“The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” has won the week of March 29-April 2 in adults 18-49 and total viewers over all cable and broadcast competition, delivering bigger audiences than CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman” and ABC’s combination of “Nightline” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in every key ratings category: adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, as well as total viewers. Last week’s NBC late-night telecasts on Friday were re-titled due to the Good Friday holiday and are excluded from these averages.
At 12:35 a.m. ET, “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” won the hour over CBS’s “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” in adults 18-49 and also delivered bigger audiences among adults 18-34, men 18-34, women 18-34, women 18-49, adults 25-54 and women 25-54.
“Tonight” won the week over “Late Show” by a margin of 25 percent in 18-49 viewers, 32 percent in total viewers and 39 percent in adults 18-34. Jay delivered his biggest total-viewer and 18-34 margins over “Late Show” in four weeks and matched his highest 18-49 margin in four weeks.
To date, Jay Leno has ranked #1 in adult 18-49 rating on 23 of 25 nights versus “Late Show,” including a tie, since returning as host of “Tonight” on March 1. In total viewers, Jay has ranked #1 on 25 of 25 nights.
For the week of March 29-April 2, Jay’s average 1.430 million adults 18-49 outscored Letterman’s 1.145; in total viewers, Jay’s audience of 4.197 million persons beat Letterman’s 3.191 million; and in adults 18-34, Jay’s 536,000 topped Letterman’s 386,000. At 12:35 a.m. ET, Jimmy Fallon’s 753,000 adults 18-49 for the week topped Ferguson’s 685,000; in total viewers, Jimmy’s 1.554 million trailed Ferguson’s 1.667 million; and in adults 18-34, Jimmy’s 322,000 out-delivered Ferguson’s 278,000.
WEEKLY AVERAGES
(According to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research for the week of March 29-April 2. 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,” 1.1 rating, 5 share*
CBS “Late Show,” 0.9/4
ABC “Nightline,” 0.9/4
12:05 a.m. ET
ABC “Kimmel,” 0.5/2*
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,” 0.4/3*
TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m. ET
NBC “Tonight,” 4.2 million viewers*
CBS “Late Show,” 3.2 million viewers
ABC “Nightline,” 3.7 million viewers
12:05 a.m. ET
ABC “Kimmel,” 1.6 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*
* Monday’s “Last Call” and Friday’s “Kimmel” were encores. Friday NBC telecasts were re-titled due to the Good Friday holiday and are excluded from these averages.
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,” 0.4/2
TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m. ET
NBC “Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” 4.8 million viewers
CBS “Late Show,” 4.1 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,” 1.5 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 MARCH 29 – APRIL 2
NATIONAL ADULT 18-49 RATING
Comedy Central, 11 p.m. ET, “The Daily Show,” 0.7
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. ET, “The Colbert Report,” 0.6
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,” 1.6 million
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. ET, “The Colbert Report,” 1.2 million
Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 2.2 million
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 1.2 million
(source: NBC)
