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Of all the theories floating around as to where Conan O'Brien was going to end up post-NBC -- on Fox, on Comedy Central or skipping television and doing something different altogether -- no one was placing bets that he would end up on TBS.

When Turner Broadcasting -- which owns TBS, along with CNN -- released a statement Monday heralding the deal between the cable channel and the former "Tonight Show" host, many in the industry were caught off guard. But some see a method to O'Brien's unconventional decision.

"Conan's going to a network that caters to comedy," Mediaweek TV analyst Marc Berman said. And for TBS, "it's going to give them a stronger following and solidify their brand; they're already doing well with syndication."

The rumored Fox deal, on the other hand, "was always vague," said TVGuide.com's Mickey O'Connor. "It was clear that Fox wanted to try something, but they've also been very successful with syndicated programming in that time slot, as opposed to a talk show." - CNN