To see past weeks' Late Night TV ratings information click here.
Via NBC's Press Release
JAY STRETCHES HIS TOTAL-VIEWER LEAD OVER ‘Late Show’ VS. LAST YEAR AND VS. THE MOST RECENT SWEEP IN FEBRUARY
JIMMY INCREASES HIS MARGIN OVER ‘LATE Late Show’ VS. LAST YEAR IN TOTAL VIEWERS, AS WELL AS VIEWERS 18-49, 25-54 AND 18-34
FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 21-25, JAY HITS A 10-WEEK HIGH IN 18-49 VIEWERS, JIMMY GENERATES A 14-WEEK HIGH IN TOTAL VIEWERS AND CARSON DALY DELIVERS A SIX-WEEK HIGH IN TOTAL VIEWERS
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – June 1, 2012 – NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” is #1 in its time period for the May 2012 sweep versus CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" and ABC's combination of "Nightline" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in viewers 18-49, total viewers and other key categories. At 12:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" also topped CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" and "Kimmel" head to head in 18-49 viewers, total viewers and other key categories.
In total viewers, Jay stretched his margin over CBS’s “Late Show” versus both May 2011 and the most recent sweep month, February 2012. Jimmy Fallon expanded his leads over “Late Late Show” versus May 2011 in total viewers and several key demographics.
"Tonight" increased its margin of victory over "Late Show" in total viewers to 16 percent in May 2012 (3.595 million vs. 3.104 million) from 13 percent in May 2011 and was also up versus the February 2012 margin of 15 percent. Jimmy Fallon increased his total-viewer advantage over "Late Late Show" to 15 percent in May 2012 (1.716 million vs. 1.487 million) from 2 percent in May 2011. Jimmy also delivered bigger margins over “Late Late Show” this year versus last in viewers 18-49 (to 27 percent from 14 percent in May 2011), viewers 25-54 (15 percent vs. 0.1 percent) and viewers 18-34 (50 percent vs. 24 percent).
For the May sweep, Jay delivered bigger audiences than “Late Show” in all key ratings categories: adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, plus total viewers. Jimmy Fallon also out-delivered “Late Late Show” during the sweep in all key measures.
The May sweep concluded during the week of May 21-25, during which "Tonight" delivered bigger audiences than "Late Show" and ABC's combination of "Nightline" and "Kimmel" in adults 18-49 and total viewers and Jimmy Fallon topped “Late Late Show” and “Kimmel” head to head in 18-49 viewers, total viewers and other key categories. Note that "Late Show" was in rebroadcast last Thursday and Friday and "Kimmel" was an encore on Friday.
For the May 21-25 week, Jay generated his biggest 18-49 audience (1.047 million) in 10 weeks (since March 12-16), Jimmy Fallon delivered his biggest overall viewership (1.718 million) in 14 weeks (since February 13-17) and “Last Call with Carson Daly” attracted its biggest overall audience (980,000) in six weeks (since April 9-13).
WEEKLY AVERAGES
(According to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research for the week of May 21-25. Ratings reflect "live plus same day" data from Nielsen Media Research unless otherwise noted. Season-to-date and May sweep 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.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 0.8 rating, 3 share
CBS "Late Show," 0.7/3*
11:35 p.m.-12 midnight ET
ABC "Nightline," 0.9/3
12 midnight-1 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 0.5/3*
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.5/3
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.4/2
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.3/2*
TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 3.6 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 2.8 million viewers*
11:35 p.m.-12 midnight ET
ABC "Nightline," 4.0 million viewers
12 midnight-1 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 2.0 million viewers*
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.7 million viewers
CBS "Late Late Show," 1.3 million viewers
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 1.0 million viewers*
* Thursday and Friday’s "Late Show" and Friday’s "Last Call" and "Kimmel" were encores
MAY SWEEP
ADULTS 18-49
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 0.8 rating, 3 share
CBS "Late Show," 0.7/3
11:35 p.m.-12 midnight ET
ABC "Nightline," 0.9/3
12 midnight-1 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 0.5/3
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.5/3
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.4/2
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.3/2
TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 3.6 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 3.1 million viewers
11:35 p.m.-12 midnight ET
ABC "Nightline," 3.9 million viewers
12 midnight-1 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 1.9 million viewers
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.7 million viewers
CBS "Late Late Show," 1.5 million viewers
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 1.0 million viewers
SEASON TO DATE
ADULTS 18-49
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 0.9 rating, 3 share
CBS "Late Show," 0.8/3
11:35 p.m.-12 midnight ET
ABC "Nightline," 0.9/3
12 midnight-1 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 0.5/2
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.6/3
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.5/3
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.3/2
TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 3.7 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 3.2 million viewers
11:35 p.m.-12 midnight ET
ABC "Nightline," 3.9 million viewers
12 midnight-1 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 1.8 million viewers
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.8 million viewers
CBS "Late Late Show," 1.5 million viewers
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 1.0 million viewers
?
SELECTED CABLE RESULTS, WEEK OF MAY 21-25
NATIONAL ADULT 18-49 RATING
Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m. ET, "The Daily Show," preempted
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.-midnight ET, "The Colbert Report," preempted
TBS, 11 p.m.-midnight, "Conan," 0.5**
Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 0.9
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 0.6
Each adult 18-49 rating point equals 1.28 million viewers
TOTAL VIEWERS
Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m. "The Daily Show," preempted
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.-midnight ET, "The Colbert Report," preempted
TBS, 11 p.m.-midnight, "Conan," 0.9 million**
Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 2.1 million
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 1.4 million
** Monday’s "Conan" was an encore.
“Jimmy Fallon expanded his leads over “Late Late Show” versus May 2011 in total viewers and several key demographics.” – NBC Press Release
Uh… no. Fallon hasn’t expanded at all. Late Late Show has been losing its audience while Fallon has remained consistent.
Anyone knows why the CC duo was preempted last week? I forgot to ask.
But Brad, in today’s landscape, holding steady IS advancing.
Very true JC. I wonder if Fox will offer Fallon a deal soon like they did with Conan when he was in the Late Night chair.
At first I thought this NBC Press Release about the week’s ratings is so unfair. Both Thursday’s and Friday’s “Late Show” episodes were encores. Well it would be a no-duh that Leno won the week, but he did win Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday when Letterman aired new episodes. 0.8 vs 0.6 on Tues. & Wed. and a 1.0 vs 0.5 on Monday. Ouch! Poor Letterman
Letterman on a sronger network not winning anything is embarrasing. He had full advantage in May sweeps and still lost.
(May 2012 Sweep)
PROGRAM AVERAGES TOTAL VIEWESR A25-54(000)/Rtg A18-49(000)/Rtg
ABC “Nightline” 3,882,000 1,501,000/1.2 1,176,000/0.9
CBS “Late Show” 3,104,000 1,253,000/1.0 947,000/0.7
NBC “Tonight Show” 3,595,000 1,378,000/1.1 1,051,000/0.8
(Week of May 21, 2012)
PROGRAM AVERAGES TOTAL VIEWESR A25-54(000)/Rtg A18-49(000)/Rtg
ABC “Nightline” 3,969,000 1,489,000/1.2 1,145,000/0.9
CBS “Late Show” 2,754,000 1,116,000/0.9 889,000/0.7
NBC “Tonight Show” 3,591,000 1,401,000/1.2 1,047,000/0.8
So I guess we can conclude that Letterman will not in the foreseeable future beat Leno. Time for Dave to get out and give the chair to either Stewart or Ferguson.
I completely agree. Letterman needs to leave. It is all over. Only way he can beat Jay is if he starts pulling out clips of his old bits for his final year, after the Presidential Election. I believe it will either be Stewart, Ferguson, Conan, or Kimmel that takes over The Late Show.
Brad, the gang here would probably want to note that individual overnight numbers can be pretty unreliable. But even if reruns helped last week, there’s no getting around it: Jay pretty convincingly beat Dave in the May sweeps when every episode was new and CBS 10 p.m. was crushing it. FWIW, I think the NBC PR used the concept of expanding a lead correctly.
Interesting that Jay’s ratings actually ticked higher in that post-sweeps week. Mike’s prediction of 0.6s and sub-3 million viewers for a week of new episodes by the end of June is going to require a serious implosion at a time when lead-ins are frequently better than they were in the winter. AGT rerun last night did 1.3. That’s nearly double(!) the usual NBC Thursday number.
GAR, thanks very much for those stats.
Correction, AGT did 1.5 last night at 10 p.m. Easily double the usual NBC Thursday.
Yep. And now with summer setting in he will repeat more and more than usual.
He’ll probably get an initial bump in September but it quickly seems to fade after that.
GAR, the situation seems overdue for a wildcard. A scandal, a health issue, something that turns all eyes to Dave. I don’t know if he still has the gravitas to be the force he was on 9/11, but most of the time he still has the eloquence.
Quirky stat regarding next week: even with Neil Patrick Harris on, the average age of Dave’s first guests will be 62. Close to double the age of Kimmel’s. Jay’s are around 47.
“Letterman on a stronger network not winning anything is embarrassing.” (typing errors edited)
Some people forgot Letterman won November sweeps, with a higher number than Leno’s May number.
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/12/02/cbs-late-night-hits-november-sweep-milestones-late-show-tops-tonight-show-in-adults-18-49-for-first-time-since-1994/112485/
Also there was that night he came back after the heart attack.
According to GAR’s sweeps I would say the half-hour breakdown from last to first is…
CBS: 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.3
ABC: 0.9 0.7 0.5 ~
NBC: 0.9 0.7 0.6 0.4
Yeah, the old heart attack trick… everything is valid, right?
@Brad: I agree that Letterman is done. For YEARS now, he has ‘phoned it in’ and made little effort to make comedy bits himself, like he did when he was doing NBC’s “Late Night.” But, alas, Dave just re-upped for another two years. Ferguson, who I believe will inherit Letterman’s chair***, also signed a new contract, promising him a larger studio at CBS’s “Television City” in L.A., as well as getting his own band.
*** I also believed that CBS would keep “Unforgettable” on for at least another year. So, don’t place any bets on my predictions. :-/
If anybody has been watching Ferguson’s show with some consistency, he keeps mentioning his love for New York. In the 5/30/12 episode, when he was talking to the adorable, Tony Award winning Broadway star Sutton Foster (who I now have a crush on), they talked about New York. He said “I love New York City but I can’t get away from it. I have to be here in the basement with a skeleton doing the crappy show. That’s what I got to do.” Seems like someone would be totally willing to move back to NYC and take over Ed Sullivan Theater once Letterman is gone. Everyone else like Kimmel and Conan seem set in L.A.
PS: I also learned Ferguson’s first talk show appearance was with Leno.
Looking at these numbers, I think Mike is right, or at least close. The numbers are sinking…and NBC is looking squarely at another potentially disastrous season.
Letterman’s numbers are baffling…but supposedly he is still making tens of millions for CBS…that’s what matters to CBS.
Wonder if el-chino is making or losing money for NBC now.
Jay in Indian garments: awesome PR move.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-05-30/news-interviews/31899160_1_jay-leno-golden-temple-desi