Comments on: Letterman Beats “The Tonight Show” By Its Largest Weekly Margin Since 2000

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:46:12 +0000

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

By: Kermonk

Kermonk — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 20:17:44 +0000

“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

By: Chic Doodles

Chic Doodles — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 20:07:43 +0000

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.

By: nojobber

nojobber — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 16:40:59 +0000

Bragging about your salary is totally ridiculous. Makes you better than others I suppose??

By: Jude Estlin

Jude Estlin — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:21:46 +0000

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.

By: TSA

TSA — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 20:28:56 +0000

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.

By: Drew

Drew — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 15:47:15 +0000

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.)

By: Chic Doodles

Chic Doodles — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 15:19:43 +0000

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.)

By: Bill Gorman

Bill Gorman — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:17:06 +0000

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.

By: Chic Doodles

Chic Doodles — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:00:31 +0000

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?

By: Jude Estlin

Jude Estlin — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 08:54:05 +0000

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.

By: Ron Haney

Ron Haney — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 05:48:03 +0000

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.

By: Jody

Jody — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:52:41 +0000

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.

By: Bill Gorman

Bill Gorman — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:20:02 +0000

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.

By: Gonzalo

Gonzalo — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:16:44 +0000

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.

By: dave

dave — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:51:23 +0000

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.

By: William

William — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:31:47 +0000

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.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:06:29 +0000

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.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:20:13 +0000

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!

By: Scott R.

Scott R. — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 06:58:53 +0000

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.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 06:11:37 +0000

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.

By: paula

paula — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:03:32 +0000

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.

By: Danny

Danny — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:13:20 +0000

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.

By: Gerald

Gerald — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:09:33 +0000

Letterman is much more intellectual and Conan is still Conan not much going prefer Leno to Conan!

By: Diane C.

Diane C. — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:07:29 +0000

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.