Conan's $4.8 Million Mine that Bird Bit: Conan's Mission to Cost NBC Big Money
Thursday's Tonight Show Featured a $4.8M Conan-Style Payback to NBC
Conan claimed that on his final two days on the Tonight Show, "We're going to be having a lot of fun on television." He said the Tonight Show had a lot of surprises planned, that he thought would blow viewers' minds.
As a lead in to the expensive vignette, Conan said that they were going to do what they wanted on the Tonight Show and claimed NBC had to pay for it. He was blunt with his objective: the bits are not necessarily meant to be funny, just hurt NBC's wallet.
What could be more expensive than buying a Kentucky Derby winner? Conan introduced Mine That Bird, dolled up in a mink snuggie. Just to add a little bit more to the cost, Conan had Mine That Bird watching restricted NFL footage. All for what Conan claims is a $4.8 million cost to NBC.
It is unclear (and slightly doubtful) that Conan actually had the studio purchase Mine That Bird, or if he was just referring to what it would cost to own the racing horse. He also didn't break down the costs of sketch element, so it is uncertain how much the mink horse snuggie or restricted NFL footage account for that $4.8 million price tag.
On Wednesday's Tonight Show, Conan introduced a $1.5 million bit/character, the 'Bugatti Veyron Mouse'. They had tricked out the Bugatti sports car with whiskers and mouse ears. The cherry on top was when the car played a master recording of The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction."
ABC News reports that Wednesday night's mascot may have missed the mark in the cost department. Entertainment lawyer Steve Gordon told ABC that NBC had existing agreements with music licensing companies. This would prevent any cost from live or time-delayed performances. It will be interesting to find out if the Mine That Horse sketch misses its estimated $4.8 million blow.
Friday night is to be the last new Tonight Show hosted by Conan O'Brien. Conan's $45 million settlement with NBC will keep him from airing any potential new show until September, 2010. His guests are to be Will Ferrell and Tom Hanks. Some people may just tune in to see what Team CoCo can dream up that costs more than a $4.8 million Mine That Bird, wearing a mink snuggie and watching restricted NFL footage.
Sources:
January 21, 2010 airing of The Tonight Show
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/conan-obrien-nbc-confirms-deal-speeds-nbc-show/story?id=9621682
Published by Tamara McRill
Tamara McRill is a freelance writer focusing on news, politics, lifestyle and business. Tamara began her career writing for newspapers, including a brief stint as a sports editor, but is now reaching lar... View profile
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12 Comments
Post a CommentWow a lot of guest reactions! That's ok I'm a Coco fan. Good article.
All these bits were obviously jokes that only an idiot like Tamara McRill would fall for.
Lay off! Conan said the whole thing was fake. Should have been obvious
God forbid that he could have used to money to help the less fortunate. Who allowed this waste of time and money. Celebrities don't care about the real world. I expected more from him
Funny, but that was NOT Mine That Bird. Mine That Bird is a bay, and the horse on Conan's show was a chestnut.... obviously not the same horse. http://ultimatehorsesite.com
OK, maybe the horse wasn't Mine that Bird and the mink was probably fake too. But you have to admit, it was a brilliantly funny sketch.
I won't be one tuning in...
I saw Mine That Bird in his stall at Churchill Downs. The horse on Conan was NOT Mine That Bird.
Oh, please. The only resemblance between that horse and Mine That Bird is that they were both horses. Mine That Bird is a bay (brown with black mane). That horse was a chestnut. And if Conan wanted to buy an expensive horse, he wouldn't have chosen a gelding with no breeding value (Mine That Bird, who, by the way, hasn't won a race since the Derby, is a castrated horse who is worthless once his racing days are over.) There are many potential stallions that are worth much more money.
That was not Mine That Bird. The white patches (above eyes and between nostrils) do not match images online; nor does the color of the mane (brown vs black).
http://cache-05.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/11/2009/05/mine_that_bird.jpg
Close though.