As our own Scott Tobias observed in his comprehensive look at the state of Conan O’Brien, it would be shortsighted to make a judgment on the success of Conan after only eight short months in existence. However, it’s now been nine months, which means it’s safe for the Wall Street Journal to do just that: “TBS’s pricey Conan O’Brien experiment is flopping,” the article begins, before delving into all the options that the basic-cable channel is now considering in order to shore up the flagging show. According to their figures, Conan has experienced a 60-percent drop in viewers since debuting last year, and as of now, the show draws an average of 958,000 people per episode, rating far behind all of the major talk-show competitors in its time slot on broadcast and cable networks—even Chelsea Lately on some weeks—and only outpacing Jimmy Kimmel and Craig Ferguson, whose shows begin after midnight. Clearly, not exactly the brand-redefining zeitgeist moment they expected when they dropped $12 million.