Why doesn't Fox have an 11:30 PM weeknight show?

[DanielAvery]

I think the main reason Fox has not had success with that time slot has to do with this:

Why focus on late night when FOX entertainment still doesn't broadcast at 10,9 central in primetime after all these years?

Fox's decision to give 10pm to its affiliates (rather than offering network programming) means whatever airs at 11pm typically has a lousy lead-in. If an affiliate has a great 10pm show on a certain night, they can be assured their 11pm news will get a few extra eyeballs. This was what killed the Jay Leno at 10pm on NBC experiment several years back, The show did not have great ratings on its own, but what made the network kill the show was the complaints of their affiliates who saw their 11pm newscasts lose a lot of those lead-in ratings they had when better stuff was offered at 10pm.

[Tominftl]

Maybe they can bring on Palin and her daughter for comic relief....

[tantan1968]

Originally Posted by JPD

Was David Brenner's show on Fox? I can't remember.

During the 1986/1987 season David Brenner was the host of the syndicated late night talk show "Nightlife". Since this was the same time Joan Rivers' show was on FOX ( the FOX network's very first show ) I don't think there were many FOX stations that had aired David's show. Of course since FOX was so new at the time and didn't reach many parts of the country perhaps some of David's stations did end up being part of FOX later on. Unfortunately for Brenner his show didn't last more than one season.

FWIW...some years later ( 1994 I believe ) I can remember when David Brenner had tried his hand at talk radio taking over the time slot on many radio stations that was vacated by Larry King ( King had moved from late night to afternoons ). Unfortunately again for Brenner his radio talk show didn't last either.

[mkpunk]

It's over-crowded as is already. We got Colbert on CBS, Fallon on NBC, Kimmel on ABC and Conan on TBS. That's four shows fighting for a similar viewer base. I'll say this, with older viewers not enjoying modern late night, maybe its a way for Fox to tap into the market...