Turner's TBS has closed a new four-year all-inclusive deal with CONAN O'Brien's Team Coco that will capitalize on his linear and multiplatform success and extend the CONAN brand into additional content experiences across all screens, including digital and branded content, podcasting, mobile gaming, pay TV and live tours. TBS will also expand its relationship with Conaco LLC, which produces CONAN, along with TBS's hit comedy People of Earth and the upcoming animated series Final Space; Team Coco, the fan-centric entity that serves as the show's digital and social media hub; and the Team Coco Digital Studio, which produces branded content for Turner's advertising partners. The agreement includes a four-year renewal of TBS's popular nightly late-night show CONAN, continuing O'Brien's reign as late-night television's longest-serving host through the year 2022.
"Conan continues to prove his vibrancy night after night and his incredible command of the digital and social space has only built on his young, connected audience," said Kevin Reilly president of
TNT &
TBS and chief creative officer of Turner Entertainment. "This next chapter will provide support for
CONAN and Jeff to expand the boundaries from a 'talk show' to a range of personality- based, cross-platform experiences."
O'Brien added, "The TV landscape has changed dramatically since I inherited the traditional talk show format in 1993. In the past few years I've stumbled across many new and exciting ways of connecting with my audience, and I'm eager to evolve my show into something leaner, more agile, and more unpredictable. I also want a pony."
CONAN airs Monday-Thursday at 11 p.m. (ET/PT) on TBS, and is produced by Conaco LLC, with Jeff Ross serving as executive producer. Since premiering in November 2010, the show has been a hit with young adults, consistently delivering the youngest audience of any late-night series. The series has proven to be a phenomenal success in the digital and social media arena, chalking up a total of 3.4 billion video views. That figure includes 218 million views for the series' "Clueless Gamer" segments and another 70 million for Team Coco's branded content, while clips from CONAN's nightly episodes, international excursions and Comic-Con shows have drawn 1.3 billion views.
On the social media front, O'Brien has drawn well over 23 million followers on Twitter, making him one of the most-followed hosts in late night. Among the show's other successes in digital arena, Team Coco and
TBS have earned an Emmy® for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media.
Over the past two years,
CONAN has scored headlines and audience growth with its
CONAN Without Borders specials and episodes, which follow the host on excursions to destinations both domestic and foreign. The show most recently travelled to Mexico for a primetime special in which O'Brien gave his monologue in Spanish and played a role in a popular telenovela. Prior to that, he traveled to Berlin, where he experienced everything from a dominatrix to a refugee camp. Other trips have included Cuba, where O'Brien became the first American late-night host to shoot in the country in more than 50 years; Armenia, another first-time destination for an American late-night personality; South Korea, where O'Brien performed in a K-Pop music video; and Qatar, where he was joined by former First Lady Michelle Obama for a visit to an American Air Force base. Last year also included week-long trips to San Diego during Comic-Con® International and New York for a run of performances at the legendary Apollo Theater. In previous years, O'Brien has also done special shows from Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta.
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