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I’m with Coco — er, Chelsea.
Despite high hopes for a cable comeback, funnyman Conan O’Brien is suddenly losing out to Chelsea Handler in the late-night cable talk show race.
The latest ratings show E! Entertainment’s “Chelsea Lately” edging out TBS’s “Conan” for third place, thanks to a big influx of women viewers between the ages of 18 and 34. In June, No. 4 “Conan” averaged just 743,000 total viewers, compared with 808,000 viewers for “Chelsea Lately,” Nielsen figures show.
Among viewers 18 to 49 years old, a key category for advertisers, Handler also topped O’Brien for the first time ever, drawing 559,000 viewers versus O’Brien’s 503,000.
“Conan has been dropping, but overall this is a surprise because it’s crept up on us,” said Sam Armando at SMGx, the research arm of ad firm Starcom. “Adults aged 18-34 are where Conan’s bread is.”
The ratings slide is serious business for Time Warner’s TBS, which lured O’Brien to cable with great fanfare following his split with NBC. O’Brien received a $32 million golden handshake as part of the bargain.
The comedian — whose fans spawned the “I’m With Coco” movement — landed on cable after an acrimonious falling-out with NBC. The network wanted to move O’Brien and “The Tonight Show” to a midnight slot in order to restore Jay Leno to his 11:30 p.m. perch.
Leading up to the “Conan” debut, TBS sought ad rates that were on par with broadcast, which usually commands a premium compared to cable. “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” is No. 1 among late-night cable talk shows, followed by “The Colbert Report.” Both shows air on Comedy Central.
A TBS spokeswoman declined comment, as did the president of Conan’s production company, Conaco.