Last night's Tonight Show saw nearly a 42% gain in adults 18-49 versus Monday night's show. Conan's 1.7 adults 18-49 rating in local People Meter markets dominated the .9 18-49 rating for David Letterman's Late Show. On Monday, Tonight Show averaged a 1.2 18-49 rating in those same local people meter markets.
Week over week, Leno didn't see any boost as a result. The Jay Leno Show was down from last Tuesday, but its lead-in, The Biggest Loser was also down big (30%) versus last week.
Yay! Conan rocks!
So the question is – why wasn’t Conan able to draw these kind of numbers before? Where was “Team Conan” back when he was struggling a few weeks ago with barely a 1 demo?
I guess the only way he is able to garner good numbers is through the biggest controversy to strike late night in over 15 years….
If you remember, Anonymous (if that is your real name), Jay’s show didn’t become a smash until he coincidentally had Hugh Grant booked right after his major prostitute scandal.
As for the whereabouts of “Team Conan”, well, the answer could be any of the following: the internet, TiVo, without Nielsen boxes, not aware of NBC’s impatience, tired after watching an hour of late night comedy already, decided to switch the channel to other news and late night earlier because of Jay’s Show, or simply waiting for the Tonight Show to find its footing with the new host.
I think Leno’s impact on TONIGHT is being discounted.
You’ve got two shows that are very similar – and I think Leno’s presence at 10 is eating into Conan’s numbers.
Could someone look up the difference in Conan’s number the week before Leno debited compared to now?
what did Kimmel get last nite? he was amazing as “Leno”
didn’t see any numbers other than NBC and CBS, sorry.
I think NBC is really between a rock and a hard place now. Conan is getting all the good PR, and Leno is being vilified almost as much as NBC itself. If Conan leaves and Leno tanks at 11:30, then NBC will endure more bad press much to the delight of its detractors (who are growing in ranks by the second).
Conan’s show has been really great lately. I can imagine that many people tuned in because of the huge news and are sticking around because they like what they see. If Conan can keep a 1.2, I’m sure he’d do better than leno would, because I think many people are blaming Leno for what is happening to Conan, even though that isn’t fair.
But all in all, I’m really glad that the fucktards at NBC get their asses kicked.
not a leno fan, but the fact that he held the same as last week with a smaller leadin shows a possible interest due to controversy
ron, he didn’t hold the same, he went down by ~13% (though his leadin was down ~30%ish) It could certainly be that it would’ve been worse without all the hubbub, there’s no way to know for sure.
THis is very ironic. Conan’s speech is now widespread news and he has the sympathy card. Also if his ratings stay this way, there is almost no way NBC can justify giving the show to Leno again. They will definitely lose Conan (it seems clear that even doubling Conan’s salary won’t change his position). 5-10 years of Jay to lose the next 10-20 years after that? They have noone to take over after Leno retires. Fallon is nowhere near mature enough or consistent enough to take over the slot.
it was obviously due to all the chuck fans watching…
XD
The ratings increase isn’t due to Conan. It is all about the Chuck appearance…duh.
jinx…Dan
I think Conan is at a disadvantage because of having the younger audience. I’ve seen at least 80% of the Tonight Show episodes since he started (some I didn’t bother with because I disliked the guests) but most of those were watched on DVR. Right now I have about 10 episodes left to watch because I was really busy during the holidays. And I know a lot of avid Conan fans do something similar. (In comparison, I watched maybe 10 total Tonight Show episodes when Leno was hosting and that was only because of the guests he had on). The problem with that is, even though we’re strong supporters of Conan, it doesn’t help with ratings if we can’t watch it live or soon thereafter. So I think Conan’s jump in ratings is due to those of us who save him for later watching the show live in support. I know that was the case for me last night, and will be as much as possible until a final decision is made by NBC.
Petrie, beat you to it! (just barley)
i think more so the Brokaw fans coming out in full force
Plus comparing ratings from 2010 and 1993 is just silly. Don’t we call that the Gunsmoke Rule on here? Of course Conan has a smaller audience it’s 2010.
Plus the biggest impact on Conan’s audience is a weaker prime time. When Leno was #1, so was NBC. Millions of people watched his promos and tuned in. He had a huge lead in and NBC local news stations were number 1.
Now things are the opposite for Conan. He’s got the weakest NBC prime time schedule in decades, local news that’s struggling themselves, and he’s only 7 months in (as opposed to Lenos 18 month grace period on the Tonight Show.)
I think this is the last thing NBC needed right now. Good numbers on a single night because of a controversy is nothing to be happy about. I think the mistake was made when they allowed Leno to bully his way back in to the schedule and basically do the same show (sans desk) and undercut the Tonight Show as a result. They should have respectfully declined and given a few more shows a chance to survive with the extra 5 hours or programming time. Hopefully it all gets resolved.
What the hell is NBC’s plan when Leno retires in five years?