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[09/03/09 - 11:11 AM]
Conan O'Brien Dominates All Broadcast and Cable Competition in 18-49 for the Week of AuG. 24-28, Scoring His Biggest Win Over 'Late Show' Since June
NBC spins the late-night numbers for the week of August 24-28.

[via press release from NBC]

CONAN O'BRIEN DOMINATES ALL BROADCAST AND CABLE COMPETITION IN 18-49 FOR THE WEEK OF AUG. 24-28, SCORING HIS BIGGEST WIN OVER 'LATE SHOW' SINCE JUNE

CONAN BEATS LETTERMAN BY A 63 PERCENT MARGIN IN 18-49 VIEWERS, 144 PERCENT IN 18-34

'TONIGHT' TOPS CBS AND ABC FOR THE HOUR IN EVERY KEY DEMO: ADULTS, MEN AND WOMEN 18-34, 18-49 AND 25-54

CONAN HAS WON 60 OF 60 NIGHTS VS. 'LATE SHOW' IN 18-49 RATING (INCLUDING TIES)

IN THE VALUABLE 18-34 DEMO, JIMMY FALLON ENCORES OUT-DELIVER LETTERMAN ORIGINALS FOR THE WEEK, DESPITE JIMMY'S LATER START TIME

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. � September 3, 2009 � NBC's "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" has dominated all broadcast and cable competition for the week of August 24-28 in the key late-night demographic of adults 18-49, as Conan scored his biggest margin of victory over CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" since the week of June 22-26.

Conan's margin over Letterman for the week was 63 percent in 18-49 viewers, up from a 34 percent margin the last time both shows aired originals (week of July 27-31). In adult 18-34 viewers, Conan more than doubled "Late Show" last week, winning by a 144 percent margin.

Conan's 18-49 audience increased by 12 percent versus his prior week of originals (1.526 million adults 18-49 vs. 1.368 million for the week of August 10-14).

"Tonight" delivered bigger audiences in the hour than CBS's "Late Show" and ABC's combination of "Nightline" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in every key ratings demographic: adults, men and women 18-34; adults, men and women 18-49; and adults, men and women 25-54.

Conan ranked #1 versus Letterman on five of five nights for the week in adult 18-49 rating. Conan has now ranked #1 in 18-49 rating versus "Late Show" on 60 of 60 nights since his June 1 debut (including two ties, excluding the week of June 29-July 3, when "Tonight" was re-titled due to delays for Wimbledon coverage). Conan has won 12 of 12 weeks thus far in 18-49 viewers versus "Late Show" by margins each week of 20 percent or more (excludes Wimbledon week). Note that last Friday's telecasts of "Late Show" and "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" were delayed by an NFL overrun and are excluded from weekly averages.

The median age of Conan's audience last week was 46.2, more than 10 years younger than "Nightline's" 56.5 and more than 11 years younger than Letterman's 58.0.

NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" was also demographically dominant last week, delivering bigger audiences than Ferguson and Kimmel in every one of the key demographics: adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54. "Late Night" and "Late Late Show" were in rebroadcast last week. Since his March 2 debut, Jimmy Fallon has ranked #1 or tied for #1 versus Ferguson in 18-49 rating on 122 of 125 nights.

In the valuable adult 18-34 category, Jimmy Fallon encores out-delivered Letterman originals (344,000 vs. 307,000), despite Jimmy's later start time. Head-to-head versus Ferguson, Jimmy's margin was 76 percent in 18-34 viewers.

At 1:35 a.m. ET, encore telecasts of "Last Call with Carson Daly" (0.3 rating in 18-49, 0.3 in 18-34) finished within a tenth of a rating point of Ferguson and Kimmel in 18-49, and in the 18-34 demo, "Last Call" tied Ferguson and Kimmel.

For the week of August 24-28, Conan's average 1.526 million adults 18-49 topped the 935,000 of Letterman; in total viewers, Conan's audience of 2.783 million persons trailed Letterman's 3.316 million; and in adults 18-34, Conan's 750,000 out-scored Letterman's 307,000. At 12:35 a.m. ET, Jimmy Fallon's 794,000 adults 18-49 for the week out-delivered Ferguson's 570,000; in total viewers, Jimmy's 1.333 million trailed Ferguson's 1.522 million; and in adults 18-34, Jimmy's 344,000 topped Ferguson's 196,000.

WEEKLY AVERAGES

(According to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research for the week of August 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," 1.2 rating, 5 share
CBS "Late Show," 0.7/3*
ABC "Nightline," 0.9/4

12:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 0.4/2*

12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.6/3 (in encore telecasts)
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.4/3 (in encore telecasts)*

1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.3/3 (in encore telecasts)

TOTAL VIEWERS

11:35 p.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 2.8 million viewers (in encore telecasts)
CBS "Late Show," 3.3 million viewers*
ABC "Nightline," 3.5 million viewers

12:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 1.4 million viewers*

12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.3 million viewers (in encore telecasts)
CBS "Late Late Show," 1.5 million viewers (in encore telecasts)*

1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.8 million viewers (in encore telecasts)

* Monday's "Kimmel" was an encore. Friday's "Late Show" and "Late Late Show" were delayed by an NFL overrun and are excluded from these averages.

SEASON TO DATE

ADULTS 18-49

11:35 p.m. ET
NBC "Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien," 1.3/6
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," 0.8/4
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 Conan O'Brien," 3.3 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 3.7 million viewers
ABC "Nightline," 3.8 million viewers

12:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 1.6 million viewers

12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," 1.9 million viewers
CBS "Late Late Show," 1.8 million viewers

1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 1.1 million viewers

SELECTED CABLE RESULTS, WEEK OF AUGUST 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, 0.9

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," 0.9 million

Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. ET, "The Colbert Report," 0.7 million

Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 2.0 million

Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 1.2 million





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