Late night hosts are about to prove just how funny they really are

30 12 2007

Late night hosts are about to prove just how funny they really are

Posted by: in Companies Competitive Strategy

Filed under: Products and services, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Marketing and advertising, CBS Corp ‘B’ (CBS)

With the writers still on strike, late night hosts are gearing up to putting on shows without help from any writers [subscription required]. For the past two months, while Hollywood writers have been on strike, late night TV viewers have been served up re-runs of their favorite speak shows, but that is about to change.

It has definitely been a strange time for our late night shows to be on hiatus. With the now heating up presidential race offering up loads of good material, you know that the late night hosts have just been dying to get back into the action. But, don’t anticipate to be seeing the same sort of shows you are used to seeing when they return to the air next week. The shows should prove to be very different than business as usual.

The exception to this rule might be the two late night shows on CBS (NYSE: CBS). David Letterman’s production company, Worldwide Pants Inc., is currently in talks with the Writers Guild of America and hopes that its “Late Show with David Letterman” and “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” will be able to reach a deal to grant its writers to be able to contribute to its shows.

One of the aspects of late night that we have come to love and anticipate is the interviews with major movie actors regarding their new releases. While this typically represents at least one guest each night, it could be lacking from the shows when they return in the next few weeks. Most major actors have vowed that they will support the writers and avoid the speak shows. The negotiations between Worldwide Pants Inc. and the guild could be the only thing that leads to actors being able to come out and promote their upcoming releases.

One thing is for sure, as the shows begin to slowly come back on, we’ll all be getting our fill of commentary on the current presidential candidates, and who can complain about that?

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last four years working as an analyst for the on the internet investment advisory service Investor’s Observer.