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Conan Who? NBC Disappears “The Tonight Show” From the Web.

by Peter Kafka
Posted on February 6, 2010 at 10:01 AM PT

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Remember the whole Conan O’Brien/Jay Leno imbroglio from last month? Perhaps NBC wishes you didn’t. The GE (GE) unit has removed every episode of the show’s seven-month run from its NBC.com site, as well as Hulu, the site NBC owns with News Corp.’s (NWS) Fox and Disney’s (DIS) ABC.

A little odd, given that a couple of days ago, the network was offering every single “Tonight Show” episode O’Brien had taped on NBC.com. But then again, everything about this story has been odd. NBC declined to comment.

NBC–at least, I’m assuming it’s NBC–has also been aggressive about taking down Conan episodes from Google’s (GOOG) YouTube. So here’s a legally sanctioned clip from CBS (CBS) employee David Letterman discussing the whole affair:

A minor UPDATE: A sharp-eyed commenter at Gawker notes that NBC hasn’t completely excised O’Brien from its site yet. It is still running a blog for the “Horny Manatee”, a long-running bit on the show. Note, in screenshot below, the reference to the now-defunct nbc.com/conan, the “official online home of all things Conan” (click image to enlarge):

Less surprising is news that O’Brien’s image has been scrubbed, Soviet-style, from NBC’s 30 Rock headquarters.

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  • chipwitley
    Well, Conan O'Brien will live on at conantonight.com. Check out the officially unofficial fan site!
  • elginmcfadden
    The Conan-haters here are't actual legitimate pro-Jay/anti-Conan fans, but rather NBC plants dropping their usual hack spin. Same lame party line over and over again.

    What this story is actually about is this: NBC is furious (and mystified) over the size and activity of Conan's internet fan groups (at last look, their "I'm with Coco" face was pushing 1,000,000 fans while "I'm with Jay" was stuck around 1,000). They want to deter the access those fans have to Conan clips, so they're furiously firing takedown notices to Youtube to get Conan stuff off the internet. This isn't about commercial copyright protection because they no longer have any interest in marketing Conan or his work. This isn't about corporate policy in restricting Youtube from carrying NBC clips, because you can find millions of "Jaywalking" clips. It's just more small-minded vindictiveness from NBC, and, like everything else that they do, it'll backfire.

    Meanwhile Zucker-minions, keep posting your same tired stuff here and elsewhere!!!
  • larmar
    The horse is dead, you can stop beating it now.
  • rbtw
    We have never been at war with Eastasia. Big Zucker is watching you.
  • jyrikokkonen
    Interesting and informed piece, but since when has"disappear" been a transitive verb? The heading is faintly reminicent of Pidgin English.
  • howdydoody1
    Disappeared as a verb? It has a long history under totalitarian regemes.

    Look up 'Nacht und Nebel' - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nacht_und_Nebel

    and

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_disappearance
  • elshahlab
    Poor COCO.

    What a great loss for NBC!
  • But don't worry, you can still give NBC your money if you want Conan merch : http://www.nbcuniversalstore.com/?v=nbc_tonight...
  • zeppelinfeld
    I really don't get all the Conan hate in this thread. I get that not everyone appreciates the guy's humor, but that's no reason to bash him. I've been a Conan fan for over 10 years, and Leno never struck me as funny but I'm not going to sit around and talk smack about him - I simply change the channel. One of the many perks of having a remote control. It really sucks to see NBC turn their backs so quickly on someone who has worked for them for over 20 years. Conan is an incredibly talented guy, and I look forward to seeing him wherever he winds up this fall.
  • Yeah, I love how they're quick to remove anything controversial from their website, but they apparently have NO public relations department to handle the damage control from the very beginning.

    Also notice how www.tonightshowwithconanobrien.com now redirects to nbc.com?
  • orphie
    "disappears?' . . how about 'vanishes' or 'banishes?'
  • Big fan of that verb. Feel free to write your own headline, though.
  • madskiguy
    I hate Conan and his so-called "humour"! Who hired this bloke anyway?
  • orphie
    That would be NBC. They hired him back in 1993 because they disagree with you and thought he was funny.
  • FriedRice
    No, they hired him because they thought enough people would find him funny. And "enough people" did for a while.
  • elshahlab
    Poor COCO. What a great loss for NBC!
  • dustymusic
    Conan O'Brian show was for the youngsters that stay up to watch him. He tend to tell the jokes that they like or understand. Like the masturbating gorilla or what ever it was.
  • RambleMan
    I believe it was a Self Pleasuring Peacock
  • pixiesnix
    No, no, it was an auto-erotic timber wolf.
  • I can't say I am shocked NBC did this but I am saddened. I need my Conan fix!
  • imanygirl
    NBC is notorious for removing anything controversial from their website. Not long ago Chris Rock (I think it was him) was on the Leno show and they made some controversial comment about dog fighting. The message boards lit up and people were really upset. NBC literally removed every single message even though they were all appropriate. I refuse to watch NBC anymore anyway. They have nothing.
  • joyce1222
    The bitter old couch that Letterman. He does not seem to know the phrase - "Turn the page over" and live your life. Nevermind the millions he is making and the interns he is ... he still nurses his feeling about NBC's correct decision to boot him out.
  • orphie
    "The bitter old couch that Letterman."

    That's not even a sentence.
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About Peter

Peter Kafka has been covering media and technology since 1997, when he joined the staff of Forbes magazine. Most recently, he has been the managing editor of the tech and media Web site, Silicon Alley Insider. Read more »

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