NBC’s late-night lineup has delivered #1 finishes for first quarter of 2011, as “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” won its hour over 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 out-delivered CBS’s “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” and ABC’s ” Kimmel” for the first quarter in viewers 18-49, total viewers and other key categories.
“Tonight” delivered bigger audiences than “Late Show” for the first quarter in every key ratings category: adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, plus total viewers.
Jimmy Fallon out-delivered “Late Late Show” for the first quarter in adults, men and women 18-34; adults, men and women 18-49; adults and women 25-54; and total viewers.
Through the quarter, Jay ranked #1 versus “Late Show” for 12 of 13 weeks in adult 18-49 viewers and 13 of 13 weeks in total viewers, while Jimmy Fallon finished #1 every week versus “Late Late Show” in 18-49 viewers and led 11 of 13 in total viewers.
At 1:35 a.m. ET, “Last Call with Carson Daly” was up for the first quarter versus one year ago by 5 percent in 18-49 viewers (505,000 vs. 479,000) and up 16 percent in total viewers (1.015 million vs. 875,000).
Jay and Jimmy concluded their victorious first quarters with strong results for the closing week of the quarter, March 21-25, as both “Tonight” and “Late Night” delivered their biggest 18-49 audiences in seven weeks (since the week of January 31-February 4). Jay averaged 1.309 million adults 18-49 for the week and Jimmy generated 859,000 adults 18-49. In total viewers, Jay’s 3.995 million for the week was his highest in six weeks (since February 7-11).
Versus the first 27 weeks of last season, “Tonight” is up by 27 percent in total viewers (3.881 million vs. 3.055 million), while “Late Show” is down 12 percent (3.593 million vs. 4.089 million). At 12:35 a.m. ET, Jimmy Fallon is up 17 percent versus his year-ago pace in total viewers (1.776 million vs. 1.520 million), while “Late Late Show” is down 8 percent (1.768 million vs. 1.927 million).
WEEKLY AVERAGES
(According to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research for the week of March 21-25. Ratings reflect “live plus same day” data from Nielsen Media Research unless otherwise noted. First quarter and 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.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC “Tonight,” 1.0 rating, 4 share
CBS “Late Show,” 0.9/4*
11:35 p.m.-12:05 a.m. ET
ABC “Nightline,” 1.0/4
12:05-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC “Kimmel,” 0.6/3*
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC “Late Night,” 0.7/4
CBS “Late Late Show,” 0.6/3 (in encore telecasts)*
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC “Last Call,” 0.4/3*
TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC “Tonight,” 4.0 million viewers
CBS “Late Show,” 3.4 million viewers*
11:35 p.m.-12:05 a.m. ET
ABC “Nightline,” 4.3 million viewers
12:05-1:05 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,” 1.6 million viewers (in encore telecasts)*
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC “Last Call,” 1.0 million viewers*
CBS’s Thursday and Friday telecasts are excluded from these averages due to NCAA Basketball overruns. Monday’s “Last Call” and Friday’s “Kimmel” were encores.
FIRST QUARTER 2011
ADULTS 18-49
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC “Tonight,” 1.0 rating, 4 share
CBS “Late Show,” 0.9/4
11:35 p.m.-12:05 a.m. ET
ABC “Nightline,” 1.0/4
12:05-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC “Kimmel,” 0.5/3
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,” 0.4/3
TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC “Tonight,” 3.9 million viewers
CBS “Late Show,” 3.6 million viewers
11:35 p.m.-12:05 a.m. ET
ABC “Nightline,” 4.0 million viewers
12:05-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC “Kimmel,” 1.7 million viewers
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC “Late Night,” 1.8 million viewers
CBS “Late Late Show,” 1.7 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,” 1.0 rating, 4 share
CBS “Late Show,” 0.9/4
11:35 p.m.-12:05 a.m. ET
ABC “Nightline,” 1.0/4
12:05-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC “Kimmel,” 0.5/3
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,” 0.4/3
TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC “Tonight,” 3.9 million viewers
CBS “Late Show,” 3.6 million viewers
11:35 p.m.-12:05 a.m. ET
ABC “Nightline,” 4.0 million viewers
12:05-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC “Kimmel,” 1.7 million viewers
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC “Late Night,” 1.8 million viewers
CBS “Late Late Show,” 1.8 million viewers
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC “Last Call,” 1.0 million viewers
SELECTED CABLE RESULTS, WEEK OF MARCH 21-25:
NATIONAL ADULT 18-49 RATING
Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m. ET, “The Daily Show,” 0.7
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.-midnight ET, “The Colbert Report,” 0.6
TBS, 11 p.m.-midnight, “Conan,” 0.5**
TBS, midnight-1 a.m., “Lopez Tonight,” 0.3**
Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 1.0
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 0.6
Each adult 18-49 rating point equals 1.31 million viewers
TOTAL VIEWERS
Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m. “The Daily Show,” 1.8 million
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.-midnight ET, “The Colbert Report,” 1.2 million
TBS, 11 p.m.-midnight, “Conan,” 1.0 million**
TBS, midnight-1 a.m., “Lopez Tonight,” 0.5 million**
Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 2.2 million
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 1.3 million
**TBS shows were preempted on Thursday.
(source: NBC)
