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[05/30/14 - 12:18 PM]
"The Tonight Show," "Late Night" Dominate May Sweep and Cap the Period with Eight-Week Highs
NBC spins the late-night numbers for the week of May 19-23.

[via press release from NBC]

"THE TONIGHT SHOW," "LATE NIGHT" DOMINATE MAY SWEEP AND CAP THE PERIOD WITH EIGHT-WEEK HIGHS

Fallon, Meyers Easily Win Week of May 19-23 Over ABC, CBS Timeslot Competition

NEW YORK - May 30, 2014 - Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers have concluded dominant May sweeps by setting eight-week highs in adults 18-49 for the week of May 19-23 and generating week-to-week growth for a second week in a row.

For the May sweep, "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" dominated with a 1.14 rating in 18-49, which is "Tonight's" highest for a May sweep in five years (since a 1.37 in May 2009). Excluding February's Olympic-boosted result, it was also "Tonight's" top rating counting all sweep months since the aforementioned 1.37 in May 2009.

At 12:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Seth Meyers" (0.58) scored the top "Late Night" May rating in three years (0.62 in May 2011).

During May, Fallon's 1.14 nearly equaled the combined 1.15 of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" (0.62) and CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" (0.53). Meyers' 0.58 topped Letterman's 0.53 - despite starting a full hour later.

Versus May 2013, "Tonight" was up +34% in the 18-49 rating (to a 1.14 from a 0.85) and "Late Night" grew by +14% (0.58 vs. 0.51).

In total viewers for the sweep, Fallon out-delivered Letterman by a 31% margin (3.599 million vs. 2.748 million) and topped Kimmel by a 35% advantage (3.599 million vs. 2.667 million), while Meyers beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" by a 16% margin (1.601 million vs. 1.386 million).

For the week of May 19-23, "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" earned a 1.28 rating in adults 18-49 - its top result since the week of March 24-28 - to beat the combined 18-49 ratings of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" (0.64) and CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" (0.47).

Note that last week's Kimmel was an encore on Friday and Letterman was in rebroadcast on Thursday and Friday.

For the week at 12:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Seth Meyers" (0.64) captured its top rating since March 24-28 to tie Kimmel and beat Letterman, despite starting an hour later.

The strong week for "The Tonight Show" was boosted by Thursday's telecast, which featured a skit with Will Ferrell and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer and Will Ferrell-look-a-like Chad Smith. Thursday's 1.52 rating in 18-49 is "Tonight's" highest since Monday, March 24 (1.75, with guest Arnold Schwarzenegger).

At 1:35 a.m. ET, "Last Call with Carson Daly" delivered its top May sweep rating in 18-49 (0.33) in three years, since a 0.37 in May 2011. For the week of May 19-23, "Last Call" was up for a second week in a row (to a 0.35 from a 0.33 and a 0.32) and up +17% versus its 0.30 for the same week last year.

WEEKLY AVERAGES

(According to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research for the week of May 19-23. Ratings reflect "live plus same day" data from Nielsen Media Research unless otherwise noted.)

ADULTS 18-49
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 1.28 rating, 6 share
CBS "Late Show," 0.47/2 *
ABC "Kimmel," 0.64/3 *
12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 0.41/2
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.64/4 *
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.30/2
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.35/3 *

TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 3.946 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 2.419 million viewers *
ABC "Kimmel," 2.762 million viewers *
12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 1.674 million viewers
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.625 million viewers *
CBS "Late Late Show," 1.205 million viewers
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.878 million viewers *

* "Late Night," "Last Call" and "Kimmel" were in rebroadcast on Friday and "Late Show" aired encores Thursday and Friday.

MAY SWEEP ("LIVE PLUS SAME DAY")

ADULTS 18-49
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 1.14 rating, 5 share
CBS "Late Show," 0.53/2
ABC "Kimmel," 0.62/3
12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 0.41/2
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.58/4
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.34/2
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.33/3

TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 3.599 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 2.748 million viewers
ABC "Kimmel," 2.667 million viewers
12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 1.682 million viewers
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.601 million viewers
CBS "Late Late Show," 1.386 million viewers
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.887 million viewers

SEASON TO DATE (SINCE FEB. 17, "LIVE PLUS SAME DAY")

ADULTS 18-49
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 1.35 rating, 6 share
CBS "Late Show," 0.54/2
ABC "Kimmel," 0.65/3
12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 0.40/2
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.64/4
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.35/2
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.35/3

TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 4.298 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 2.745 million viewers
ABC "Kimmel," 2.656 million viewers
12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 1.631 million viewers
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.783 million viewers
CBS "Late Late Show," 1.367 million viewers
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.950 million viewers

SELECTED CABLE RESULTS, WEEK OF MAY 19-23

NATIONAL ADULT 18-49 RATING
Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m. ET, "The Daily Show," 0.56
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.-midnight ET, "The Colbert Report," 0.45
TBS, 11 p.m.-midnight, "Conan," 0.34
Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 0.92
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 0.68

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

TOTAL VIEWERS
Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m. "The Daily Show," 1.409 million
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.-midnight ET, "The Colbert Report," 1.153 million
TBS, 11 p.m.-midnight, "Conan," 0.734 million
Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 1.944 million viewers
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 1.383 million viewers





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