Conan O'Brien Dethroned! My advice on how Conan O'Brien can save his career

Why Conan's Old Timey Audio Podcast needs an upgrade to Video Podcasting

Before we get to Conan, I was having fun this afternoon bantering with some Industry Friends. You see, someone announced something to which I said - those guys and this something - tends to be the kind of thing one of the apps likes to highlight….and thus I predict that this time next week we will see another round of JOE ROGAN DETHRONED articles, with this new project hitting #1 partially in thanks to the app promoting it.

Joe gets dethroned all the time. I’m sure you see the articles.

As I write this at 4:42 EST on Thursday, The Joe Rogan Experience (A Spotify Video Podcast) is #1 on Apple Podcasts. Nobody is writing any Joe Rogan Un-dethroned articles as far as I can tell.

JOE ROGAN REGAINS THRONE BECAUSE THE ALGORITHM IS BASED ON RECENT NEW SUBSCRIBERS AND A FLURRY OF RECENT ACTIVITY ON A REGRESSIVE SCALE SO IF THE KELCE BROTHERS TAKE A MONTH OFF THEY SLIDE DOWN THE CHARTS

Nobody ever writes that article.. Poor Joe, always being dethroned, and he’s gonna be dethroned again next week by the app’s editorial choices. When the articles come next week I will share them.

But I’m not here to talk about Joe, I want to talk about Conan O’Brien. Now Conan, he has been Dethroned.

You’d think Conan would have had a good week coming off the Oscars, but nope. Conan has been dethroned by Leap Academy with Ilana Golan. Here is the proof!

What I like best about Leap Academy with Ilana Golan is that it’s also available as a YouTube Video Podcast. When I get home at night, I like nothing more than firing up YouTube and watching people talk into microphones. (Ilana, I am sorry, I have nothing against you or your show, you just happen to have “dethroned” Conan and are my example)

Conan? That guy does not have a video podcast. In 2025! Can you imagine?

Oh sure his team puts out video clips….how very 2024 of them….but not full episodes on Youtube (as far as I can tell, and if they are there someone tell Team Coco that their SEO and/or navigation for “Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend” is very very broken.)

Oh sure I can watch two 11 minute clips of Lizzy Caplan, but what about all the other stuff that makes the Audio Podcast an hour and five minutes? Who is that extra content for, weirdos walking down the street with AirPods?

Conan can’t possibly be making any money doing one of those Old Timey Audio Podcast, can he? Who even listens to podcasts? What is this, 2008? Doesn’t Conan want to reach the One Billion Monthly Viewers who watch podcasts on Youtube? Why wouldn’t he want to reach the One Billion Monthly Viewers who watch podcasts on Youtube?

So I have some advice for Conan on how to save his career.

Conan you have to become a video podcaster.

For starting out, you can probably get away with Zoom boxes, but I think over time we should invest in a set like Andrew Schulz has.

THIS is what a podcast looks like.

Step it up Conan. You think you’re going to interview Amy Poehler and just put out audio and two ten minute clips? You’re a dinosaur. Nobody is talking about you and your podcast and you can’t possibly be making any money.

Conan, a lot of the Top Video Podcasts have a couch or comfy chair for the guests to sit on. Have you considered having celebrities sit on a couch while you interview them?

We should also decorate the set a little bit….maybe some plants, or a backdrop or something. We’ll make sure the lighting is right. We should probably get you some fitted suits, and makeup and hair.

Anyway, I used AI to show you what your Video Podcast could look like. We don’t have to go nuts. Maybe a fake backdrop, a desk for you to keep your notes, and a chair for the guest. Say you were talking to, I dunno, Jon Bon Jovi. It could look like this.

Not bad right? So let’s film a bunch of these, and make your Video Podcast look like that. Maybe we can even shop it to a TV network and get you back on television, or at least in front of the 1,000,000,000 monthly podcast viewers (of which up to 340,000,000 are in the U.S.)

This Audio Podcast and Clips thing you’re doing? I don’t think it’s working. I can’t even tell you the last time someone said “Conan O’Brien” to me. You’ve been dethroned. Are you even making any money off that thing you do now? Think of all the Youtube Ads we could be collecting on.

Anyway Conan, sorry to see you struggling like this. I hope you can recover.