Conan on Fox?

By GottaLaff

If Conan ends up on Fox, he would most likely end up airing opposite The Daily Show, per the L.A. Times:

Key Fox executives, including Rupert Murdoch, are on board with the plan and would like to finalize a deal in coming weeks so they can make a splash on May 17 when the network unveils its new fall lineup for advertisers in New York.

Several significant issues remain, and the Fox talks could fall apart, according to people close to the negotiations who asked not to be identified because the discussions were meant to be private.

But people close to O’Brien are cautiously optimistic.

“We’ll get there,” one of them said Tuesday.

They also want to spend less money on the show than NBC did. Plus Fox is obligated to air reruns of other shows during the late night slots. That would make Conan's air time vary from market to market, which makes it difficult to promote.

After the expiration of the stations' agreements for sitcoms in late night, the O'Brien show would run at the same time -- likely 11 p.m. The challenge would be getting to the two-year mark by maintaining a large enough audience and enough advertisers to make the show successful.

I'm sure they'll find a way.