Letterman On Top! The Late Night Battle Begins
When news came in about Jay Leno's departure from the Tonight Show, the biggest worry to face NBC was if replacement Conan O'Brien could keep Leno's numbers.
Well, he can't.
Tough luck, O'Brien!
For the first time in 8 months, David Letterman's Late Show beat Tonight in the overnight ratings this week.
What was once a huge gap between the programs is now beginning to narrow.
But is NBC worried? Nah!
They are placing the blame on the youngster viewers who haven't been included in the ratings. NBC co-chair Marc Graboff conceded that when the 18-49 figures become available this week, it will prove Conan is holding his own against veteran Letterman.
Only time will tell if Conan can't keep the Tonight Show alive. Of course, if Jay Leno's gig falls through, he can always come back!
[Image via WENN/Getty Images.]
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Me love Conan, but I wish he'd get over the frat boy crap.
Send the ginormous leprechaun packin'. He sucks worse than katie couric
so does it count in the ratings if i watch the cone bone on hulu instead?
LETTERMAN ALL THE WAY!!!
Conan just isn't funny in the format.
he's like leno but more awkward…i never knew it was possible.
Letterman is on fire right now, especially with all the sarah palin bits and he's even having sonic youth on tonight!
GO DAVE!
I watched Conan 2x and found him…unfunny. But I always feel that way about Letterman so no late nite show watching — with the exception of Craig Ferguson who actually *is* funny.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
so perez ur bottom?
WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO POST THOSE PICS OF TRANNY GAGA WITH NO MAKEUP?!?!?!
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SHE IS UGLIER THAN I THOUGHT! =/
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THE DAILY MAIL HAS THEM JUST IN CASE YOU DONT KNOW WHERE TO GET THEM!!!!!
conan is ok but I cannot wait til Leno's new show starts
I like letterman too but since he had his health problems he has lost his edge and should retire
There has been so much shit written about Conan in the last few weeks, mainly by old morons, that I have to say something:
The people who claim Jay will be hosting The Tonight Show again in a few weeks' time are morons. First of all, NBC has invested millions upon millions of dollars in Conan. They built Conan a brand new studio, and they have Jay already signed for a new show. NBC knows it was going to take some time for people to adjust to Conan, just like it took people time to adjust to Leno after Carson. The late night battle isn't over after only a week.
Trying to argue about who is funnier is completely worthless. Because it's an opinion. I never liked Leno's style, but I did like Letterman. I used to watch Letterman at 11:30 and Conan at 12:30. But for now on, I'm watching Conan at 11:30. It's all a matter of taste and it seems that Conan resonates with a younger audience.
Also, since Conan's viewers are younger than Dave's, these immediate ratings don't account for people who DVR or watch on Hulu or NBC.com the next day. Conan's younger audience is more tech-savvy and more likely to postpone watching his show, where as Letterman's viewers are more likely to watch the show live. NBC cares about the 18-49 demographic, so the overnight Nielsen ratings don't matter a whole hell of a lot to them now. They want advertisers, and increased viewers on Hulu (which NBC partly owns) and NBC.com, is going help them there.
im sure most people arent paying attention to times and schedules. i would think most people just click through channels until something interests them. actually, i dont know alls i know is i like to try to catch the show for the most part!!! core audience and nielsen ratings interest me
Letterman is the best, hands down, especially when he is impromptu with the celebrities and doesn't need a writer to get him thru the whole evening like the younger guys. Craig Fergusson is also sharp as hell. Jimmy Fallon and Conan are too geeky for my taste. If those two don't have good writers (Tina Fey!) then they can't hang at all.
Letterman has always been the king. The rest of 'em suck, especially that douche Jimmy Fallon.
David Letterman is the KING of late night….the only other decent late night show is Jimmy Kimmel
Re: helloRJ –
Not for the immediate ratings. NBC is waiting on the final ratings from last week, which account for DVRing and online hits, and give them the important demographic info.
These overnight ratings only tell us how many households with a Nielsen box in their home watched late night TV last night. I personally think that the Nielsens are a bunch of crap anyway. I've never met a single person with a Nielsen ratings box in their house.
Conan is way better in my opinion!
Dave Rules!
conan is great, but his show doesn't seem as funny.
I sure miss Leno. There's nothing to watch now. Conan is awful, no charisma and unfunny… I miss Headlines, Battle of the Jaywalk Allstars, Jaywalking, Things we found on eBay, the 99 cent store…..all funny stuff. Conan's ratings are already starting to tank and not hard to see why.
It's just a matter of time before Conan is way back on top. Let's face it… you can go through an entire Leno show and not laugh once. Letterman is still doing the same repeating crap he's been doing for years… (ie, will it float) that just isn't funny or entertaining. Conan blows em both away.
NBC is the only company I know who would try to fix something if it aint broken. They brought in Conan who couldn't even carry his previous time slot against fergeson. I'm sure the NBC numbnuts executives are scratching their heads trying to figure out what happened…DUH!
I didn't like Jay, he is an elitist snob and I hate the way he made fun of people less fortunate than he is, or fat, or stupid…. that's not entertainment. Besides, he explained every joke presumably because he thought we were too stupid to get it the first time.
I gave Conan a chance, but I'm over him already. He's not midly amusing either.
I have the perfect solution. I Tivo Craig Ferguson, the best of the bunch, and watch him the next night at 11:30 or whenever I got to bed. So, I'm a day behind… he's still funny as hell. When I turn the TV on, Dave is usually on and if he has a good guest I'll watch that. He has been on fire all week… Dave that is.
No NBC late night for me….
CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN!
letterman sucks major asshole, he's a dick and isn't funny… CONANS THE BEST.
Conan lost it.
I'd rather watch Letterman.
I miss watching Leno then Conan when douche Jimmy Fallon wasn't there.
*sighs*
Everybody has different taste in humor, but this is my opinion….Letterman is an old prick….I don't care for him…Jay Leno kind of has the same vibe….I have always loved Conan, he is such a nice, intelligent person too, so I will keep on watching him….don't care for Jimmy Fallon…never have….Jimmy Kimmel is pretty damn cool, that "Fucking Ben Affleck" thing was awesome…..and last, but not least…..Craig Ferguson is the shit…funniest person ever!..I wish that he would dominate all ratings!!!
conan rules! i never laughed once watching leno. conan is true talent and always makes me laugh. confident his ratings will go up once people realize how great he is!
I think Leno was perfect for the tonight show because he was bland and inoffensive. Plus he's not that old and still wants to work… and his ratings were good. I like Conan, but what was the reason for getting rid of Leno?
What about Craig Ferguson? he's the one that's ACTUALLY funny O_o
I love Conan, but he is just not as funny on the tonight show as he was on his old show..
I'm definitly a Conan fan.
Conan has all the entertainment appeal of the Quiznos sponge monkeys. Which is to say that you gotta watch for awhile just because you can't believe how pathetically bad he is. Bring on Jimmy Fallon! Better now than Conan will ever be.
Love, Love Love DAVE!
i HATE that uglyfaced Conan..but I,ll watch him any night before that slime ball Letterman. What a PIG. Wanna talk about the rape of a 14 year old again there Dave??? you asshole.
Re: KT8711 – well if they invested million upon million on the lil leprechaun…they realyl are DUMB!!!!!!!!
Re: airstreamingypsy – OMG you must be BRAIN dead then if you didnt think Jay Leno was funny on the Tonight show!!! I bet you think its fun watching paint dry tho.Get a sense of humor!
Re: girliegirl72 – I,ve never laughed ONCE watching that leprechaun Conan. He sucks!!!!!!!
UGH CONAN SUCKS BIG ONES!!!!!!
THIS ARROGANT BLOCK HEAD IS NOT FUNNY!!!!!
WHO TOLD HIM HE WAS FUNNY?!