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'Nightline' regains
the lead in late night


ABC news show rises to No. 1 with 3.94M total viewers


Feb 5, 2010

The latest edition of the late-night wars is over, or at least suspended until March 1, when Jay Leno returns to "The Tonight Show."

With Conan O'Brien gone and David Letterman on vacation, ABC's "Nightline" surged ahead for the week ended Jan. 31, though both comedy shows performed pretty well in repeats.

"Nightline" averaged 3.94 million total viewers, 290,000 more than second-place "Late Show with David Letterman" on CBS.

NBC's "Tonight" averaged 2.39 million viewers, right in line with its season average despite the fact that it was in reruns.

And among adults 25-54, "Nightline" and "Late Show" tied, while "Tonight" actually won among 18-49s with a 1.0 to the other shows' 0.9.

That seems to suggest that interest in late night will still be high when Leno returns as "Tonight" host on March 1, after a nine-month absence.

He, of course, succeeds O'Brien, who left the show after refusing NBC's request to move to 12:05 a.m. O'Brien's last show averaged 10.3 million total viewers last month.

"Nightline" has been having a strong season, seemingly benefitting from "Tonight's" loss of viewers during the O'Brien era.

But during the controversy over what would happen to "Tonight" during January, both the NBC show and "Late Show," in which Letterman took shots at his former employer, saw big gains.

***

In dayparts for the week ended Jan. 31, ABC’s “Nightline” led the week among late night with 3.9 million total viewers, followed by CBS’s “The Late Show with David Letterman” at 3.7 million and NBC’s “Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” with 2.4 million. In late late night, CBS’s “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” averaged 1.8 million total viewers, with ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” at 1.7 million, NBC’s “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” at 1.2 million and NBC’s “Last Call with Carson Daly” at 0.7 million. Among 18-49s, “Tonight” averaged a 1.0 rating, with “Late Show” and “Nightline” at 0.9. In late late night, “Late Night” averaged a 0.6, with “Late Late Show” and “Kimmel” at 0.5 and “Last Call” all at a 0.4. “Tonight,” “Late Show,” “Late Night” and “Last Call” were repeats. Also, Monday's "Kimmel" was an encore, and Wednesday's "Late Show" and "Late Late Show" were delayed by news coverage and are excluded from the averages.

NBC’s “Meet the Press” was the most-watched Sunday morning show on Jan. 31 with 3.89 million tuning in, followed by ABC’s “This Week” with 3.07 million, with CBS’s “Face the Nation” 2.89 million and Fox “News Sunday” with 1.14 million. Among the 25-54 demographic, NBC averaged a 1.0 rating, with ABC at 0.7, CBS at 0.6 and Fox at 0.4.

In morning shows, NBC’s “Today” was first for the week with 5.82 million total viewers, followed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” with 4.46 million and CBS’s “The Early Show” at 2.80 million. “Today” averaged a 4.3 household rating and a 16 share, with “Good Morning America” at 3.4/12 and “Early Show” at 2.1/8.

In evening network news, NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian Williams” was first with 10.08 million total viewers and a 2.5 rating among adults 25-54. ABC’s “World News with Diane Sawyer” averaged 8.51 million viewers and a 2.0 rating, followed by CBS’s “Evening News with Katie Couric” with 6.76 million and a 1.7 rating.

In daytime for the week ended Jan. 24, CBS was first for the week with 3.83 million total viewers, followed by NBC with 3.19 million and ABC with 3.01 million. Among 18-49s, NBC was first with a 1.3 average rating, while CBS and ABC each averaged a 1.2.  

SUNDAY MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week ending Jan. 31, 2010
Sunday averages

Program

Network

Households

 

Rtg%

Shr

Adults 25-54

Total viewers (millions)

Meet the Press

NBC

2.7

7

1.0

3.890

This Week

ABC

2.2

6

0.7

3.072

Face the Nation

CBS

2.1

5

0.6

2.892

News Sunday

Fox

0.8

2

0.4

1.137

Source: NTI

LATE-NIGHT RATINGS*
Week Ending Jan. 31, 2009
Five-day averages

Program

Network

People 2+

Adults 18-49

Total viewers (millions)

Rtg%

Nightline

ABC

3.9

0.9

Late Show with David Letterman

CBS

3.7

0.9

Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien

NBC

2.4

1.0

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

CBS

1.8

0.5

Jimmy Kimmel Live*

ABC

1.7

0.5

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

NBC

1.2

0.6

Last Call with Carson Daly*

NBC

0.7

0.4

* “Tonight,” “Late Show,” “Late Night” and “Last Call” were repeats. Also, Monday's "Kimmel" was an encore, and Wednesday's "Late Show" and "Late Late Show" were delayed by news coverage and are excluded from these averages.

Source: NTI

MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week Ending Jan. 31, 2009
Five-day averages

Program

Network

Households

People 2+

Rtg%

Shr

Total viewers (millions)

Today

NBC

4.3

16

5.820

Good Morning America

ABC

3.4

12

4.460

Early Show

CBS

2.1

8

2.800

Source: NTI

DAYTIME RATINGS
Week Ending Jan. 24, 2009
Five-day averages

 

Total viewers (millions)

Women 18-49

Network

(millions)

Rtg%

CBS

3.83

1.2

NBC

3.19

1.3

ABC

3.01

1.2

Source: NTI

 

EVENING NETWORK NEWS RATINGS
Week Ending Jan. 31, 2009
Five-day averages

Program

Network

25-54s

People 2+

Rtg%

Total viewers (millions)

NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams

NBC

2.5

10.080

ABC World News with Diane Sawyer

ABC

2.0

8.507

CBS Evening News with Katie Couric

CBS

1.7

6.757

Source: Nielsen Media Research

SYNDICATION
Ranked on Households
Week Ending Jan. 24, 2009

#

PROGRAMS

Syndicator

Households

US Rtg%

(000)

1

WHEEL OF FORTUNE

CTD

7.5

8602

2

JEOPARDY

CTD

6.4

7310

3

TWO-HALF MEN-SYN (AT)

WB

5.5

6268

4

JUDGE JUDY (AT)

CTD

4.9

5644

5

OPRAH WINFREY SHOW

CTD

4.8

5504

6

ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT)

CTD

4.7

5375

7

WHEEL OF FORTUNE WKND

CTD

3.7

4224

7

LAW & ORDER:CI-WKL (AT)

NBU

3.7

4260

9

CSI NEW YORK-SYN(AT)

CTD

3.6

4160

10

FAMILY GUY-MF-SYN (AT)

2/T

3.5

4076

11

INSIDE EDITION (AT)

CTD

3.3

3739

12

DR. PHIL SHOW (AT)

CTD

3.1

3533

12

OFFICE-SYN (AT)

NBU

3.1

3529

14

DR. OZ SHOW (AT)

SPT

2.9

3326

14

GEORGE LOPEZ (AT)

WB

2.9

3295

16

EVRY LVS RAYMOND-SYN(AT)

CTD

2.8

3227

16

TWO-HALF MEN WKND B (AT)

WB

2.8

3172

16

LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY

DAD

2.8

3266

16

SEINFELD (AT)

SPT

2.8

3172

16

SEINFELD-WKND (AT)

SPT

2.8

3240

21

MILLIONAIRE (AT)

DAD

2.7

3082

21

TWO-HALF MEN WKND A (AT)

WB

2.7

3086

23

BONES-SYN (AT)

2/T

2.6

3024

23

CSI MIAMI-SYN (AT)

CTD

2.6

3041

25

ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW

WB

2.5

2860

Source: Nielsen Media Research




Toni Fitzgerald is a staff writer for Media Life.




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