, and in turn, the Tonight Show as well.

If I were NBC, I would leave Conan's show alone and send Jay packing. However, I seriously doubt that's what will happen.

Rex Riepe

I'm on Team Conan. There's another team? ; P

If I were NBC, I wouldn't respond with anything radical. I think this will end up in a legal battle (which I wrote about on Fedorable: http://bit.ly/7VdHpw) or a big payout for Conan, so I think they'll hush up for legal reasons.

I do think both parties should watch what jokes they make on the air. Escalating tempers won't help anybody... except the advertisers I suppose.

TJ Dietderich

In Leno's defense, his audience is older and less likely to participate in online discussions. Oh wait. That's the opposite of "defense." That's more like "a bad thing."

heatherwhaling

Ha. Excellent point. :)

Ari Herzog

Not having watched either show in over a year, I'm on neither team and don't care.

doreenoverstreet

Conan's statement was great. Well written, articulated and with a dash of self-deprication. In the statement he even used the term, "That said," - which sort of made me think he had some PR input on it :-)

I'd imagine it would be difficult for NBC to respond from the standpoint that Conan gave the statement as himself and NBC is a corporate entity that doesn't have a "persona." And if Leno responds he looks like he's waging a public debate. If I were Leno's PR team I'd invite Conan for a comedy show debate about the subject. It would be in bad taste to try to make fighting about a comedy show serious. I think that's what Conan got across, but I think he hit a serious nerve too.

I meant deprecation - that was not well written. Ha ha.

Do, thanks for commenting. I'm with you. I think the statement was great. And, as a lover of transitions, I totally appreciated the usage of "that said." :)

Your last point is spot on. It is just a comedy show, so in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter, yet Conan still managed to come across as a "victim" of the big media conglomerate. And, that's the beauty of a smart PR statement. I watched Conan last night (for the first time ever) and he was on the attack. It'll be interesting to see how NBC responds.

Thanks for commenting!

Team Conan Backs NBC PR Into a Corner

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