via press release:
Conan O'BRIEN AND JIMMY FALLON TOP ALL CABLE AND BROADCAST TIME-PERIOD COMPETITION IN 18-49 VIEWERS FOR THE WEEK OF JAN. 4-8
Conan HAS RANKED #1 OR TIED FOR #1 AMONG BROADCAST NETWORKS IN 18-49 RATING FOR NINE OF THE LAST 11 WEEKS
JIMMY FALLON DELIVERS HIS HIGHEST TOTAL-VIEWER RESULT IN 16 WEEKS
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - January 14, 2010 - NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien” has topped all broadcast and cable competition in the key late-night demographic of adults 18-49 for the week of January 4-8. At 12:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" also delivered bigger 18-49 audiences than any cable or broadcast competition in the time period.
Last week also saw Conan deliver bigger audiences than CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" and the ABC lineup of “Nightline” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in adults, men and women 18-34, men 18-49 and men 25-54. Jimmy Fallon out-delivered CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" and "Kimmel" in adults, men and women 18-34; men and women 18-49; and adults and men 25-54.
Conan has finished #1 or tied for #1 among broadcast networks in adult 18-49 rating for nine of the last 11 weeks and Jimmy has been #1 or tied for #1 seven of the last nine weeks.
In total viewers, "Late Night" delivered its biggest audience in 16 weeks (since the week of September 14-20).
The median age of Conan’s audience last week was 45.6, nine years younger than Nightline's" 55.0 and 11 years younger than Letterman’s 57.3. At 12:35 a.m. ET last week, the median age of Jimmy Fallon's audience (43.3) was eight years younger than Kimmel’s (51.4) and 10 years younger than Ferguson’s (53.5).
WEEKLY AVERAGES
(According to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research for the week of January 4-8. Ratings reflect "live plus same day" data unless otherwise noted. Season-to-date figures are averages of "live plus seven day" data except for the two most recent weeks, which are "live plus same day.")
ADULTS 18-49
11:35 p.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 1.0 rating, 4 share
CBS "Late Show," 0.9/3
ABC "Nightline," 1.0/4
12:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 0.5/3*
12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.6/4
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.5/3
1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.3/2 (in encore telecasts)
TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 2.5 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 4.0 million viewers
ABC "Nightline," 3.7 million viewers
12:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 1.7 million viewers*
12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.5 million viewers
CBS "Late Late Show," 1.8 million viewers
1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.8 million viewers (in encore telecasts)
* Monday's "Kimmel" was an encore.
SEASON TO DATE
ADULTS 18-49
11:35 p.m. ET
NBC "Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien," 1.0/4 CBS "Late Show," 1.0/4 ABC "Nightline," 1.0/4
12:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 0.5/3
12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," 0.6/3 CBS "Late Late Show," 0.6/3
1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.3/2
TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m. ET
NBC "Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien," 2.5 million viewers CBS "Late Show," 4.2 million viewers ABC "Nightline," 4.0 million viewers
12:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 1.7 million viewers
12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," 1.4 million viewers CBS "Late Late Show," 1.9 million viewers
1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.8 million viewers
SELECTED CABLE RESULTS, WEEK OF JANUARY 4-8
NATIONAL ADULT 18-49 RATING
Comedy Central, 11 p.m. ET, "The Daily Show," 0.6 Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. ET, "The Colbert Report," 0.5
Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 0.9 Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 0.5
Each adult 18-49 rating point equals 1.32 million viewers
TOTAL VIEWERS
Comedy Central, 11 p.m. ET, "The Daily Show," 1.3 million Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. ET, "The Colbert Report," 1.0 million
Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 1.9 million Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 1.1 million
These numbers serve as a good reminder for why Coco is going bye-bye real soon….
Isn’t the 18-49 demo the important number?
Except the 57 year old demo that watched Letterman doesn’t buy anything. It’s the 18-34′s that matter. Conan has always been competitive in those and if you could get rid of the albatross that is Leno, he’d likely rise even more.
Meanwhile Leno’s 10PM show continues to sink lower and lower. Only NBC would think taking a guy on the rise and replacing him with a guy sinking would be a good idea. Especially when popular opinion all over the country is with Conan.
The backlash on Leno is going to be catastrophic. Letterman will keep his grab of the old people because even the old people realize Leno’s a dick.
Only NBC would put out a PR saying how awesome Conan is after they already fired him.
What dumbasses. I hope the top of NBC gets what is coming to them.
“Except the 57 year old demo that watched Letterman doesn’t buy anything.”
I thought the deal with the 57+year-old demo is that they watch so much TV it’s like shooting fish in a barrel. You can get their eyeballs anytime so there’s no premium.
It looks like conan is keeping up with the competion in the demos meanwhile Jay’s show was getting it’s ass kicked by repeats. Yeah it totally makes since why there keeping jay
If the 18-49 demo is close, when you factor in an additional 1.5 million viewers, Letterman wins by a mile. Also, the 18-34 demo may be nice, but it is rather tiny, and these days, a good portion of those people are losers still living at home with their parents who don’t any to spend anyhow. Any way you look at it, to date Conan has failed – which is not to say that he was given enough time and that Leno and NBC aren’t being royal dicks about the whole thing.
This is very bad judgement on NBC’s part. Why would you pick Jay over Coco. For starters if Jay stays he will only be around for a couple more years, Coco could be around for 20 plus. Plus if you keep Jay your going to make it hard to get a replacement for him because no one will trust the company. Also Jay is not that funny. I have watched jay for years, but only watched because I did not care that much for Letterman. Conan is way funnier than jay is or ever will be. Plus conan has a valid point. You put him in the late night show and had nothing for viewers to watch before his show. all the shows that were any good ended at 10:00. When jay had the tonight show you had decent shows for people to watch before his show.
I know NBC knows nothing about programming, but do they seriously know nothing about PR either? They keep digging themselves deeper and deeper…a press release praising the guy they’re threatening to fire and keep off the air for three years? I can’t think of any way they could have been more boneheaded about this entire thing. I’ve always loved and rooted for NBC, but come on! They’re just coming off as evil.
That’s the point I’m trying to make. Conan has like 20 years left in him. Leno has like 5 MAX.
- Conan never asked directly for the Tonight Show, when his contract was up, he said he was recieving offers to do shows at 11.30 and that’s when NBC said You got the Tonight Show (with Jay’s approval)
- Leno is bombing way more than Conan. Why does conan get the axe?
- Conan doesn’t want to affect Carson Daly and Jimmy Fallon. Nice gesture.
- All latenighters are bashing NBC and Leno, not Conan.
- We know what Leno did with Letterman.
- Conan speaks on the legacy of the Tonight Show, and what it’s about etc etc.
- Leno in all this keeps his mouth shut.
In Canada I watched Letterman over Leno always(except reruns) and I always watched Conan. Here in Spain i only get NBC, and I watched Leno and Conan. Leno I don’t mind, but if NBC Europe goes back to Leno cuzo f NBC’s decisión, I am not watching it.
Prediction: We all know how much Conan appreciates and respects Letterman. Letterman helped Conan out with Late Night at the beginning by appearing. Conan never made fun of Letterman’s romances on the Tonight Show, nor made fun of Letterman. Letterman is bashing NBC and Leno, and not really bashing Conan. My wacky prediction will be, Jon Stewart (rumors) does not get Late Show and Letterman gives it to Conan.
Fluteloop, Your prediction is ridiculous on so many counts. Trust me. Craig Ferguson will take over for Letterman in 2012. By that time, Conan O’Brien will just be the answer to a trivia question.
“- Leno is bombing way more than Conan. Why does conan get the axe?”
Because Leno is a proven champ in the late night ratings, while Conan is a proven failure (harsh words, but I’m being realistic). Conan made a very good point, a late night talk show host needs time to build an audience. However on the other hand, Conan has had 17 years to build an audience, and Letterman made a much smoother transition to 11:30 with only 11 years. I like Conan, and I have faith in him to put on a better show on FOX than he has on The Tonight Show, but he’ll never beat Letterman or Leno consistently.
That doesn’t mean NBC’s making the right decision though. Leno’s inevitably retiring soon (my estimate is five years), and they’re going to need SOMEONE to take The Tonight Show. Who are they going to go to though, neophyte Jimmy Fallon? Jon Stewart will be in his 50s by then, and we still don’t know how he’ll fare on network TV. They could pick someone who’s had no experience hosting a late night talk show, and hasn’t built an audience yet, but that seems like a move destined to fail.
Anyway, Conan’s not taking over for Letterman. Letterman’s contracted to 2012, and he definitely wants to reach his 30th anniversary. Conan won’t wait that long for a show, and if he does he’ll have put himself out of contention for a show. Ferguson has made incredible leaps in popularity and he’s a shoe-in to get the job, if he wants it.
I am a GE investor. I think GE should dump Jeff Immelt and NBC Zucker and put Conan CEO of GE and let him run NBC. He knows more than both those bozos. How stupid can you get moving the tonight show franchise to 1100 each nite. Conan is right. You would kill what franchise you had left. Immelt and Zucker are killing GE and NBC. Its not too late to put Conan in charge