ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Upsets NBC's "Leno" on Thursday with its First-Ever In-Season Win with Adults 18-49

Some early points on Jimmy Kimmel Live's weekly numbers, ahead of the regular press release:

During the week of May 7, 2012, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live was up week to week in both Total Viewers (+2%) and Adults 18-49 (+2%) to deliver its best performance in 6 months - since the week of 11/21/11. In addition, JKL increased its overall audience over the same week last year (+1%) for the 6th straight week, while also growing among young adults (+1%) to stand as the only late-night broadcast talk show to build year to year on either Nielsen measure.

· ABC's JKL stood as the #3 talk show in late-night in Total Viewers during the week, behind only NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and CBS' The Late Show with David Letterman.

· Despite its later time period (M-F 12am), ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live beat NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (M-F 11:35pm) by 4% in Adults 18-49 on Thursday, marking JKL's first-ever in-season victory over the NBC late-night program.

· ABC's JKL topped CBS' The Late Show with David Letterman (M-F 11:35pm) by 4% in Adults 18-34, leading the CBS late-night program on 3 of the 5 days of the week: Monday (+5%), Wednesday (+60%) and Friday (+20%). In fact, on Friday, JKL's repeat telecast beat Letterman's original telecast (+20%).

· ABC's JKL led NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (M-F 12:35am) by 22% in Total Viewers and by 15% in Adults 18-49 during the week, marking JKL's 7th straight win over the NBC late-night program in both viewers and young adults.

· ABC's JKL outperformed CBS' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (M-F 12:35am) by an impressive 37% in Total Viewers, drawing a larger overall audience than the CBS program in 33 of the 34 weeks this season. In addition, JKL topped Ferguson by its largest margin of the season in Adults 18-49 (+48%). The ABC late-night program outperformed Ferguson by double-digit percentages in all 5 days of the week in both viewers and young adults.

Season to date (34 weeks), ABC's JKL is building its overall audience through the same weeks last year by 3% in Total Viewers and is on track to generate its most-watched season in 5 years - since 2006-07. In fact, JKL is the only late-night broadcast talk show to grow year over year in Viewers.

· ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live is the #3 broadcast talk show in late-night in Total Viewers this season, outdrawing both NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and CBS' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Fringe Ratings Report: ABC Late-Night Programming Week of May 7, 2012

With its Most-Watched Week in 4 Weeks, ABC is the No. 1 Network in Late-Night in Total Viewers for the 7th Straight Week

ABC's "Nightline" is No. 1 in All Target Demos for 7th Consecutive Week and in 10 of the Last 11 Weeks

ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Hits 6-Month Highs in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

"JKL" Upsets NBC's "Leno" on Thursday with its First-Ever In-Season Win

ABC Late-Night (Monday - Friday)

With its late-night lineup of "Nightline" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live" during the week of May 7, 2012, ABC grew to its most-watched week in 4 weeks (2.437 million vs. 2.342 million) -- since the week of 4/9/12. In addition, ABC was up 3% week to week in Adults 18-49 (839,000 vs. 818,000). In fact, the Net qualified as the only broadcaster in late-night to see weekly growth in Total Viewers, and delivered the largest gains of the 3 broadcast networks in Adults 18-49 (CBS was down -2%/up +2%, respectively; NBC was down -5%/-4%).

· For the 7th week running, ABC stood as the most-watched network in late-night (2.437 million), outdrawing CBS by 10% (2.213 million) and NBC by 14% (2.134 million). ABC continues to claim the most number of wins in late-night, ranking as the No. 1 network in Total Viewers in 16 of the 34 weeks this season.

· For the 5th week in a row, ABC ranked as the No. 1 network in late-night in Adults 18-49 (839,000), increasing its leads over CBS to 20% (699,000) and over NBC to 16% (726,000), from 19% and 8%, respectively, the prior week.

"Nightline" (Monday - Friday)

ABC's "Nightline" ranked No. 1 in late-night for the 7th consecutive week in all target demos -- Total Viewers (3.820 million), Adults 25-54 (1.478 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.184 million) -- for the week of May 7, 2012, according to Nielsen Media Research. "Nightline" stood as the week's top program in late-night in all 3 measures in 10 of the last 11 weeks. Furthermore, "Nightline" has finished No. 1 in 23 weeks in Total Viewers, 27 weeks in Adults 25-54 and in 26 weeks in Adults 18-49 of the 34 weeks of the season to date.

Standing as the top late-night broadcast of the week in key adults, "Nightline's" Thursday telecast (5/10/12) stood as late-night's strongest single-day performance in Adults 25-54 (1.767 million) in 4 weeks and best Adult 18-49 number (1.426 million) in 6 weeks - since "Nightline" telecasts on 4/12/12 and 3/30/12, respectively.

Season to date, "Nightline" ranks No. 1 in late-night among Total Viewers and Adults 25-54, ahead of both NBC's "The Tonight Show" and CBS' "The Late Show." This marks the 2nd straight season that the ABC program is taking the top spot in both Nielsen measures.

"Jimmy Kimmel Live" (Monday - Friday)

During the week of May 7, 2012, ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" was up week to week in both Total Viewers (+2% - 1.936 million vs. 1.907 million) and Adults 18-49 (+2% - 715,000 vs. 700,000) to deliver its best performance in 6 months - since the week of 11/21/11. In addition, "JKL" increased its overall audience over the same week last year (+1%) for the 6th straight week, while also growing among young adults (+1%) to stand as the only late-night broadcast talk show to build year to year on either Nielsen measure (1.924 million and 710,000 on w/o 5/9/11).

· ABC's "JKL" stood as the No. 3 talk show in late-night in Total Viewers (1.936 million) during the week, behind only NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (3.442 million) and CBS' "The Late Show with David Letterman" (2.998 million).

· Despite its later start time (M-F 12:00 a.m.), ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" beat NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (M-F 11:35 p.m.) on Thursday (5/10/12) by 4% in Adults 18-49 (906,000 vs. 869,000), marking "JKL's" first-ever in-season victory over the NBC late-night program on any night of the week.

· ABC's "JKL" topped CBS' "The Late Show with David Letterman" (M-F 11:35 p.m.) by 4% in Adults 18-34 (253,000 vs. 243,000), leading the CBS late-night program on 3 of the 5 days of the week: Monday (+5%), Wednesday (+60%) and Friday (+20%). In fact, on Friday, "JKL's" repeat telecast beat "Letterman's" original telecast (242,000 vs. 201,000).

· ABC's "JKL" led NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (M-F 12:35 a.m.) by 22% in Total Viewers (1.936 million vs. 1.592 million) and by 15% in Adults 18-49 (715,000 vs. 623,000) during the week, marking "JKL's" 7th straight win over the NBC program in both viewers and young adults.

· ABC's "JKL" outperformed CBS' "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (M-F 12:35 a.m.) by an impressive 37% in Total Viewers (1.936 million vs. 1.410 million), drawing a larger overall audience than the CBS program in 33 of the 34 weeks this season. In addition, "JKL" topped "Ferguson" by its largest margin of the season in Adults 18-49 (+48% - 715,000 vs. 482,000). The ABC late-night program held double-digit advantages over "Ferguson" in all 5 days of the week in both viewers and young adults.

Season to date (34 weeks), ABC's "JKL" is building its overall audience through the same weeks last year by 3% in Total Viewers (1.788 million vs. 1.736 million), and is on track to generate its most-watched season in 5 years - since 2006-07. In fact, "JKL" is the only late-night broadcast talk show to grow year over year in Viewers.

· ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" is the No. 3 broadcast talk show in late-night in Total Viewers (1.788 million) this season, outdrawing both NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.764 million) and CBS' "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.531 million).

Late-Night Rank (Week of May 7): TOTAL VIEWERS A18-49(000)

ABC 2,437,000 839,000

CBS 2,213,000 699,000

NBC 2,134,000 726,000

Source: The Nielsen Company, Live + Same Day National Program Ratings for week of 5/7/12, 4/30/12 & 5/9/11 or as dated. Most Current: 11-2012 Season (9/19 - 5/13/12) and 2010-2011 Season (9/20 - 5/15/11). Comparisons based on 000s. ABC Late-Night = "Nightline" and "JKL"; CBS Late-Night = "Letterman" and "Ferguson"; NBC Late-Night = "Tonight Show," "Fallon" and "Carson Daly."

Ratings Report for ABC News' "Nightline" For week of May 7, 2012

"Nightline" is No. 1 in All Target Demos for 7th Consecutive Week and 10 of the Last 11 Weeks

Season to Date Nightline Ranks No. 1 in Latenight Among Total Viewers and Adults 25-54

ABC's "Nightline" ranked No. 1 in latenight for the 7th consecutive week in all target demos: Total Viewers (3.820 million), Adults 25-54 (1.478 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.184 million), for the week of May 7, 2012, according to Nielsen Media Research. "Nightline" stood as the week's top program in latenight in all 3 measures in 10 of the last 11 weeks. Furthermore, "Nightline" has finished No. 1 in 23 weeks in Total Viewers, in 27 weeks in Adults 25-54 and in 26 weeks in Adults 18-49 of the 34 weeks of the season to date.

Standing as the top latenight broadcast of the week in key adults, "Nightline's" Thursday telecast (5/10/12) stood as latenight's strongest single-day performance in Adults 25-54 (1.767 million) in 4 weeks and best Adults 18-49 number (1.426 million) in 6 weeks - since "Nightline" telecasts on 4/12/12 and 3/30/12, respectively.

Season to date, "Nightline" ranks No. 1 in latenight among Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, ahead of both NBC's "The Tonight Show" and CBS' "The Late Show." This marks the 2nd straight season that the ABC program is taking the top spot in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54.

The week of May 7 "Nightline" featured Robin Roberts' exclusive interview with President Obama on gay marriage; Cynthia McFadden's interview with Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine; Terry Moran's report from inside a Bolivian prison where inmates roam free; the latest developments in the Edwards trial in North Carolina and a thwarted Al Qaeda bomb plot; and late breaking news from Tennessee when two missing girls were found alive.

ABC News' "Nightline" is anchored by Cynthia McFadden, Terry Moran and Bill Weir. Juju Chang is a correspondent. Jeanmarie Condon is the Executive Producer. The program airs weeknights from 11:35 p.m., ET to 12:00 a.m. on the ABC Television Network.

(Week of May 7, 2012)

PROGRAM AVERAGES TOTAL VIEWERS A25-54(000)/ Rtg A18-49(000)/ Rtg

ABC "Nightline" 3,820,000 1,478,000/ 1.2 1,184,000/ 0.9

CBS "Late Show" 2,998,000 1,194,000/ 1.0 912,000/ 0.7

NBC "Tonight Show" 3,442,000 1,351,000/ 1.1 1,028,000/ 0.8

Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI (Total Viewers and Adults 25-54); Live+SD for 5/7/12, 4/30/12 & 5/9/11. Most Current: 2011-2012 Season (9/19/11 - 5/13/12) and 2010-2011 Season (9/20/10 - 5/15/11).