Hearty farewell
for 'Tonight's' Jay Leno
Friday show averages an 8.8 in metered market households
By Toni Fitzgerald
Jun 1, 2009
Jay Leno’s final appearance as host of “The Tonight Show” drew a big crowd Friday, though his drawing power was likely tempered by the fact that he’ll be back on the air in just a few months as host of NBC’s new “The Jay Leno Show.”
“Tonight” averaged an 8.8 rating and 20 share among metered-market households, according to Nielsen, the best Friday-night rating in Leno’s 17-year tenure as host.
His average was also 126 percent above the 3.9 “Tonight” averaged during second quarter and marked the show’s best outing since President Barack Obama guested in March.
It was the third-best mark for any “Tonight” since NBC aired a special tribute to Johnny Carson following his death in 2005.
Just how many viewers tuned in for Leno's farewell won't be known until later this week, but based on the early numbers, the figure will be nowhere near what his predecessor attracted when he went off the air. Carson, who hosted the show for three decades, drew some 41 million for his farewell in 1992.
The lower numbers for Leno reflect a greater fractionalization of late-night TV generally, where competition now comes not only from ABC and CBS but also cable networks like Adult Swim and Comedy Central.
But Leno’s ratings were also likely lower because his exit is more like a pause in his NBC tenure than an exit.
Leno will host a new talk show airing at 10 p.m. weeknights starting this fall, the format of which is expected to mirror “Tonight.” That gave Friday’s farewell much less urgency than that of Carson’s, as the latter never returned to television.
That’s not to say that Leno did not have a good final week. His final five nights averaged a 5.5 metered-market household rating, up 41 percent over his second quarter average, and he saw ratings rise each night during his farewell week.
Friday’s “Tonight” had a buoying effect on its lead-outs. “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” earned its second-best overnights ever, averaging a 3.8, behind only the night of the Obama appearance.
And “Last Call with Carson Daly” averaged a 1.6, its best Friday rating in two years.
Conan O’Brien, the former “Late Night” host, succeeds Leno as host of “Tonight” this evening.
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