Has Anyone Considered The Viewers' Emotions In The Conan/Leno Fiasco?

by Henry Schafer

With all of the media coverage given to NBC's fiasco with Conan and Leno, has anyone taken the time to check in with the viewer and their emotions? After all, in the end, isn't viewer satisfaction and devotion to a show critical components for measuring success? The Q Scores company has developed new measures to tap into these important dimensions with our Impact Q Index (core viewer satisfaction) and Emotional Bonding Q Score (commitment to future viewing).

It looks like Conan was beginning to develop strong relationships with the key 18-49 audience, as his show was scoring relatively strong Impact Q and Emotional Bonding levels -- comparable to Letterman. This would seem to be a tough thing to walk away from given the competitive nature of Late Night and, particularly in the face of the audience damage done to Jay Leno via his prime time disaster. Leno's prime time show has received very weak core viewer satisfaction and even weaker viewing commitment -- this will be a very difficult hurdle to overcome.

Conan's Tonight Show was probably going to work in a very positive way for NBC -- too bad it's over. The resourcefulness of Conan and his team should bode well for future endeavors in mainstream and online media, as he is showing the ability to develop meaningful emotional connections with his audience.