Business

Talking money

Call him Conan O’Mighty.

Cable powerhouse TBS, which landed comedian Conan O’Brien after his falling-out with NBC, has begun asking advertisers to pay top-shelf broadcast TV-level rates — and higher — for the comedian’s one-hour show.

If the gambit is successful, it would mark the first time — at least in late night — that a cable channel has reached parity with a broadcast network.

“They are trying to get NBC’s late-night [rate] for Conan,” one cable executive told The Post. “They are being very aggressive with that.”

While the pricing disparity between cable and broadcast has been shrinking for several years, in particular since cable networks began investing more in original programming, broadcast TV rates are still higher than cable rates.

Conan, who has been successful in attracting the coveted young, male viewer, is giving TBS executives hope that it can cash in on its bold move.

In fact, at least one media buyer said TBS is asking for rates that are 20 percent to 25 percent higher than typical rates for late-night.

“It’s insanity,” the buyer said.

One reason TBS is seeking big bucks is because it paid top-dollar for O’Brien.

“He’s a high-priced property that they clearly overpaid for,” said the buyer.

Although top-tier cable networks like TBS often argue they should be considered in the same league as NBC, the reality is that advertisers still place a premium on the major broadcast networks.

Despite declining ratings, the broadcast networks, including CBS, ABC and Fox, command higher ad ratings, based on the cost of reaching 1,000 viewers, or CPM, than their cable counterparts. (News Corp. owns Fox and The Post.)

Many think TBS is dreaming by asking for the much higher rates.

“They’re not going to get it,” maintains one ad buyer. “They have been posturing and trying to position it for months.”

TBS, whose slogan is “very funny,” jolted the TV business by scooping up O’Brien after he was squeezed out at NBC. The network is reportedly paying him an annual salary north of $10 million a year, in addition to giving him ownership of his new show.

Although it was a surprise when the deal was announced in April, industry execs said the move makes a lot of sense. O’Brien boasts a younger audience as does TBS, which is tops among viewers ages 18-to-49, a key group for advertisers.

While O’Brien faces competition from the likes of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, TBS also believes it has a formidable late-night lineup that includes O’Brien at 11 p.m. and George Lopez at midnight.

holly.sanders@nypost.com