Nightline, up from the ashes

"ABC News Nightline," the show many crix gave up for dead after Ted Koppel's departure, has beaten "Late Show With David Letterman" three weeks in a row -- most impressively this past week, when Dave was not in reruns.

Not only that, it beat Letterman by a hair in the demo as well.  Also on the jump, I've attached season-to-date averages for all the late nights and selected cable, courtesy of NBC.

“NIGHTLINE” BEATS CBS’ “LETTERMAN” FOR THE THIRD CONSECUTIVE WEEK 

 

FIRST TIME “NIGHTLINE” BEATS “LETTERMAN” FOR THREE STRAIGHT WEEKS SINCE MAY 2003

 

“NIGHTLINE” INCREASES 17% IN TOTAL VIEWERS COMPARED TO SAME WEEK A YEAR AGO

 

 

According to Nielsen Media Research for the week of August 14, 2006, ABC News “Nightline” outperformed CBS “Late Night with David Letterman” in both Total Viewers and the key Adults 25-54 demographic for the third consecutive week.  The last time “Nightline” beat “Letterman” three weeks in a row was May 2003. This is also the fifth time this season “Nightline” outperformed “Letterman.”  “Letterman" aired original programming last week.

 

In Total Viewers, “Nightline” posted 3.71 million viewers, the program’s highest delivery since April 10, 2006 and a significant 17% growth compared to the same week a year ago.  In comparison, CBS’s “Letterman” posted 3.56 million viewers while “NBC’s “The Tonight Show” posted 4.52 million viewers.

 

Among Adults 25-54, “Nightline” again outperformed “Letterman,” posting 1.75 million viewers (1.4 demo rating).  This is “Nightline’s” highest delivery in the key demo since June 19, 2006 and a 7% growth compared to the same week last year. “Letterman” posted 1.70 million viewers (1.4 demo rating) while NBC’s “The Tonight Show” posted 2.13 million viewers (1.7 demo rating).

 

 

         ABC News “Nightline” is anchored by Cynthia McFadden, Terry Moran, and Martin Bashir.  James Goldston is the executive producer. 

 

(Week of August 14, 2006) 

 

                                         TOTAL VIEWERS A25-54 (000)/ Rtg 

ABC “Nightline” 3,710,000  1,750,000/ 1.4

CBS “Late Show” 3,560,000   1,700,000/ 1.4

NBC “Tonight” 4,520,000   2,130,000/ 1.7

 

Source: NTI and NSI

***

SEASON-TO-DATE AVERAGES

ADULTS 18-49

NBC "Tonight," 1.9/8
CBS "Late Show," 1.4/6
ABC "Nightline," 1.1/5
ABC "Kimmel," 0.6/3

NBC "Late Night," 1.0/6
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.7/4

NBC "Last Call," 0.7/5

Each rating point equals 1.30 million viewers

TOTAL VIEWERS

NBC "Tonight," 5.7 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 4.2 million viewers
ABC "Nightline," 3.4 million viewers
ABC "Kimmel," 1.6 million viewers

NBC "Late Night," 2.4 million viewers
CBS "Late Late Show," 1.9 million viewers

NBC "Last Call," 1.5 million viewers


SELECTED CABLE RESULTS, WEEK OF AUGUST 14-18

NATIONAL ADULT 18-49 RATING

Comedy Central, 11 p.m., "The Daily Show," 0.7
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m., "The Colbert Report," 0.6

Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m., 0.7
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m., 0.4

Each rating point equals 1.30 million viewers

###

Comments

I think this in part speaks to Letterman taking most of the summer off...They've gotten very Carson-esque in time off...

[Mark Jeffries]

Which says something about CBS' confidence in Dave--for years, they held him to the same number of weeks of vacation Leno is forced to take (if it was Leno's choice, he wouldn't take time off at all).

Is "The Best of Dave" on Monday nights during non-sweeps weeks next? (And I want those to open with Alan Kalter saying, "And now, an hour of great entertainment on 'The Best of Dave'"--just like Ed.)

[Kyle Evans]

I'm a liberal but - what he did to O'reilly was a real turn-off for me. I know longer watch Letterman. Anyone else feel the same way.

is he still on the air?

[Al in SoCal]

Bill O'Reilly pulls that same interview techinique each and every day! Letterman only did it once - to O'Reilly! If you don't believe me watch his show and you'll see him yell 'Shutup' to the guests he disagrees with. What a lame reason not to like Dave.

I like Dave, and I like his dry humor. He doesn't get the same ratings as Leno because his show is for a different crowd than Leno. Leno is like having a bland piece of toast for breakfast, and Letterman is like a decked out steak and eggs.

[Jake]

What passes for entertainment on Letterman nowadays? He interviewed a woman who knits dog sweaters. His celebrity guests tell amusing (to them) anecdotes about the excruciating minutia of their lives. Gone are the days of alkaseltzer man and napalm chili. The only thing on TV that's worse is Leno who can't keep from talking over his own punchlines.

YES!

I was a big Letterman fan before the O'reilly appearance. I was appalled at Dave’s arrogant behavior and have never watched since. Evidently we are not the only ones.

[rimfire1]

I was never a fan of Letterman, I would occasionally check it out to see who was his guest. I never liked his personal converstions he holds every night with Paul Schaffer, without even looking at the audience or camera. Very little of what he says is funny, for the life of me I can't figure out what the audience laughs at. When the O'rielly thing occured, that was it, I haven't checked him out since.

I used to watch Letterman religously, way back in the early 80's on NBC. His show was the single reason I bought a VCR back when they were top loading and weighed 15lbs. Since moving to CBS he has gotten "fat and lazy". The last few years he just phones it in. Know your Current Events? Will it Float? Give me a break. A 3 minute monologue then a bunch of retarded banter. At least Lame-o, I mean Leno trys. He's out on the streets and always taping skits. Letterman doesn't lift a finger. Go home old man. You've made your half billion dollars, give someone fresh a chance. You are washed up and a sad shadow of your former self. Conan & Kimmel are bar none the best entertainment shows on late night right now. Too bad nobody watches them.

[Tyler S.]

This quote by one of the commenters is a total lie:

"Letterman only did it once - to O'Reilly! If you don't believe me watch his show and you'll see him yell 'Shutup' to the guests he disagrees with."

O'Reilly doesn't shout this every night, not even remotely. It has been documented that he has said "shut up" on his show no more than two or three times in the past 10 years. I can't stand liars who tell lies to attack a person they disagree with. It just shows liars are the worst kind of people.

[Diane]

I tuned in briefly, he had Nancy Pelosi as his guest. I tuned out. And they say President Bush lives in a bubble.

[jan barker]

I have never been able to understand why
anyone would tune in David Letterman.....the
worst on TV....opening monologue is terrible....
the guy in band is awful....and his clother
ridiculous.....this show is so outdated.

we do political polling.....add tonight
and lettermen at the end sometimes.....leno
wins usually by 1-2million every time.

Conan O'Brian bombs last five times
his name added.

[bill]

Rimfire is right on. Letterman is an embittered shell of his former self, still suffering the loss of the Tonight show. Leno has the show, and the better guests, because he was willing to keep the show in L.A....where the stars live. If Letterman wasn't such a reclusive geek, he would have had the show.

[frank wilcox]

I can't stand O'Reilly, but Letterman really showed his stupidity and lack of preparation in the way he treated him. It's a tossup as to who is the bigger idiot.

[M DeFl]

Dave was very funny in the 80's at 12:30. He was at the right age at the right time. His irrevence was unique.

Now he has become nothing more than an Anti-Bush zealot. I saw the O'Reilly show and I was stunned when Dave stated to Bill, "Well I don't have facts like you". He looked like an idiot. I have a lot of misgivings about Bush but it is a drag to watch Letterman now. At least Leno takes shots at everyone.

[ChiTown]

Letterman - BORING. Can't watch stupid TV.
Leno - Okay. Too bad he has to suck up to the Hollywood crowd, a la Entertainment Tonight (trash). Who cares? Get a life.
O'Reilly - I like the guy because I watch him and he thinks. If you don't like him it's because you DON'T watch and listen to what others tell you to think. Grow up.
Nightline - Isn't there enough politically correct news on TV during the day?

[Dean Wermer]

Letterman has become as dull as Carson was in his end years on nbc. Too bad, really.

[Roger]

The best entertainment on late night is Craig Ferguson. That is if you can appreciate very intelligently crafted humor. I suspect his lack of viewership is due to the time slot and his unusually high IQ. If you don't believe me read his book, "Between the Bridge and the River." But the reason Leno outscores Letterman is that Letterman is too smart for the big numbers. This doesn't bode well for Mr. Ferguson who outclasses and even intimidates Letterman.

[RJF]

What can I add except ... Goodness Gracious DO I MISS JOHNNY!

[SaberSeven]

I still like Dave, although I love Conan. I’m surprised how many have commented on the O’Reilly interview which bugged me too. Instead of having fun with it, Bill can be funny, Dave gets hostile and takes a few cheap shots. I agree he seemed unprepared for that interview claiming O’Reilly does this and that then admits he’s never seen the O’Reilly Factor. Whatever.

BTW Bill O’Reilly doesn’t tell people to shut up on his show. He might have their microphone cut due to grandstanding which is fine with me. Just answer the question people.

[cu]

I used to watch letterman all the time. I even had a nightly schedule for about 4 months that I would watch that almost every night. Then I saw him with O'Reilly. He was very rude and ignorant. He obviously had never seen his show and went off what his pundits said. He was obviously very ignorant of the current events since he basically called Bill a liar for saying that some places were trying to ban Christmas/Easter decorations.

If you invite someone that politically minded on you should respect their opinions. He sure let Pilossi talk all she wanted about things he obviously had no clue about.

I do not watch Letterman at all anymore, the only reason I saw pilossi was because I flipped through and wanted to see what she has to say. That's the first time I have seen it since O'Reilly was on and it will be my last.

Conan, Kimmel and Leno are all 10x funnier than Dave.

[Colin]

Y'want to talk change? Remember when Leno was actually edgy and funny? It's no accident; he knows the target audience. Bland doesn't offend and soporific sells at that time of night these days. Hell, who wants to be challenged and actually think?!

Yeah, Dave's mellowed with age and the post-monologue-pre-guest material downright sucks most of the time. Still and all . . he remains a better interviewer and quicker wit than Leno any day of the week.

And . .what? O'Reilly didn't have it coming to him? Please!

[F. Gibson]

I have enjoyed Letterman from the beginning, and still enjoy him quite a bit when I am up late.

In regards to O'Rielly being on the show, I consider him a piece of TV filth that doesn't even deserve to be on the air, so I was glad to see him get some of his own medicine back.

[weski]

Letterman has become mean and nasty - he used to be just cynical. He is not personable and he has too many lame repeating bits. Leno is always hustling, has more jokes and more lively spots and he looks like he is having fun. I really enjoy Craig Ferguson, who has the "Johnny" sly wit, but it's hard to stay up that late! I just don't Tivo, but he would be a reason to try it.

[Will]

I agree about Letterman losing part of his audience over the O'Reilly debacle, and Letterman really is a bitter person (NYers know this to be true if you've ever seen him before and after the camera is on him.

Memo to F. Gibson: If you're going to crucify "O'Rielly," at least spell the name correctly. I take it Keith Olbermann is more your cup of tea?