or


[01/04/10 - 11:07 AM]
Late Show with David Letterman Posts Largest Fourth Quarter Margin of Victory Over "The Tonight Show"
CBS spins the late-night numbers for the fourth quarter of 2009.
[via press release from CBS]

"LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN" POSTS LARGEST FOURTH QUARTER MARGIN OF VICTORY OVER "THE TONIGHT SHOW"

"The Late Late Show" Delivers Largest Fourth Quarter Audience Since 2006 and First Win Over "Late Night" in Viewers and Adults 25-54

CBS's LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN scored its largest fourth quarter margin of victory over "The Tonight Show," while THE LATE LATE SHOW delivered its largest fourth quarter audience ever, according to Nielsen live plus same day ratings through the week ending Dec. 25.

Season-to-date and in the fourth quarter of 2009, LATE SHOW is averaging 3.0/08 in households, 4.22 million viewers, 1.4/06 in adults 25-54 and 1.0/04 in adults 18-49.

LATE SHOW improved its competitive position against "The Tonight Show" compared to a year ago. CBS leads NBC by +67% in households this season (3.0/08 vs. 1.8/05) compared to trailing by -20% last year (2.8/07 vs. 3.5/09). In viewers, LATE SHOW has a +65% advantage (4.22m vs. 2.55m) compared to trailing by -20% last year (4.00m vs. 5.03m). In adults 25-54, LATE SHOW enjoys a +17% advantage in 2009 (1.4/06 vs. 1.2/05) compared to -18% in 2008 (1.4/06 from 1.7/07). In adults 18-49 season-to-date, LATE SHOW and "Tonight" are tied (1.0/04, each) compared to 2008 when LATE SHOW trailed by -15% (1.1/05 vs. 1.3/05).

LATE SHOW posted its largest fourth Quarter margin of victory ever over "The Tonight Show" in both households (+1.2 rating pts) and viewers (+1.67m), its largest margin of victory in adults 25-54 since 1994 and was in its most competitive position in adults 18-49 since 1994.

Season-to-date and in the fourth quarter of 2009, LATE LATE SHOW is averaging 1.4/05 in households, 1.95 million viewers, 0.8/04 in adults 25-54, 0.6/04 in adults 18-49 and 0.4/03 in adults 18-34. This is LATE LATE SHOW's largest fourth quarter audience since 2006.

LATE LATE SHOW improved its season-to-date and fourth quarter 2009 competitive position against "Late Night" compared to last year. CBS leads NBC by +40% in households this season (1.4/05 vs. 1.0/04) compared to trailing by -7% last season (1.4/05 vs. 1.5/05, with Conan O'Brien hosting). LATE LATE SHOW has a +39% advantage in viewers (1.95m vs. 1.40m) compared to trailing by -4% last year (1.91m vs. 1.98m). In adults 25-54, LATE SHOW leads "Late Night" by +14% (0.8/04 vs. 0.7/04) compared to being tied last year (0.8/04 vs. 0.8/05). In adults 18-49, LATE LATE SHOW and "Late Night" are tied (0.6/04 vs. 0.6/03). CBS trailed NBC by -25% in adults 18-49 (0.6/03 vs. 0.8/04).

LATE LATE SHOW posted its first-ever fourth quarter victory over "Late Night" in households (+0.4 rating pts), viewers (+550,000) and adults 25-54 (+0.1) and was in its most competitive position in adults 18-49 (tied) ever.





  [january 2010]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
     


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)




most recent ratings | view all posts
[06/03/26 - 11:01 AM]
"Saturday Night Live" Season 51 Was #1 Among All Broadcast Comedy Series in the 18-49 Demo and #2 Among All Entertainment Series
The most-watched telecast of the season across all platforms was 10.1 million viewers on December 20 with host Ariana Grande and musical guest Cher.
[06/03/26 - 07:00 AM]
Fans Power UFL on ESPN to Significant Viewership Growth Across 10-Week Regular Season
ABC alone accounted for eight of the top 10 most-watched games.
[06/03/26 - 06:00 AM]
TNT Sports Caps Its Most Watched NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs with Its Most Watched Conference Final Ever
The record-setting series helped propel TNT Sports' overall coverage of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs to an average of 1.4 million viewers across TNT, TBS, truTV and HBO Max, up 50% from 2025 through the Conference Final.
[06/02/26 - 04:06 PM]
NBC and Peacock Deliver Most-Watched Conference Finals Game Since 2016 with 15.9 Million Viewers for Spurs-Thunder Game 7 on Saturday Night
Across 28 playoff games, NBC Sports' presentation of the 2026 NBA Playoffs averaged 7.2 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, up 72% versus comparable coverage last season.

[06/02/26 - 02:36 PM]
ESPN's WCWS Viewership Success Continues
Texas Tech-UCLA averaged 2.0 million viewers, with a peak of 2.6 million.
[06/02/26 - 02:13 PM]
FOX IndyCar Continues Ratings Growth with Strong Detroit Performance
Through eight races, IndyCar on FOX is averaging 2,241,000 viewers, up +12% from 2025 (2,007,000).
[06/02/26 - 02:00 PM]
FOX MLB's "Baseball Night in America" Delivers Most-Watched Baseball Telecast of the Week
2,322,000 viewers tuned-in to FOX for a two-game slate highlighted by the Cubs' 6-1 victory over the Cardinals in most of the country.
[06/02/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 25 - "The Boroughs" Makes Itself at Home at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Plus: "Nemesis" stole away with the No. 2 spot on the list, commanding 5.9 million views.
[06/01/26 - 11:04 AM]
ESPN Scored Most-Watched NCAA Women's College World Series Opening Thursday on Record
Arkansas-Nebraska averaged 1.4 million viewers, with a peak of 1.6 million.
[06/01/26 - 08:27 AM]
ESPN Scores Most-Viewed Stanley Cup Playoffs Western Conference Final Since 2015, The Latest Viewership Successes Headed Into the Stanley Cup Final
Across four games on ESPN, the series averaged 2.2 million viewers and was up 44% vs. the Western Conference Final last year (Edmonton vs. Dallas) which went five games on ESPN.

[05/29/26 - 03:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's No. 1 Newsmagazine, Leading "Dateline" in Total Viewers for the 5th Consecutive Broadcast Season
"20/20" improved on the previous season in Total Viewers (+5%/+170,000 - 3.672 million vs. 3.502 million).
[05/29/26 - 03:01 PM]
ABC News Is #1 in Total Viewers Sunday Morning and in Late-Night
"Nightline" posted double-digit gains week to week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.
[05/28/26 - 03:23 PM]
2026 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Presented by Dunkin' Finishes Strong with Average Audience of 7.4 Million Viewers Across ESPN and ABC
Additionally, Game 4 on ESPN averaged 7.2 million viewers, marking the most-viewed Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 across any network since 2018.
[05/28/26 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Outpaces Competitors with Eight of the Top 25 Series Across All Streaming and Broadcast Originals in Nielsen's All-Series Ranker
CBS has the most top 25 series of any streaming or broadcast competitor and twice as many as its closest broadcast competitor, including six series with 10+ million viewers.
[05/28/26 - 10:31 AM]
FOX Delivers Most-Watched UFL Game Since League Started in 2024
1,593,000 viewers watched as Louisville defeated Dallas 37-23 on Sunday.