NBC’s late-night lineup has delivered May-sweep victories over all cable and broadcast competition, with “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” out-delivering CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman” and ABC’s combination of “Nightline” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” for the month in all key ratings categories: adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, as well as total viewers. At 12:35 a.m. ET, “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” generated bigger audiences than CBS’s “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” in adults 18-49 and other key categories.
For the May sweep, “Tonight” won the 11:35 p.m. ET hour by an 18 percent margin over “Late Show” in both adult 18-49 viewers and total viewers and by a 23 percent margin in adult 18-34 viewers. At 12:35 a.m. ET, “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” topped “Late Late Show” for the sweep by margins of 10 percent in 18-49 viewers and 28 percent in 18-34 viewers.
The May sweep, which extended from April 29 to May 26, concluded during the week of May 24-28, which Jay took over “Late Show” by a margin of 12 percent in 18-49 viewers (1.316 million vs. 1.175 million) and 13 percent in 18-34 viewers (479,000 vs. 424,000). Note that “Late Show” was in rebroadcast on Thursday and Friday of last week. At 12:35 a.m. ET, Jimmy Fallon out-delivered “Late Late Show” for the week by 13 percent in 18-49 viewers (764,000 vs. 678,000) and 8 percent in 18-34 viewers (282,000 vs. 261,000).
To date, Jay Leno has ranked #1 in adult 18-49 rating on 61 of 65 nights versus “Late Show” (including ties), since returning as host of “Tonight” on March 1. In total viewers, Jay has ranked #1 on 62 of 65 nights.
For the May sweep, Jay’s average 1.452 million adults 18-49 outscored Letterman’s 1.229 million; in total viewers, Jay’s audience of 4.102 million persons beat Letterman’s 3.479 million; and in adults 18-34, Jay’s 536,000 topped Letterman’s 436,000. At 12:35 a.m. ET, Jimmy Fallon’s 836,000 adults 18-49 for the May sweep topped Ferguson’s 761,000; in total viewers, Jimmy’s 1.688 million trailed Ferguson’s 1.788 million; and in adults 18-34, Jimmy’s 364,000 out-delivered Ferguson’s 285,000.
WEEKLY AVERAGES
(According to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research for the week of May 24-28. 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,” 0.9/4*
ABC “Nightline,” 1.1/5*
12:05 a.m. ET
ABC “Kimmel,” 0.6/3*
12:35 a.m. ET
NBC “Late Night,” 0.6/3
CBS “Late Late Show,” 0.5/3
1:35 a.m. ET
NBC “Last Call,” 0.3/3*
TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m. ET
NBC “Tonight,” 3.9 million viewers
CBS “Late Show,” 3.3 million viewers*
ABC “Nightline,” 4.4 million viewers*
12:05 a.m. ET
ABC “Kimmel,” 2.1 million viewers*
12:35 a.m. ET
NBC “Late Night,” 1.6 million viewers
CBS “Late Late Show,” 1.7 million viewers
1:35 a.m. ET
NBC “Last Call,” 0.9 million viewers*
* The Monday “Last Call” and Thursday and Friday “Late Shows” were encores. The Wednesday “Nightline” and Wednesday and Friday “Kimmels” were re-titled and excluded from these averages.
MAY SWEEP
ADULTS 18-49
11:35 p.m. ET
NBC “Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” 1.1/5
CBS “Late Show,” 0.9/4
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,” 0.6/4
CBS “Late Late Show,” 0.6/3
1:35 a.m. ET
NBC “Last Call,” 0.4/3
TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m. ET
NBC “Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” 4.1 million viewers
CBS “Late Show,” 3.5 million viewers
ABC “Nightline,” 3.8 million viewers
12:05 a.m. ET
ABC “Kimmel,” 1.8 million viewers
12:35 a.m. ET
NBC “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” 1.7 million viewers
CBS “Late Late Show,” 1.8 million viewers
1:35 a.m. ET
NBC “Last Call,” 0.9 million viewers
SEASON TO DATE
ADULTS 18-49
11:35 p.m. ET
NBC “Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” 1.2/5
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,” 0.6/4
CBS “Late Late Show,” 0.6/3
1:35 a.m. ET
NBC “Last Call,” 0.4/3
TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m. ET
NBC “Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” 4.4 million viewers
CBS “Late Show,” 3.9 million viewers
ABC “Nightline,” 3.8 million viewers
12:05 a.m. ET
ABC “Kimmel,” 1.7 million viewers
12:35 a.m. ET
NBC “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” 1.6 million viewers
CBS “Late Late Show,” 1.9 million viewers
1:35 a.m. ET
NBC “Last Call,” 0.9 million viewers
SELECTED CABLE RESULTS, WEEK OF MAY 24-28
NATIONAL ADULT 18-49 RATING
Comedy Central, 11 p.m. ET, “The Daily Show,” 0.4
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. ET, “The Colbert Report,” 0.3
Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 0.8
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,” 0.8 million
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. ET, “The Colbert Report,” 0.6 million
Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 1.9 million
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 1.2 million
(source: NBC)
