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