So The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien is done and its host is under contract not to return to TV until September and not do any interviews for three months. Agreeing to this may have been the only way Conan got the severance package he wanted for himself and his staff, but this attempt by NBC to deny people their Coco may have unexpected positive consequences if Conan listens to this appeal:
Conan, there is only one place where you can do a show right now (or after a few weeks of chilling out) free from the constraints of big network contracts, free from the threat of being pushed out by the Jay Lenos of this world and free to do your show the way you want when you wants. That place is the internet and as an organization that produces content exclusively for the web, we’d like to invite you to join the Forget The Box Media Collective and bring your show to FTBTV.
It’s no secret that TV’s going online in a big way these days, but there’s much more to it than simply another platform to air stuff that has already aired on TV. It’s a place where content can originate. It’s a place where those who produce the content, like you, control the content in every aspect.
You can start at whatever time you want and people have the option of watching when they want. You can also do your show live if you so desire and don’t have to worry about stuff that has to get bleeped, because nothing does. There is even the possibility of interacting with your fans as the show progresses.
As a special bonus, we’re willing to grab Jay Leno clips from YouTube and run them after your show so he follows you for a change. We’ll only do this a few times though, because how many funny Jay Leno clips are there, really?
Your show can be seen around the world without having to secure affiliates and unlike shows that originate on TV and then show up on the web, there are no silly national restrictions to deal with. This is because everyone comes to the same place to watch. The content producers are the broadcasters.
We can’t offer you any money as we don’t have any ourselves at this point, but you would be free to run ads on your show and collect what that generates. True, we don’t have the promotion machine of an NBC or a FOX, but online, promotion isn’t as difficult. In fact, if you’re reading this appeal, it’s most likely because it was properly tagged.
We can offer you a studio, but you’d have to relocate to Montreal and do your show from someone’s apartment. Seeing as you’ve already moved once this year, I’d recommend finding your own studio or just squatting the one you left (NBC’s not using it).
We can’t offer you The Tonight Show, but you can always tag your videos as such. What we can offer here at FTB is an environment run by fellow artists where you will be respected.
Seriously, though, whether you decide to go with Forget The Box or not, we truly hope that you will move your show online. So do many other internet artists and most likely a good chunk if not all of your fans.
In your last episode, you said that you were inspired by all the people who showed their support and even came to rallies for you. Well, those people are all online and those rallies were even organized online.
Why not use the setback NBC dealt you to better connect with your fans and help spearhead the revolution that will ultimately see the internet replace TV and the artists and content producers taking control of their shows and no longer relying on a network middle man for permission to play.
