via press release:

JAY STRETCHES HIS MARGIN OVER ‘LATE SHOW’ TO 15 PERCENT FROM LAST YEAR’S 12 PERCENT IN 18-49 VIEWERS AND CONAN INCREASES HIS MARGIN OVER ‘LATE LATE SHOW’ TO 24 PERCENT FROM 21 PERCENT 

IT’S JAY’S 51ST STRAIGHT SWEEP-MONTH WIN, WHILE UNDEFEATED CONAN REPORTS HIS 56TH CONSECUTIVE SWEEP WIN UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – December 8, 2008 – NBC’s late-night stars have delivered convincing wins in the November 2008 sweep, with “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” increasing their margins of victory over CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman” and “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” versus their November 2007 advantages. 

In adult 18-49 viewers, “Tonight” won the November sweep over “Late Show” by a 15 percent margin, up from a 12 percent win in November 2007. At 12:35 a.m. ET, “Late Night” won the month by a 24 percent margin, up from last year’s 21 percent. In total viewers, Jay’s margin over Letterman was 22 percent, up from 8 percent last year, and Conan’s advantage over Ferguson was 2 percent, up from a 1 percent deficit last year. 

Jay and Conan were both particularly impressive in the younger half of the target 18-49 demo, with Jay outscoring Letterman by a 28 percent margin in November 2008 averages and Conan topping Ferguson by 57 percent in the 18-34 category. 

This is Jay’s 51st consecutive sweep-month win in adults 18-49, while Conan extended his undefeated streak to 56 sweep wins without a loss. 

At 1:35 a.m. ET, for the November sweep, “Last Call with Carson Daly” finished within a tenth of a rating point of Ferguson and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in adults 18-49 and tied them both in adult 18-34 rating (with a 0.4 rating each). 

For the November sweep, which began October 30 and ended November 26, Jay’s average 1.732 million adults 18-49 topped the 1.504 million of Letterman; in total viewers, Jay’s audience of 4.924 million persons beat Letterman’s 4.050 million; and in adults 18-34, Jay’s 683,000 outscored Letterman’s 532,000. At 12:35 a.m. ET, Conan’s 987,000 adults 18-49 for the sweep out-delivered Ferguson’s 796,000; in total viewers, Conan’s 1.962 million beat Ferguson’s 1.926 million; and in adults 18-34, Conan’s 478,000 topped Ferguson’s 304,000. 

The November sweep ended during the week of November 24-28, which “Tonight” won over “Late Show” by a 17 percent margin in 18-49 viewers and 16 percent in total viewers. Conan led Ferguson in the 12:35 a.m. ET hour for the week with a 26 percent advantage in 18-49 viewers, while trailing in total viewers by a 1 percent margin. Jay and Conan were again especially dominant among younger adults, winning the November 24-28 week over Letterman and Ferguson by margins of 34 and 84 percent respectively. Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, Thursday and Friday results for the NBC and ABC late-night shows are excluded from the week’s averages. 

Note that during the November 24-28 week, “Tonight” topped ABC’s “Nightline” head-to-head in the 11:30-midnight ET half-hour in adults 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 as well as total viewers. “Nightline” that week featured coverage of Barbara Walters’ primetime interview of President Elect Barack Obama and Michelle Obama. 

Among adults 18-49, “Tonight” has now won 51 sweep months in a row, 52 quarters in a row (including ties) and 13 television seasons in a row. Conan has won over “Late Late Show” competition for 56 sweep months in a row, 55 consecutive quarters and 14 straight television seasons. 

WEEKLY AVERAGES 
(According to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research for the week of November 24-28. Ratings reflect “live plus same day” data unless otherwise noted. Season-to-date figures are averages of “live plus seven day” data except for the two most recent weeks, which are “live plus same day.”) 

ADULTS 18-49 

11:35 p.m. ET 
NBC “Tonight,” 1.3 rating, 5 share* 
CBS “Late Show,” 1.1/5 
ABC “Nightline,” 1.3/5* 

12:05 a.m. ET 
ABC “Kimmel,” 0.6/3* 

12:35 a.m. ET 
NBC “Late Night,” 0.7/4* 
CBS “Late Late Show,” 0.6/3 

1:35 a.m. ET 
NBC “Last Call,” 0.4/3 (in encore telecasts)* 

TOTAL VIEWERS 

11:35 p.m. ET 
NBC “Tonight,” 4.8 million viewers* 
CBS “Late Show,” 4.1 million viewers 
ABC “Nightline,” 4.7 million viewers* 

12:05 a.m. ET 
ABC “Kimmel,” 2.1 million viewers* 

12:35 a.m. ET 
NBC “Late Night,” 1.9 million viewers* 
CBS “Late Late Show,” 1.9 million viewers 

1:35 a.m. ET 
NBC “Last Call,” 1.1 million viewers (in encore telecasts)* 

*NBC and ABC’s Thursday and Friday telecasts are excluded from these averages due to the Thanksgiving holiday. 

NOVEMBER SWEEP AVERAGES 

ADULTS 18-49 

11:35 p.m. ET 
NBC “Tonight,” 1.3/5 
CBS “Late Show,” 1.1/5 
ABC “Nightline,” 1.3/5 

12:05 a.m. ET 
ABC “Kimmel,” 0.6/3 

12:35 a.m. ET 
NBC “Late Night,” 0.7/4 
CBS “Late Late Show,” 0.6/3 

1:35 a.m. ET 
NBC “Last Call,” 0.5/3 

TOTAL VIEWERS 

11:35 p.m. ET 
NBC “Tonight,” 4.9 million viewers 
CBS “Late Show,” 4.1 million viewers 
ABC “Nightline,” 4.5 million viewers 

12:05 a.m. ET 
ABC “Kimmel,” 1.9 million viewers 

12:35 a.m. ET 
NBC “Late Night,” 2.0 million viewers 
CBS “Late Late Show,” 1.9 million viewers 

1:35 a.m. ET 
NBC “Last Call,” 1.1 million viewers 

SEASON TO DATE 

ADULTS 18-49 

11:35 p.m. ET 
NBC “Tonight,” 1.3/5 
CBS “Late Show,” 1.1/5 
ABC “Nightline,” 1.1/4 

12:05 a.m. ET 
ABC “Kimmel,” 0.6/3 

12:35 a.m. ET 
NBC “Late Night,” 0.7/4 
CBS “Late Late Show,” 0.6/3 

1:35 a.m. ET 
NBC “Last Call,” 0.5/3 

TOTAL VIEWERS 

11:35 p.m. ET 
NBC “Tonight,” 4.8 million viewers 
CBS “Late Show,” 4.0 million viewers 
ABC “Nightline,” 4.0 million viewers 

12:05 a.m. ET 
ABC “Kimmel,” 1.8 million viewers 

12:35 a.m. ET 
NBC “Late Night,” 1.9 million viewers 
CBS “Late Late Show,” 1.9 million viewers 

1:35 a.m. ET 
NBC “Last Call,” 1.1 million viewers 

SELECTED CABLE RESULTS, WEEK OF NOVEMBER 24-28 

NATIONAL ADULT 18-49 RATING 

Comedy Central, 11 p.m. ET, “The Daily Show,” 0.4 
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. ET, “The Colbert Report,” 0.3 

Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 0.8 
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 0.5 

Each adult 18-49 rating point equals 1.32 million viewers 

TOTAL VIEWERS 

Comedy Central, 11 p.m. ET, “The Daily Show,” 1.0 million 
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. ET, “The Colbert Report,” 0.7 million 

Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 2.0 million 
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 1.2 million