After a tumultuous few years, Conan O'Brien is settling down at TBS. The network announced Wednesday that they extended "Conan" through April of 2014.
“We are proud to be in business with Conan O'Brien for the long run,” Michael Wright, executive vice president, head of programming for TBS, TNT and Turner Classic Movies said in a statement. “Night after night, Conan and his team have put together terrific shows that draw a young and fiercely loyal audience. As if that weren't enough, they have also built a dynamic online presence that keeps fans engaged like no other show in late night.”
O’Brien added, “I am excited to continue my run with TBS because they have been fantastic partners. This means I’ll be taping episodes of CONAN well into the Ron Paul presidency.”
Conan came to TBS in November of 2010 TBS after a 16-year run hosting "Late Night" on NBC. Long considered the heir to the "Tonight Show," he was handed the reigns of the iconic talk show for a mere eight months before the network gave the post back to Jay Leno, citing low ratings.
Facing stiff cable competition from "The Daily Show" and "Colbert Report" on the late night cable landscape, "Conan" has not been a ratings smash. In the last three months, it's averaged about 1,000,000 viewers per night, according to Nielsen ratings. But the show does well with younger viewers, who are more likely to view the show's content in online.