'Nightline' struts
past Dave and Conan
ABC late-night news show wins three straight nights
By Toni Fitzgerald
Jun 30, 2009
Now it’s not just David Letterman beating Conan O’Brien. It’s “Nightline,” too.
The ABC newsmagazine finished No. 1 in late night three straight nights last week, buoyed in large part by coverage of the death of Michael Jackson.
On Friday night “Nightline” averaged 4.19 million total viewers, well ahead of NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien,” which drew 3.72 million, and CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman,” which drew 3.09 million.
That’s according to Nielsen fast affiliate numbers. “Nightline” also won Wednesday night, with a program that followed a special primetime town hall meeting focused on President Barack Obama’s healthcare proposal, and Thursday night, with a program focused on Jackson’s death.
Wednesday’s “Nightline” averaged 4.25 million total viewers to O’Brien’s 3.66 million and Letterman’s 3.23 million.
Thursday's "Nightline" averaged 5.26 million, its best since election day, to Letterman's 4.36 million and O'Brien's 3.94 million.
It marks a comeback for the ABC program, which had been all but forgotten as Letterman and O’Brien duked it out for late-night supremacy during the latter’s first three weeks on the job.
O’Brien took over for Jay Leno earlier this month, and while he got off to a strong start, his numbers among total viewers quickly dwindled.
By O’Brien’s third week, Letterman had overtaken him by a small margin in total viewers thanks to a much-publicized row with Sarah Palin, though the NBC host still holds a large lead among adults 18-49.
But Jackson’s death throws another wrinkle into what’s quickly become the summer’s biggest TV story, the competition between Letterman and O’Brien.
“Nightline” has been following the Jackson story closely and likely will continue to do so in the coming days, as more details from his autopsy leak out.
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