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Last year at this time, ABC was openly wooing Jay Leno, whose contract with NBC was about to end, hoping to add the comedian to its late-night lineup.
Lately, though, it doesn’t look like ABC needs him.
After years of trailing its late-night rivals, “Nightline” has finally become competitive with CBS and NBC.
In fact, twice in the past week, the newsmagazine has beaten or tied NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” while topping CBS’s “The Late Show with David Letterman” in metered-market household ratings.
Last Thursday night “Nightline” averaged a 3.7 household rating to Leno’s 3.6. Letterman trailed well behind at a 3.2.
On Tuesday night, Leno and “Nightline” both averaged a 4.1 rating, with Letterman posting a 2.9. On both of those nights, “Nightline” topped Leno and Letterman among 25-54s in the local people meter markets as well.
Up till now, victories over Leno have been relatively rare for "Nightline." Season to date, it trails "Tonight" by 1.2 million total viewers. The show's recent hot streak is due in large part to some hot topics and better interaction with viewers.
Thursday’s episode focused on the so-called celebrity diet wars, exploring the strategies of weight loss powerhouses Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig and others by using star spokespeople like Marie Osmond and Valerie Bertinelli.
Tuesday’s episode focused on how technology and the internet are shaping people’s sex lives, from erotic service ads on Craigslist to a site dedicated specifically to married folks looking to cheat.
These topics reflect how “Nightline” has changed in recent years to attract younger viewers. Under former anchor Ted Koppel, the show was much more staid and often politically oriented, focusing on just one topic per show. Now "Nightline" explores a main topic but also has secondary ones, making it more of a traditional newsmagazine.
And it is taking advantage of new technology to reach viewers. Earlier this month “Nightline” launched “NighTline,” a digital program presented through Twitter, where the show has more than a million followers. That's impressive for a program that averages just 3.9 million viewers per night.
***
Meanwhile, in late-night ratings for the week ended May 10, NBC’s “Tonight” led with 4.9 million total viewers, followed by “Nightline” with 3.7 million and CBS’s “Late” with 3.6 million. In late late night, NBC’s “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” drew 1.9 million viewers, as did CBS’s “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” with ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” bringing in 1.6 million and NBC’s “Last Call with Carson Daly” 1.0 million. Among 18-49s, “Tonight Show” averaged a 1.3 rating, followed by “Nightline” and “Late Show,” tied at 1.0 each. In late late night, “Late Night” averaged a 0.7 rating, “Late Late Show” a 0.6, “Kimmel” a 0.5 (with a Monday encore) and “Last Call” a 0.4 (also with a Monday encore).
NBC’s “Meet the Press” was yet again the most-watched Sunday morning show with 2.97 million tuning in, followed by CBS’s “Face the Nation” with 2.74 million viewers, ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” with 2.62 million and Fox “News Sunday” with 1.32 million. Among the 25-54 demographic, NBC averaged a 0.8 rating followed by CBS and ABC at 0.6 and Fox at 0.4.
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 4.5 million and CBS’s “Early Show” with 2.9 million. “Today” averaged a 4.2 household rating and a 15 share, followed by “Good Morning America” at 3.4/12 and “Early Show” at 2.2/8.
In daytime, CBS was first with 3.49 million total viewers, ABC second with 2.77 million and NBC third with 2.74 million. Among women 18-49, ABC and NBC tied for first, each with a 1.2 rating, with CBS third at 1.1.
In evening network news for the week ended May 17, NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian Williams” was first with 7.7 million total viewers and a 1.8 rating among adults 25-54. ABC’s “World News with Charles Gibson” averaged 7.1 million viewers and a 1.7 rating, followed by CBS’s “Evening News with Katie Couric” with 5.6 million and a 1.3 rating.
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SUNDAY MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week ending May 10, 2009
Sunday averages |
|
Program |
Network |
Households |
|
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
Adults 25-54 |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
Meet the Press
|
NBC |
2.2 |
7 |
0.8 |
2.971 |
|
Face the Nation
|
CBS |
1.9 |
6 |
0.6 |
2.736 |
|
This Week With George Stephanopoulos
|
ABC |
1.9 |
6 |
0.6 |
2.619 |
|
News Sunday
|
Fox |
0.9 |
3 |
0.4 |
1.322 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
LATE-NIGHT RATINGS
Week Ending May 10, 2009
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
People 2+ |
Adults 18-49 |
|
Total viewers (millions) |
Rtg% |
|
Tonight Show with Jay Leno |
NBC |
4.9 |
1.3 |
|
Nightline
|
ABC |
3.7 |
1.0 |
|
Late Show with David Letterman
|
CBS |
3.6 |
1.0 |
|
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon |
NBC |
1.9 |
0.7 |
|
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
|
CBS |
1.9 |
0.6 |
|
Jimmy Kimmel Live* |
ABC |
1.6 |
0.5 |
|
Last Call with
Carson Daly*
|
NBC |
1.0 |
0.4 |
|
* Monday's "Last Call" and "Kimmel" were encores
Source: NTI |
|
MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week Ending May 10, 2009
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
Households |
People 2+ |
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
Today
|
NBC |
4.2 |
15 |
5.6 |
|
Good Morning
America
|
ABC |
3.4 |
12 |
4.5 |
|
Early Show
|
CBS |
2.2 |
8 |
2.9 |
|
Source: NTI
|
|
DAYTIME RATINGS
Week Ending May 10, 2009
Five-day averages |
|
|
Total viewers (millions) |
Women 18-49 |
|
Network |
(millions) |
Rtg% |
|
CBS
|
3.49 |
1.1 |
|
ABC
|
2.77 |
1.2 |
|
NBC
|
2.74 |
1.2 |
|
Source: NTI
|
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EVENING NETWORK NEWS RATINGS
Week Ending May 17, 2009
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
25-54s |
People 2+ |
|
Rtg% |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams
|
NBC |
1.8 |
7.693 |
|
ABC World News with Charles Gibson
|
ABC |
1.7 |
7.144 |
|
CBS Evening News with Katie Couric
|
CBS |
1.3 |
5.606 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research
|
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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
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