Leno, Fallon Earn Top Spots for Late Night, Week of 9/19 -23

September 29, 2011 - NBC's late-night lineup has delivered #1 finishes for the ratings week of September 19-23, with "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" delivering bigger audiences than the ABC and CBS competition in their time periods in viewers 18-49, viewers 18-34, viewers 25-54 and total viewers. Note that Monday's "Late Night" and Friday's "Kimmel" were encores.

"Tonight" and CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" tied for the week in adult 18-49 rating (0.8 each), but in viewers 18-49, "Tonight" generated a 2 percent margin of victory (1.065 million vs. 1.049 million). "Tonight" also out-delivered "Late Show" in total viewers for the week by a 13 percent margin (3.641 million vs. 3.222 million), up from an edge of 0.4 percent for the same week last year.

At 12:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night" and CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" tied for the week in adult 18-49 rating (0.5 each) and Jimmy out-delivered "Late Late Show" by a 14 percent advantage in viewers 18-49 (695,000 vs. 607,000). In total viewers, Jimmy topped "Late Late Show" by a 12 percent margin (1.688 million vs. 1.507 million), while for the same week last year, "Late Late Show" held a 1 percent lead.

WEEKLY AVERAGES (According to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research for the week of September 19-23. 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.")

ADULTS 18-49

11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 0.8 rating, 3 share
CBS "Late Show," 0.8/3

11:35 p.m.-12 midnight ET
ABC "Nightline," 1.0/4

12 midnight-1 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 0.6/3*

12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.5/3*
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.5/3

1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.4/2

TOTAL VIEWERS

11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 3.6 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 3.2 million viewers

11:35 p.m.-12 midnight ET
ABC "Nightline," 3.9 million viewers

12 midnight-1 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 1.8 million viewers*

12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.7 million viewers*
CBS "Late Late Show," 1.5 million viewers

1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 1.0 million viewers

* Monday's "Late Night" and "Last Call" and Friday's "Kimmel" were encores.

SELECTED CABLE RESULTS, WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 19-23

NATIONAL ADULT 18-49 RATING

Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m. ET, "The Daily Show," 0.7**

Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.-midnight ET, "The Colbert Report," 0.5**

TBS, 11 p.m.-midnight, "Conan," 0.4

Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 1.1

Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 0.6

Each adult 18-49 rating point equals 1.28 million viewers

TOTAL VIEWERS

Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m. "The Daily Show," 1.7 million**

Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.-midnight ET, "The Colbert Report," 1.2 million**

TBS, 11 p.m.-midnight, "Conan," 0.7 million

Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 2.2 million

Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 1.4 million

** Monday's Comedy Central programs were preempted.