If there’s anyone who understands how important talk shows’ cultural influence has shifted from late-night and daytime television to podcasts and YouTube, it’s Conan O’Brien.
Former NBC Late night and Tonight show And TBS Conan The host ended his late-night career in 2021, shifting his focus to his podcast, Conan O’Brien needs a friend. He was early to the podcast video game there too, pulling clips when many other big shows were still audio-only, and clips from his HBO travelogue Conan O’Brien must go He also travels well on social media.
However, he only realized the extent of digital media’s influence last year, after appearing in a YouTube interview series. Hot It became extraordinarily viral.
“That was the moment the scales fell off my eyes,” O’Brien said. Hollywood Reporter In this week’s cover story. “If someone could achieve World Series numbers with an overhead that seemed to me about $600, and you had every major star lining up to pitch or History of the chicken shop … That’s when I realized deeply that late-night shows had a problem.”
How will he promote this year’s Oscars, which he will host for the second year in a row?
By doing History of the chicken shopnaturally. and New heightsthe raucous show hosted by Travis and Jason Kelce; and International Maritime OrganizationHosted by former First Lady Michelle Obama; And the podcasts he hosts The New Yorker David Remnick and Late at nightBill Carter. Not to mention, the Oscars have been mentioned on Team Coco’s podcasts in recent weeks.
On the biggest night in Hollywood, the host is turning to digital media as a primary source of promotion.
O’Brien certainly isn’t ignoring traditional media. Talk to THRAfter all, he has also participated in traditional interviews with ABC Good morning America and Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC and Hulu will broadcast the show on TV.) He also read a class about the Oscars risk! this week, with clips of it garnering millions of views on TikTok and Instagram.
But it’s pretty clear where the promotional firepower is being spent, and it’s not being shown on TV. In a world where hype is defined by social media, this is where the Oscars host should emerge. Last year’s Oscars ceremony was at a five-year high, with some praising O’Brien’s relevance with younger audiences who know him as a podcaster, not a late-night host.
His radio offensive this year has highlighted this effort, which appears to be strategically designed to attract entertainment junkies who watch History of the chicken shopwomen who watch International Maritime Organization and the increasingly broad appeal of New heightswho has been booked A-lister after A-lister this year.
It’s hard not to view this blitz in light of the Film Academy’s decision to move the Academy Awards to YouTube starting in 2029.
The Oscars are about honoring films, but at their core, they are a television show. In a world where young people don’t watch linear television, the Oscars must evolve and meet them where they are. YouTube, with its billions of users and global reach, is betting that it can take a nearly 100-year-old awards show and make it fresh and relevant for the next generation, and a number of creators and podcast hosts are a big part of the equation. After all, their platforms are where the conversation is on Entertainment happens.
So O’Brien, a creature of television-turned-podcast and HBO travel show host, is venturing into this brave new world to promote this old show, as the Oscars slowly tilt in the direction of the creator economy as the place to celebrate film.
