mine that bird

mine that bird

mine that bird

Conan O'Brien is apparently on a mission to cost NBC as much money as possible, before he takes his final Tonight Show bow. Thursday night's offering of senseless spending featured 2009 Kentucky Derby Winner Mine That Bird. Conan said on air that the bit will


Conan's $4.8 Million Mine that Bird Bit: Conan's Mission to Cost NBC Big Money
Date: December 31, 1969
cost NBC a whopping $4.8 million.

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 restrictive 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 restrictive 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 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.