NBC's TONIGHT SHOW Outperforms ABC, CBS Timeslot Competition

"The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" has dominated the late-night week of Dec. 8-12, beating ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" all five nights in both adults 18-49 and total viewers.

"The Tonight Show" also delivered bigger audiences than both rival shows in every key ratings category - adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, plus total viewers.

Fallon's 1.03 rating in 18-49 for the week generated an +81% advantage over Kimmel (0.57) and an +87% margin over Letterman (0.55). Note that "Kimmel" was in rebroadcast on Friday.

At 12:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Seth Meyers" matched the 18-49 rating of Letterman (0.55 each), despite starting an hour later. Meyers topped Letterman for the week in men 18-49 and adults, men and women 18-34.

In the 12:35 a.m. ET hour, Meyers outscored CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" in every key ratings measure and also topped ABC's "Nightline" in their head-to-head half-hour from 12:30-1 a.m. in all key categories.

WEEKLY AVERAGES
(According to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research for the week of Dec. 8-12. Ratings reflect "live plus same day" data from Nielsen Media Research 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.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight" 1.03 rating, 5 share
CBS "Late Show," 0.55/3
ABC "Kimmel," 0.57/3 *

12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 0.35/2

12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.55/3 *
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.38/2

1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.34/3 *

TOTAL VIEWERS

11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 3.707 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 2.837 million viewers
ABC "Kimmel," 2.577 million viewers *

12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 1.659 million viewers

12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.657 million viewers *
CBS "Late Late Show," 1.572 million viewers

1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.937 million viewers *

* Friday's "Kimmel," "Late Show" and "Last Call" were encores.

SEASON AVERAGES

ADULTS 18-49

11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 1.15 rating, 5 share
CBS "Late Show," 0.51/2
ABC "Kimmel," 0.66/3

12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 0.41/3

12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.51/3
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.34/2

1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.31/3

TOTAL VIEWERS

11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 3.979 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 2.714 million viewers
ABC "Kimmel," 2.801 million viewers

12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 1.704 million viewers

12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.578 million viewers
CBS "Late Late Show," 1.423 million viewers

1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.886 million viewers

SELECTED CABLE RESULTS, WEEK DEC. 8-12

NATIONAL ADULT 18-49 RATING

Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m. ET, "The Daily Show," 0.59
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.-midnight ET, "The Colbert Report," 0.54

TBS, 11 p.m.-midnight, "Conan," 0.32

Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 0.89
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 0.65

Each adult 18-49 rating point equals 1.27 million viewers.

TOTAL VIEWERS
Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m. "The Daily Show," 1.461 million
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.-midnight ET, "The Colbert Report," 1.300 million

TBS, 11 p.m.-midnight, "Conan," 0.710 million

Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 2.000 million viewers
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET

To post a comment, you must register and login.