Conan O'Brien's 'Conan' talk show to stay at TBS through 2018

[May 15, 2014]  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) —  Comedian Conan O'Brien will continue his hosting gig on his late-night TBS talk show through 2018, the Time Warner Inc cable network said on Wednesday.

O'Brien, 51, who moved to Turner Broadcasting System's TBS channel in 2010 to host "Conan" after an acrimonious departure from late-night television on NBC, averages 862,000 viewers per episode for his hour-long talk show, which features the red-haired host interviewing celebrities.

TBS said the host has helped bring "an incredibly young audience to TBS" and also drew fans with his digital presence.

The network said "Conan" attracts more adults in the 18-34 demographic coveted by advertisers than O'Brien's fellow late-night competitors, CBS' "The Late Show with David Letterman" and "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

Both Letterman and Ferguson announced they will retire from their shows in the next year.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Eric Walsh)

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