CBS’ spin on last week’s late night numbers. Read NBC’s spin here.
via press release:
LETTERMAN BEATS “THE TONIGHT SHOW” BY ITS LARGEST WEEKLY MARGIN SINCE 2000
“Late Show with David Letterman” Also Places First in Adults 25-54 (Tie) and Narrows the Adult 18-49 Gap to Just -0.3 of a Rating Point
Last Night’s Broadcast, Featuring Sir Paul McCartney, Tops “The Tonight Show” in the Metered Markets By its Largest Margin Since October
“Late Show” Gets 5 Emmy Nominations This Morning
CBS’s LATE SHOW beat “The Tonight Show” by its largest margin in viewers since 2000, placed first in adults 25-54 (tie) and narrowed the margin in adults 18-49 opposite Conan O’Brien to just -0.3 of a rating point, according to Nielsen live plus same day ratings for the week ending July 10.
LATE SHOW beat “The Tonight Show” in households (2.6/07 vs. 2.0/05, +30%) and viewers (3.68m vs. 2.82m, +30%). It was LATE SHOW’s largest margin of victory against an all first-run week of “Tonight Show” broadcasts in both households and viewers since the week ending Feb. 25, 2000 (the week David Letterman returned from heart surgery). LATE SHOW has also closed the gap with “The Tonight Show” in adults 25-54 (1.2/05) to a tie, CBS’s closest competitive position since the week ending Dec. 2, 2005 (the week Oprah Winfrey appeared).
In adults 18-49 (0.8/04 vs. 1.1/05) , LATE SHOW continued to cut “The Tonight Show’s”‘ lead: -1.4 in Conan O’Brien’s premiere week, -0.6 in the week ending June 12, -0.5 in the week ending June 19 and -0.3 in the week ending July 10. Among adults 18-34 (0.5/02 vs. 1.1/05), LATE SHOW has cut “The Tonight Show’s” lead from -1.6 in Conan O’Brien’s premiere week to -0.6 in the week ending July 10.
Last night’s broadcast, featuring Sir Paul McCartney, topped “The Tonight Show” by its largest margin since Oct. 16, 2008 (Sen. John McCain’s appearance).
This morning, LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN was nominated for five Emmy Awards including “Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series.”
Gotta say, I”ve stopped going out of my way to watch Conan’s show. It’s pretty boring lately, and the guest list has been less than stellar.
So it looks like Conan didn’t do much good for NBC in 18-49s.
A 2.0/5 in HH for Conan? That’s a pretty steep drop from Leno. Even if he draws a younger crowd, it’s got to hurt NBC’s ego.
Most telling is how Letterman continues to chip away at Conan’s lead with the 18-49 demo.
Dave was always the best and is still the best – regardless of the guests. But last night with Paul McCartney was SUPER SPECIAL!!! That’s the one I’ve been waiting for to come on his show in 27 years. Brilliant.
It is nice to see that CBS’s P.R. Department is finally at work! I wonder what NBC has to say and how it REALLY feels? “Tonight” is down about 3 million viewers since Conan took over. Give him time, but the numbers will never again reach Jay’s or Johnny’s demos be damned. LOL…
Dave has always been a superior interviewer. He actually listens to what the guests have to say.
Dave has always been a superior interviewer. He actually listens to what his guests are saying.
Conan is real weak. He has zero charisma. I watched one show, that is all I could take. Bringing back his goofy side kick is a mistake. The these two stink, they make Jimmy Kimmel appealing. After watching Conan I realized how good Letterman is.
strussman, CBS PR department is always at work. They put out a weekly release on late night ratings, almost always on Thursdays, and we have them going back for quite some time. I think the difference you may be noting is that they have somewhat better results to tout than typically in the past
I couldn’t really give a crap about late night ratings. Dave has always been the best regardless if he is 1st or 2nd. Johnny and Dave will always be the icons, the rest are just pretenders.
Gary, ‘I couldn’t really give a crap about late night ratings. ”
Yet you gave enough of a crap to not only click on the headline, which clearly is about the ratings, but also to post a comment!
I like Conan and i think in the long run he’ll be on top once Letterman steps down….but it’s refreshing to see Letterman finally getting his day in the sun again…
Everyone focuses on Dave and Conan and the real story is Nightline. Nightline, which many thought was going to be replaced by Leno, is now winning in overall viewers and is right on Conan’s heals in the 18-49 demo.
ratingswatcher, Nightline’s last 3 weeks have all been Michael Jackson-o-rama fueled, and they are meaningless for future projections. Eventually the public will tire of the Jackson story. What happens to Nightline ratings then is relevant.
Not only that – Nightline compares their half hour to Letterman and Conan’s full hour – not a fair or valid comparison, especially considering the fact that audience declines are steep as the night gets later. From 11:35 to 12:05 – Conan and Letterman beat Nightline handily. That is the only fair comparison to be made.
Gary just got pwned! Nice one Bill.
Gotta say, there sure are a lot of Letterman fans commenting in this post. Which is a real shame since Conan is far superior.
That’s right, I went there.
Oh snap! No he di’int!!
Jon Helms, correct you are, I should have mentioned that as well.
Dave and Conan both suck; Conan just sucks louder. Please bring Jay back or replace Dave with Craig Ferguson and Conan O’Brien with Jimmy Fallon.
give conan time and he will rule
There’s no question that Leno will be back hosting Tonight, once his 10 PM show fails. Only a matter of time.
I agree with Gary; Carson and Letterman; but the greats include Allen and Jack Paar.
Gary clearly clicked on the article to comment on his lack of care…
… clearly.
I still laugh at people suggesting Conan’s job at 11:35 is in any way endangered.
I’m glad Leno’s gone to primetime anyway, that’s where personalities where his belong. As a late night junkie, I’ve always kind of felt like him and his primetime audience were kind of encroaching on “our territory”. It’s nothing against him, he’s just much too safe in his comedic approach for late night in my opinion. The thing I’ve always loved about late night television is how it’s become a medium for silly, quirky humor that all the other hosts do. I’ll actually probably watch him at 10 PM, unless the show ends up being pretty bad in the end.
There is no way Conan’s job is endangered, even though you hear that bandied about sometimes. The NBC investment in Conan is too high for them not to give him a chance, and as long as he makes some gains in his audience over the next couple years NBC will be happy to wait him out. Talk show hosts are a long term investment, stability is key, viewers need to become comfortable with them, thats how they build audiences. Turning that slot over quickly would devastate the ratings.
The real question is what happens if Leno at 10 fails out of the gate. Primetime has higher expectations and NBC can’t really afford to let a floundering Leno eat up 5 hours of primetime a week. He can’t go back to 11:30 because Conan’s there and isn’t going anywhere, and it feels like NBC would do anything to stop him from defecting to another network. Could we see a Jay Leno sitcom?
Thats right, you read it here first, a Jay Leno sitcom.
Folks, until we get to at least November, it’s way too early to draw any conclusions.
I agree with Gary that Dave has always been the best, regardless of where he falls in the ratings. I do care about ratings, especially for Dave. Bill, millions of people have been tired of the whole Michael Jackson story since several days after he died. If Nightline wants to get ratings by stooping to that level talking about MJ all these days (like all these other talking-head shows), that’s not saying much for what Nightline used to be.
Letterman is much more intellectual and Conan is still Conan not much going prefer Leno to Conan!
Of course Conan can be booted from Late Night. Especially if Leno is still an option. The scenario is if Conan gets sub 2.3 ratings and occasionally gets sub 2.0 HH ratings, the people that made the decision will probably be fired, then Conan will be bought out.
I personally see a freefall in Conan’s ratings when Leno starts in September. Basically he’ll have very little Leno only audience, it will just be his 12:35 audience, minus most of the audience he shared with Letterman when Conan was at 12:35.
I don’t think Leno’s 10:00 PM show will be successful. I think it will just get the ratings he got when he was on The Tonight Show, plus or minus .5 rating, depending on the guest that night.
Agree with Danny. NBC’s investment in Conan is tiny compared to the money they’ll lose if he keeps getting clobbered week after week. After September he’ll be in a free-fall.
In a post above ‘dave’ says, “Turning that slot over quickly would devastate the ratings.” I am wondering what dave’s definition of “devastate” is? Last week, “The Tonight Show’s” average total viewership and average in the A25-54 demographic was lower than it was since at least the 1991-92 season when Johnny Carson was still the host. In other words, both were lower than ever recorded during the entire time Jay Leno was the host of The Tonight Show. Further, comparing to the same week last year, The Tonight Show’s total viewership was 38% lower. In my opinion, those results are devastating. So dave, how much lower before you might consider it “devastating?” All of the numbers I am citing are from the spin on last week’s numbers by ABC.
Whichever you prefer, if either, it’s kinda sad this is even a press release. That you beat someone’s ratings for one single night, and only because you had Sir Paul McCartney and he had a has-been by fifteen years, a B-actor, and an American Idol castoff, well, I wouldn’t be jumping up and down over that.
Are we forgetting the very good, former heir-apparent to Letterman, Craig Kilborn? He would wipe the floor with Conan and Ferguson. Miss ya Kilbie!
It’s just about appeal that’s all. Sanitized Leno had wider appeal as he was “safer”. Conan is edgier, more distinct, and has more appeal to young people. With Leno gone, Letterman becomes the “safer” choice for average Americans. I’m not surprised at these demos and I don’t imagine they’ll change, ever. Dave will win overall viewership but Conan will win among 18-34. And as big fans of Dave and Conan, this is the closest to a win-win we can get. The trifecta win for me would be for “The Jay Leno Show” to fall flat on its big chinned face.
About the pressure on Leno to do well. If the show bombs, he will be someplace on TV. Perhaps like those monthly specials the late Bob Hope used to do. Jay does seem to have that Hope quality to him. Even gone an entertain troops. Jay can always sign up for gigs in Las Vegas and comedy clubs. He is win-win no matter what.
Conan’s show may need some adjusting now. He really needs a major celebrity or something to occur to bring attention (preferably positive) to him. Could Conan be too nice for late night at that time? Letterman and the late Johnny Carson had their controversial moments in the news in their respective runs. Carson had ugly divorces, some celebrity feuds (I remember him and Wayne Newton had words if I remember right), and other things. Jay had moments to a much lesser degree (Hugh Grant and his early battles with NBC management) and David had battles when he hosted Late Night. Conan is a nice guy and perhaps that is part of the problem? The Masterbating Bear can only go so far.
While I am here, Fallon bores me, Ferguson is pompass (especially since he blew me off his myspace page the day after accepting my friend request, the jerk), and I still think Jimmy Kimmel could benefit some. Plus a strong lead in from Nightline.
mike, nobody expected Conan to do as well as leno or carson out of the gate. TV just doesn’t bring in those types of numbers anymore. I would say its not devastating until they consistently lose to Dave by major margins in the major demos (%20 in 18-49) regardless of guest. That’s not happening now but it could if NBC decides to switch out the host every 3 months.
Why aren’t the ratings for Craig Ferguson published, sometimes I am able to find the ratings for the late late show on CBS’ website but most times I am not, NBC’s latest ratings release says Ferguson beat Fallon 1.6million to 1.3 million last week but i could not find that at CBS’ ratings releases. And if Ferguson is beating Fallon why doesn’t CBS give him any respect and put his show on HD or give him a better set.
Gonzalo, NBC’s late night rating press releases are much more inclusive, with more time periods covered and some cable show numbers. Both CBS and ABC’s tend to be much more focused on just the 11:30 broadcast shows.
CBS doesn’t care about Ferguson. NBC takes care of their people 11:30 or 12:30, you can see that by their great sets and outstanding websites. CBS only wants Letterman at this point. Craig should leave.
Havent Watched NBC Late Night since Leno’s last show. I always liked Letterman but liked Leno better. Now i watch Letterman. To me Conan is juvanile and stupid. If ABC were smart, they would have gotten Leno and followed him with Kimmel and moved nightline to one of the second or third Digital Channels each affiliate has. Leno followed by Kimmel would have been a one-two punch.
I’m 64-years old, but you’d never know it. I am part of the 1950s TV generation. I still work as an architect and make $450,000+ a year. I have a wife and three grown children and a lot of money to spend. I am the NEW target audience. Forget the 18-49-year olds who have limited monies.
I remember Jack Paar and liked Johnny Carson. I never warmed to Jay Leno, who struck me as a lazy interviewer and a sycophant. I watch David Letterman virtually every night. Nightline might attract me if the story is big or if Dave’s guests are weak – Tom Arnold? Feh. I sampled Conan and find him wretched and in over his head. He makes Leno look interesting. What a mistake NBC has made. How does Jeff Zucker keep his job? Inertia at NBC? Isn’t he the man who fiddled with MUST-SEE TV?
I did watch Craig Ferguson, but lately, I’ve warmed to Jimmy Fallon. He obviously understands what a late night talk show can be. The other Jimmy, Kimmel, is an infantile sad sack and not worth any airtime. Carson Daly is a marginal bad joke.
And yes, as a boomer, I love my Rolling Stones music.
Letterman is the true heir to Johnny Carson. O’Brien is a niche player and NBC erred in moving him to LA. His sensibilities are NY. And, he needs to turn off the applause sign in his studio. LA audiences all think they’re going to be discovered. They’re media whores who will cheer for a ham sandwich.
Most importantly, Letterman’s show is a superb creation, a well-crafted machine of comedy and very smart interviewing, with a host who has a personality.
Anyone who chooses to watch Fallon when he can watch Ferguson will not be designing any buildings for me. I assume you design a lot of Targets and Walmarts and the occasional Piggly Wiggly.
Other than that, I agree with you in principle. My children are in the coveted target demographic and I have a lot more money and the time and inclination to spend it than they do.
Why haven’t advertisers figured this out?
Chic, TV networks have a limited supply of primetime hours/week. Their revenue is maximized by airing shows that receive the highest number of advertiser targeted age and gender group eyeballs in those limited supply of hours.
People over 50 are much heavier TV viewers than people under 50. They are easily reached by TV advertising. Because of that they are more cheaply reached. People under 50 watch less television, they are harder to reach, and because of that more expensive. From the perspective of the television networks, getting more difficult to reach people to watch *your* shows is good from a revenue/hour standpoint.
Thank you, Bill.
I’ve never read that before and it makes sense.
I guess I’m not a typical middle-aged viewer. Here’s what I watch on TV: Survivor, The Office, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Seriously, that’s it. (The Office has become a caricature of itself so it may not be on the list for much longer.)
I watched Letterman Thursday night to see (my favorite actress) Anna Paquin, and Letterman didn’t impress me much at all. If I’m ever up at 10:30 Central, I’ll be watching Conan. (I’m also young, so that might be a role, since Letterman’s been on TV longer than I’ve been alive.)
Listen, if NBC boots Conan from The Tonight Show for Leno, or for anyone, they’ll prove just how incompetent the management is. Conan’s a long-term investment, and they’ve already invested a lot in him. For better or for worse, he’s their guy now. Giving The Tonight Show back to Leno is virtually impossible at this point, and besides, NBC has already shown preference for Conan by telling Leno not to book A-list stars since that might hurt Conan.
Hey Chic Doodles, architects who start with a base salary of $450K don’t design for any of those companies. You really have no clue as to how architecture works do you? What a moronic statement you made on every thematic and empirical level. All of those companies have in-house architects (all of whom make between $100K and $200K a year), and if you had any common sense, you’d know that I could not possibly live in three different states at once, because all of those stores you mentioned are HQd in three separate states. Learn some smarts, some manners, and some facts before you shoot off your mouth.
Bragging about your salary is totally ridiculous. Makes you better than others I suppose??
Hey Jude, I wasn’t writing an article for the New Yorker–no fact checking needed. I was suggesting you have no taste. And now we know you have no sense of humor either.
Never brag about your income. People who make more think you are pathetic and people who make less think you are lying.
“Gary, ‘I couldn’t really give a crap about late night ratings. ”
Yet you gave enough of a crap to not only click on the headline, which clearly is about the ratings, but also to post a comment!”
He click on the link because it said “The tonight show” – clearly is favorite program
Here’s my take on this whole situation.
I’m 36 & I have been a Letterman fan since ‘82, BUT… his show has totally changed over the years. Now he is just a cranky old man that complains, and that makes the show unwatchable for me now. Dave never ventures outside of the theater anymore to do what he does best… man-on-the-street taped packages and things of that sort. Hell, he doesn’t even hang out in the audience & do bits like he used to.
As for Conan, I liked his 12:35 show… but the 11:35 show is totally lacking the comedic edginess of his old show. I can totally tell that NBC has got him under the microsope. Conan’s got the “deer in the headlights” look about him… he looks lost, but that’s only because he’s trying to keep the suits at NBC happy. It makes for a bad show. The executives need to back off and let him do his old schtick from “Late Night”.
There you go… the two shows I thought were funny are no longer good. I guess I’ll find a hobby to do late at night to keep myself occupied. LOL