Conan O’Brien may not have eased into the role of “Tonight Show” host just yet. He still looks a bit lost on that big stage.
But a combination of longtime “Tonight” fans sticking with the show and curiosity seekers watching to see how O’Brien does in his new job is bringing the show big numbers.
O’Brien’s second night didn’t see the ratings that his debut did on Monday, but he’s still holding an enormous lead over the competition, CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman” and ABC’s “Nightline.”
“Tonight” had a 5 household rating on Tuesday, based on Nielsen metered-market ratings, for a 67 percent advantage over “Late Show” and an 85 percent advantage over “Nightline.”
The big question for O’Brien and NBC is whether “Tonight” will continue to maintain that lead.
Sitting in that same seat, Jay Leno managed to trounce his rivals for nearly two decades, even though he faced far tougher competition than Johnny Carson did in the three decades he held the chair as king of late night talk.
It’ll be months and maybe years before O’Brien’s “Tonight Show” run can be assessed. It will all hinge on his ability to hold the Leno audience, or a good share of it, at the same time that he holds onto fans from his years as host of “Late Night” and attracts new fans to the earlier show.
On his second night, O'Brien saw a 30 percent audience decline, from Monday's 7.1 overnight rating to a 5.
But it was still 28 percent higher than “Tonight’s” average Tuesday rating this quarter.
Meanwhile, O’Brien’s replacement on “Late Night” at 12:35 a.m., Jimmy Fallon, is continuing to do well, boosted in recent days by “Tonight’s” lead in.
“Late Night” on Tuesday pulled a 2.1 household rating, a 31 percent advantage over CBS’s “Late Late Show.”
ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” which competes with both “Tonight” and “Late Night,” pulled a 1.2 household rating.
NBC’s “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” has averaged a 1.7 household rating this quarter. As a point of comparison, O’Brien’s widely publicized final episode on “Late Night” earlier this year generated a 2.6 household rating.
***
In dayparts for the week ended May 24, NBC’s “Meet the Press” was the most-watched Sunday morning show with 2.91 million tuning in, followed by CBS’s “Face the Nation” with 2.66 million viewers, ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” with 2.34 million and Fox “News Sunday” with 957,000. Among the 25-54 demographic, NBC averaged a 0.8 rating followed by CBS at 0.7, ABC at 0.6 and Fox at 0.3.
In morning shows, NBC’s “Today” was first for the week with 5.6 million total viewers, followed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” with 4.2 million and CBS’s “Early Show” with 2.7 million. “Today” averaged a 4.1 household rating and a 15 share, followed by “Good Morning America” at 3.2/12 and “Early Show” at 2.0/7.
In late night, NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” led the week with 5.1 million total viewers, followed by ABC’s “Nightline” with 3.6 million and CBS’s “The Late Show with David Letterman” with 3.2 million. In late late night, NBC’s “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” drew 2.0 million viewers, with CBS’s “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” bringing in 1.7 million, ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” 1.6 million and NBC’s “Last Call with Carson Daly” 1.2 million (with Monday and Tuesday encores for “Kimmel” and a Monday encore for “Last Call”). Among 18-49s, “Tonight Show” averaged a 1.4 rating, followed by “Nightline” at 1.0 and “Late Show” at 0.9. In late late night, “Late Night” averaged a 0.8 rating, with “Late Late Show,” “Kimmel” and “Last Call” all at 0.5.
In daytime, CBS was first with 3.36 million total viewers, ABC second with 2.84 million and NBC third with 2.53 million. Among women 18-49, ABC was first with a 1.3 rating, followed by NBC at 1.2 and CBS at 1.0.
In evening network news for the week ended May 31, NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian Williams” was first with 7.6 million total viewers and a 1.8 rating among adults 25-54. ABC’s “World News with Charles Gibson” averaged 6.9 million viewers and a 1.5 rating, followed by CBS’s “Evening News with Katie Couric” with 5.4 million and a 1.3 rating.
|
SUNDAY MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week ending May 24, 2009
Sunday averages |
|
Program |
Network |
Households |
|
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
Adults 25-54 |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
Meet the Press
|
NBC |
2.1 |
7 |
0.8 |
2.908 |
|
Face the Nation
|
CBS |
1.8 |
6 |
0.7 |
2.661 |
|
This Week With George Stephanopoulos
|
ABC |
1.6 |
5 |
0.6 |
2.336 |
|
News Sunday
|
Fox |
0.7 |
2 |
0.3 |
0.957 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
LATE-NIGHT RATINGS
Week Ending May 24, 2009
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
People 2+ |
Adults 18-49 |
|
Total viewers (millions) |
Rtg% |
|
Tonight Show with Jay Leno |
NBC |
5.1 |
1.4 |
|
Nightline
|
ABC |
3.6 |
1.0 |
|
Late Show with David Letterman
|
CBS |
3.2 |
0.9 |
|
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon |
NBC |
2.0 |
0.8 |
|
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
|
CBS |
1.7 |
0.5 |
|
Jimmy Kimmel Live* |
ABC |
1.6 |
0.5 |
|
Last Call with
Carson Daly*
|
NBC |
1.2 |
0.5 |
|
* Monday's "Last Call" and Monday and Tuesday’s "Kimmel" were encores
Source: NTI |
|
MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week Ending May 24, 2009
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
Households |
People 2+ |
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
Today
|
NBC |
4.1 |
15 |
5.6 |
|
Good Morning
America
|
ABC |
3.2 |
12 |
4.2 |
|
Early Show
|
CBS |
2.0 |
7 |
2.7 |
|
Source: NTI
|
|
DAYTIME RATINGS
Week Ending May 17, 2009
Five-day averages |
|
|
Total viewers (millions) |
Women 18-49 |
|
Network |
(millions) |
Rtg% |
|
CBS
|
3.36 |
1.0 |
|
ABC
|
2.84 |
1.3 |
|
NBC
|
2.53 |
1.2 |
|
Source: NTI
|
|
EVENING NETWORK NEWS RATINGS
Week Ending May 31, 2009
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
25-54s |
People 2+ |
|
Rtg% |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams
|
NBC |
1.8 |
7.570 |
|
ABC World News with Charles Gibson
|
ABC |
1.5 |
6.893 |
|
CBS Evening News with Katie Couric
|
CBS |
1.3 |
5.376 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research
|
|
SYNDICATION
Ranked on Households
Week Ending May 10, 2009 |
|
# |
PROGRAMS |
Syndicator |
Households |
|
US
Rtg% |
(000) |
|
1
|
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
|
CTD
|
6.5
|
7417
|
|
2
|
JEOPARDY
|
CTD
|
5.3
|
6104
|
|
3
|
OPRAH WINFREY SHOW
|
CTD
|
5.2
|
5899
|
|
4
|
TWO-HALF MEN-SYN (AT)
|
WB
|
4.6
|
5306
|
|
5
|
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT)
|
CTD
|
4.1
|
4648
|
|
6
|
JUDGE JUDY (AT)
|
CTD
|
4.0
|
4625
|
|
7
|
FAMILY GUY-MF-SYN (AT)
|
2/T
|
3.8
|
4342
|
|
8
|
SEINFELD (AT)
|
SPT
|
3.3
|
3809
|
|
9
|
CSI NEW YORK-SYN(AT)
|
CTD
|
3.2
|
3651
|
|
10
|
EVRY LVS RAYMOND-SYN(AT)
|
CTD
|
3.0
|
3405
|
|
10
|
LAW & ORDER:SVU-SYN (AT)
|
NBU
|
3.0
|
3385
|
|
12
|
DR. PHIL SHOW (AT)
|
CTD
|
2.9
|
3364
|
|
12
|
INSIDE EDITION (AT)
|
CTD
|
2.9
|
3339
|
|
14
|
GEORGE LOPEZ (AT)
|
WB
|
2.8
|
3216
|
|
15
|
LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY
|
DAD
|
2.6
|
2922
|
|
16
|
KING OF THE HILL-SYN(AT)
|
2/T
|
2.5
|
2893
|
|
16
|
WHEEL OF FORTUNE WKND
|
CTD
|
2.5
|
2828
|
|
18
|
SEINFELD-WKND (AT)
|
SPT
|
2.4
|
2793
|
|
18
|
KING OF QUEENS-SYN (AT)
|
SPT
|
2.4
|
2741
|
|
20
|
GEORGE LOPEZ WKND B (AT)
|
WB
|
2.3
|
2680
|
|
20
|
MILLIONAIRE (AT)
|
DAD
|
2.3
|
2678
|
|
20
|
TWO-HALF MEN WKND B (AT)
|
WB
|
2.3
|
2652
|
|
23
|
GEORGE LOPEZ WKND A (AT)
|
WB
|
2.2
|
2558
|
|
23
|
ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW
|
WB
|
2.2
|
2535
|
|
23
|
FRIENDS (AT)
|
WB
|
2.2
|
2503
|
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research
|
