NBC's LATE NIGHT Dominates February Sweep

"The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and "Late Night with Seth Meyers" have decisively won the late-night 2015 February sweep, outdelivering their ABC and CBS time-period rivals in all key ratings measures - adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, plus total viewers.

For the February sweep, "Fallon's" 1.14 rating in adults 18-49 generated a winning margin of +78% over "Kimmel"(0.64) and +115% versus "Letterman" (0.53).

At 12:35 a.m. ET, a 0.51 rating in 18-49 for "Late Night with Seth Meyers" delivered a +70% advantage over CBS's "Late Late Show" (0.30). In their head-to-head half-hour from 12:30-1 a.m., "Late Night" beat ABC's "Nightline" by a +39% margin (0.57 that half-hour vs. "Nightline's" 0.41).

For the Jan. 29-Feb. 25 sweep period, Fallon's 1.14 rating in 18-49 was competitive with the combined 1.17 of Kimmel and Letterman; Meyers nearly matched Letterman (0.51 vs. 0.53), despite running an hour later; and "Last Call with Carson Daly" (0.29) nearly equaled "Late Late Show" (0.30), despite starting an hour later.

Fallon's 1.14 is tied for "Tonight's" second best 18-49 rating for any sweep month since May 2009, trailing over that span only February 2014, the month Fallon took over "Tonight" hosting duties, and tying over that span the May 2014 sweep.

The February sweep ended during the week of Feb. 23-27, during which Fallon and Meyers outscored their respective ABC and CBS time-period competition in all key ratings measures.

WEEK 23

Show...18-49...total viewers

11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m.
Tonight...1.10/5...3.844 million
Dave *...0.51/2...2.746 million
Kimmel *...0.66/33...2.781 million

12:35-1:05 a.m.
Nightline...0.40/2...1.714 million

12:35-1:35 a.m.
Seth Meyers *...0.51/3...1.620 million
Late Late Show...0.29/22...1.274 million

1:35 a.m.-2:05 a.m.
Carson Daly *...0.29/2...0.857 million

* Friday's "Late Show," "Kimmel," "Late Night" and "Last Call" were encores, and Thursday's "Late Show" was also a rebroadcast.

FEBRUARY 2015 AVERAGES

Show...18-49...total viewers

11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m.
Tonight...1.14/5...3.882 million
Dave...0.53/2...2.847 million
Kimmel...0.64/3...2.763 million

12:35-1:05 a.m.
Nightline...0.41/2...1.710 million

12:35-1:35 a.m.
Seth Meyers...0.51/3...1.579 million
Late Late Show...0.30/2...1.288 million

1:35 a.m.-2:05 a.m.
Carson Daly ...0.29/2...0.852 million

SEASON AVERAGES

Show...18-49...total viewers

11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m.
Tonight...1.18/6...4.053 million
Dave...0.51/2...2.763 million
Kimmel...0.64/3...2.750 million

12:35-1:05 a.m.
Nightline...0.41/2...1.708 million

12:35-1:35 a.m.
Seth Meyers...0.50/3...1.563 million
Late Late Show...0.33/2...1.404 million

1:35 a.m.-2:05 a.m.
Carson Daly ...0.29/2...0.858 million

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."

To post a comment, you must register and login.