Do continue to note that comparing a 30 minute show at that hour to a 60 minute show is entirely apples to oranges, but PR lives on persuasion!

via press release:

“NIGHTLINE” IS #1 AMONG A18-49 & TOTAL VIEWERS

FIRST TIME SINCE AT LEAST THE 1991/1992 SEASON “NIGHTLINE” OUTPERFORMS “TONIGHT SHOW” 20 CONSECUTIVE WEEKS IN TOTAL VIEWERS

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Please note that the true numbers for last night will be available from Nielsen on Thursday with the rest of the late night numbers but here is some info on the premiere of The Wanda Sykes Show directly from FOX based on the metered market info from the largest (56) metered markets:

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via press release:

CONAN O’BRIEN LEADS THE WEEK OF OCT. 26-30 IN THE KEY LATE-NIGHT RACE OF ADULTS 18-49

‘TONIGHT’ TOPS THE CBS AND ABC COMPETITION IN ADULTS 18-49 AND ADULTS, MEN AND WOMEN 18-34

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – November 5, 2009 – NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” has won the week of October 26-30 in the key late-night demographic of adults 18-49 over CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman” and the ABC lineup of “Nightline” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”  Conan also delivered bigger audiences for the week than did the ABC or CBS competition in adults, men and women 18-34.

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via press release:

Fringe Ratings Report: ABC Late-Night Programming

Week of October 26, 2009

ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” is Up Week to Week in Viewers and Young Adults, Drawing its Largest Adults 18-49 Audience in 4 Weeks

“JKL” Outperforms “Fallon” for the Week by 30% in Viewers, Topping the NBC Program for the 6th Straight Week, Every Week of the 09-10 TV Season

“JKL” Betters “Fallon” in Each Telecast of the Week in Viewers,

Outdrawing the NBC Program in 28 of 30 Telecasts During the 09-10 TV Season

Weekly National Ratings:

During the week of October 26, 2009, ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” posted week-to-week increases in both Total Viewers (1.70 million vs. 1.65 million) and Adults 18-49 (706,000 vs. 685,000).  Building on its young adult audience for the 2nd week in a row, “JKL” drew is largest Adults 18-49 number in 4 weeks – since wo 9/28/09

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via press release:

“LATE SHOW” WINS IN VIEWERS AND ADULTS 25-54

“The Late Late Show” Places First in Viewers, Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54

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After both being in repeats the previous week, Conan’s Tonight Show topped Letterman’s Late Show in the adults 18-49 demo for the week ending October 30. Their four week averages continue neck and neck.

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Standard apples to oranges caveats about ABC comparing one hour shows to its 30 minute Nightline show numbers.

via press release:

“NIGHTLINE” BESTS “TONIGHT SHOW” FOR 19^th CONSECUTIVE WEEK

“NIGHTLINE” TIES “TONIGHT” FOR FIRST PLACE IN A18-49 RATING

“NIGHTLINE” GROWS +9% AMONG TOTAL VIEWERS YEAR TO YEAR WHILE “TONIGHT SHOW” DECLINES -50%

ABC News “Nightline” is #2 among Total Viewers and Adults 25-54 for the week of October 26, 2009, according to Nielsen Media Research. This marks the nineteenth consecutive week “Nightline” beat NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” among Total Viewers.  The last time “Nightline” beat “Tonight” nineteen consecutive weeks was in 1994. “Nightline” also tied “Tonight” in the A18-49 rating (1.0).

“Nightline” continues to experience growth compared to last year.  The program grew +9% among Total Viewers versus the same week last year as “Tonight” in comparison declined -50%.

Season to date, “Nightline” is up +8% among Total Viewers while “Tonight” in comparison has declined -47%.

Last week, “Nightline” aired a special about the H1N1 virus, a report on the Arizona sweat lodge tragedy, and an inside look at a medevac unit saving lives in Afghanistan.

ABC News’ “Nightline” is anchored by Cynthia McFadden, Terry Moran and Martin Bashir. John Donvan and Vicki Mabrey are correspondents. James Goldston is the executive producer. The program airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m., ET on the ABC Television Network.

(Week of October 26, 2009)

TOTAL VIEWERS A25-54(000)/ Rtg A18-49(000)/ Rtg

ABC “Nightline”         3,960,000     1,530,000/ 1.2   1,280,000/ 1.0

CBS “Late Show”         4,000,000     1,630,000/ 1.3   1,240,000/ .9

NBC “Tonight”           2,440,000     1,360,000/ 1.1   1,300,000/ 1.0

Source: NTI – A25-54, Adults 18-49 & Total Viewers – Wks. of 10/26/09 & 10/27/08 Live +SD.   STD: Live +7 (where available) & Live +SD for 9/21/09-11/1/09 & 9/22/08-11/2/08.

via NBC press release:

NBC LATE-NIGHT RATINGS RESULTS FOR THE WEEK OF OCT. 19-23

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – October 29, 2009 – Encore telecasts of NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” averaged a 0.9 rating, 4 share in adults 18-49 and 2.4 million viewers overall for the week of October 19-23.  In adults 18-34, Conan out-rated CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman” rebroadcasts and ABC’s “Nightline” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” for the week, posting a 0.8 rating in 18-34 versus “Late Show’s” 0.6, “Nightline’s” 0.6 and “Kimmel’s” 0.4.

At 12:35 a.m. ET, encore telecasts of “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” tied for #1 in 18-49 rating and delivered bigger viewer totals than CBS’s “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” rebroadcasts or ABC’s “Kimmel” in adults 18-34, adults 18-49 and all key adult-male demographics.

The median age of Conan’s audience last week was 47.5, eight years younger than Letterman’s 55.5 and more than nine years younger than “Nightline’s” 56.9.  At 12:35 a.m. ET last week, the median age of Jimmy Fallon’s audience (44.4) was seven years younger than Ferguson’s (51.8) and Kimmel’s (52.0).

At 1:35 a.m. ET, “Last Call with Carson Daly” (0.3 rating in 18-49, 0.3 in 18-34) finished within a tenth of a point of Kimmel (0.4) in the valuable adult 18-34 demo and tied Ferguson (0.3).

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