Quote:
Originally Posted by Red
Neither did Conan for 4 months and no, people that watched the tonight show for years would continue to watch it. Unless they didn't like it anymore.
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If every person that watched the Tonight Show was a huge comedy fan, you'd be right, but they aren't, so you're not. Most people who watch the comedy shows are just looking for a brief lighthearted diversion before they go to bed. They're either going to watch the Jay Leno show, the Tonight Show, or Letterman. They aren't going to spend two hours of each night watching two monologues, two bits, and 6 guest interviews.
When Johnny Carson left the Tonight Show, people had to decide what their new pre-bed diversion would be. Some people chose Letterman and some chose Leno. Eventually, most chose Leno. But when Leno left the Tonight Show, people knew that he'd be on at 10 within 3 months, so they never had to make a decision of who their new pre-bed diversion would be. Their decision to stick with Leno was made even easier by the fact that it would allow them to go to bed earlier, and Conan's ratings suffered. Letterman's ratings barely improved, so it's not like people just chose him over Conan - they just chose to follow Jay to 10pm. Leno going to 10 ensured that Conan would not succeed. NBC and Leno both deserve the blame for that.