Conan O’Brien to chase millennial viewers as MTV Movie Awards host

Conan O’Brien will host the youthful, pop-oriented MTV Movie Awards for the first time on April 13 at the Nokia Theatre, the late-night host announced on “Conan� on Tuesday. At 50, he is the oldest performer ever to host the show, which tends to favor twenty- and thirty-something comedians for its podium gigs.

O’Brien is a seasoned awards show emcee, having hosted the Emmys in 2002, 2003 (as a co-host) and 2006. He could lend a bit of legitimacy to an MTV event that previous hosts such as Rebel Wilson (2013), Russell Brand (2012) and Jason Sudeikis (2011) couldn’t quite muster.

In a prepared statement, O’Brien said, “After eight years of intense negations, I am honored to announce I am hosting MTV’s second most prestigious awards show.� (MTV’s banner show is the Video Music Awards.)

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A far cry from the illustrious Academy Awards or even the fizzier Golden Globes, the MTV Movie Awards are a freewheeling popularity contest, powered by fan voting, marked by shameless self-promotion, and featuring unique honors such as best kiss, best fight and best gut-wrenching performance. Nominees will be announced Thursday on the MTV website.

Where most Hollywood awards shows reward serious dramas, MTV’s extravaganza tends to recognize mainstream blockbusters like “The Avengers� and teen-pleasing franchises like the “Twilight� movies. Last year, the show moved up to April from its longstanding home on Memorial Day, the better to hype the ever-expanding summer movie season.

O’Brien could attract some coveted millennial viewers as he faces an increasingly crowded late-night landscape, which in recent weeks has been buzzing over the takeover of “The Tonight Show� by host Jimmy Fallon.

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