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
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