Twiststl

Watching the O’Brien/Leno debacle was reminiscent of watching a car crash: you’re horrified, but you just can’t turn away.  Jay Leno may have reclaimed his position as host of The Tonight Show, but with a little help from a good publicist Conan O’Brien’s career should be far from over. During his time as the host of Late Night with Conan O’Brien and his seven month stint on The Tonight Show, Conan amassed quite a following.  As the dust settles in the wake of the late night TV fiasco, his fans are left to wonder what he will do next.

Obviously, NBC could have handled the situation a bit more tactfully, but their PR flub is far from the biggest problem. The real issue at hand was the fact that NBC thought they could solve a ratings problem by returning Leno to his original time-slot. In the days before TiVo, DVRs and HULU that might have been an appropriate solution, but now that there are a myriad of ways that people can watch their favorite TV shows whenever they please, timing is not the issue.

As Conan takes his next steps, it will be interesting to see whether he will take advantage of the following he’s built up. His distinct brand of comedy is marketable with or without NBC, and with such a loyal fan base, Conan has the opportunity to reach his target audience of young adults on the internet. As more young people watch their favorite TV shows online, Conan could capitalize on the trend by starting a network online featuring his comedy. From there, he could sell syndication rights to his show to TV networks. There are a number of possibilities that internet videos provide, all Conan has to do is take advantage of them.

This isn't just about Conan.  We are discussing similar opportunities with financial services firms, catalog companies, healthcare providers and restaurants.