Nightline Bests Tonight Show Among Total Viewers For The First Time Since 1995 For A February Sweep

via press release:

“Nightline” BESTS “Tonight Show” AMONG TOTAL VIEWERS FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1995 FOR A FEBRUARY SWEEP

“Nightline” INCREASES ITS LEAD OVER “LETTERMAN” BY +43% AMONG A18-49 VERSUS NOVEMBER 2009 SWEEP

“Nightline” TIES CBS AND NBC FOR FIRST PLACE IN A25-54 RATING FOR FEBRUARY SWEEP

ABC News “Nightline” placed second among Adults 25-54, Adults 18-49, and Total Viewers, for the just completed February sweep, according to Nielsen Media Research. Additionally, “Nightline” tied CBS and NBC for first in the A25-54 rating (1.3). This marks the first time “Nightline” outperformed “The Tonight Show” among Total Viewers for a February sweep since 1995. “Nightline” also posted its best A25-54 demo delivery for a sweep since November 2008. Among A18-49, “Nightline” increased its lead over CBS by +43% versus the November sweep. *Note: for the February Sweep “The Tonight Show” is based on 9 telecasts due to the Olympics, while “Letterman” is based on 20 and “Nightline” on 18.

For the week of March 1, 2010, “Nightline” placed second among Adults 18-49 and tied “Letterman” in the A18-49 rating (1.0).Week to week, “Nightline” increased + 11% among Total Viewers, +13% among A25-54 and +15% among A18-49. Season to date, “Nightline” continues to rank second among Total Viewers (3.89 million) and is tied for second among Adults 18-49 (1.32 million / 1.0 rating) and Adults 25-54 (1.58 million/ 1.3 rating).

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 March 1, 2010)

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

ABC “Nightline”         3,610,000     1,610,000/ 1.3      1,330,000/1.0

CBS “Late Show”         3,660,000     1,680,000/ 1.3 1,300,000/1.0

NBC “Tonight”           5,580,000     2,310,000/ 1.9      1,950,000/1.5

February Sweep 2010*

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

ABC “Nightline”         3,680,000     1,640,000/ 1.3      1,360,000/1.0

CBS “Late Show”         3,850,000     1,650,000/ 1.3 1,260,000/1.0

NBC “Tonight”           3,400,000     1,650,000/ 1.3      1,450,000/1.1

*Please note that due to the Olympic preemptions, “The Tonight Show” is based on 9 telecasts, while “Nightline” is based on 18 and “Letterman” on 20.

Source: - The Nielsen Company NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live +SD for weeks 3/1/10 & 2/22/10.  STD Live +7 (where available) & Live +SD for 9/21/09-3/7/10.  February 2010 Sweep Live +7 (where available) & Live +SD for 2/4/10-3/3/10.  November 2009 Sweep 10/29/09-11/25/09