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

[Jim]

I used to watch Dave religiously. But in the last couple of years he's become shrill and obviously unable to prevent his own politics from seeping into the show. And because those politics don't align with mine...well, it's not entertainment anymore.

My memory might be failing, but it seems to me that Johnny used to have political guests on but they were kept generally in check on the partisanship. Dave has way too many people he agrees with on and lets them say whatever they want while having very few people he disagrees with.

So why would I watch? If I want to see opinions I disagree with, there is plenty of serious opportunity to review those opinions. As I'm wrapping up my day, I want some entertainment and something relaxing...not a bunch of politicos ranting against things that matter to me.

Dave wants to be Jon Stewart. And I want a few laughs before bed without the partisanship.

If you agree with his politcs and enjoy his show, more power to you. I'm not saying he has any obligation to change or to be a certain way...but I am saying if he wants to have better demographics, he might want to consider his audience a bit.

Jim

[Tina Stephenson]

I used to watch Letterman, but he has become far too bias in his political preferences to attract middle of the road audiences or conservatives. He is rude and very degrading with his remarks about the President. I don't think this speaks well of his respect for the office of President, regardless of political preferences. It sends the wrong message abroad. Far that matter so has Leno, I just cut the TV off a lot these days.

[ari]

This has more to do with breaking news stories over the last few weeks than the quality of Nightline (which sadly still is in decline).

I wouldn't be surprised if the less than 200,000 viewer difference overall and 50,000 in the demo were in the margin of error (ratings should always include a discliamer than they are taken from a sample and one that has often been criticized as being flawed).

Yes, Bill has said shut up even though he claims he doesn't (a warm welcome to everyone new here from Drudge). Just watch Outfoxed or read this piece by Jack Shafer

http://www.slate.com/id/2087706/

In the early 90s, Dave totally punctured Rush Limbaugh in one of the best interviews he'd done. He doesn't like pompous jerks regardless of their politics.

[Scott Griffin]

Anybody see Letterman interview Dick Cheney's daughter? He bumped his other guests and focused his anger at Ms. Cheney repeating the same question at least 30 times. So much for
tolerance. Daves a immature jerk who trashes
lots of guests from O'Reilly to Cher. The only thing worse than Dave is Olberman on MSNBC who is trying to creat an audience by trashing O'Reilly every night. Shut up about Bush every night and tell some good jokes.

[lk]

At some point, Dave decided to park it behind the desk and never move and that is when the show really started to stink. He used to get out and interview people on the street, go places, etc. but he got lazy.

[Dan]

I attended a Late Show taping earlier in the year and the pages out front told the audience in line to really let loose on the applause and cheers or "Dave won't waste his A-stuff on a B audience." I thought this was rude; I've been a huge fan for years and attended another taping in 1996 with Joe Torre as guest and everything seemed less contrived. He really is going through the motions; he is on his game rarely and the writing is uninspired. I have no problems with allowing political statements either way (the Dixie Chicks were on the night we attended and they were in the midst of watching fans boycott their upcoming tour) but his teeth were cut on the absurdist humor of Chris Elliott and Larry Bud Melman and stunts he is either too old or bored to attempt. I think he would serve the audience better as a feature/talk host now on MSNBC. Kimmel is a younger hipper version and I'd prefer he take over the time slot in a few years.

[CKB]

I am also liberal, and was also very turned off by Letterman's treatment of O'Reilly. It was obvious Letterman had no ability to debate O'Reilly, but he apparently does have the ability to fire low-class insults at invited guests. It was just ugly. I switched to Leno.

[Scott]

I also stopped tuning in after countless far left rantings and the poor treatment of O'Reilly and many other guests. If I want that crap I'll watch oberman.

[Jack Frost]

What's with all the bogus Bill O'Reilly posts in here?
It's the same sad little guy posting under different names, even claiming to be a liberal!

For crying out loud.

1. Leno is on vacation.
2. Leno fans don't like Letterman, so they either watch a Leno repeat or switch over to Nightline.
3. A lot has been going on in the news lately, so people are more likely to watch Nightline than not.

Personally, I like Dave better than Jay.
I also think Craig Ferguson is the best addition to talk shows since Johnny Carson took over the Tonight Show back in 1962.

I'm sure the operators of this board can see that all the "Letterman was mean to O'Reilly" posts are from the same IP address. The writing style is also exactly the same, so go figure. How sad.

[Doug]

Late Night with David Letterman has turned into a freak show. All freaks, except some of the guests.

[dan]

I did not really get into Dave all that much UNTIL he did the O'Reilly interview. That was great! I watch him often now.

[dodgerfan]

i used to LOVE Dave. while i'm not a late night tv viewer, i catch the show every once in a while (prefering over Leno).

unfortunately, the show and host have lost a consistent rudder. blast o'reilly, gush over other stars, i.e. jennifer garner, and then go venomous at mary cheney (vp's daughter). he invited her on his show and proceeded to do a hard news interview. of course, this might have been slightly more meaningful if he'd read her book.

in the end, what kind of show is it?
what kind of host does dave want to be?
does he really want to host a show anymore?

personally, i like craig ferguson. funny, charming & self-deprecating .

cheers, everyone.

go dodgers!

[Glenn]

You are right -- Dave is getting strange n his old age.
Doesn't he live in Connecticut where the left wing wackadoos are running rampant?
I think the people who deserve credit here are the people putting Nightline together. After Koppel left, this show was written off as dead in the water.
But now, the show is genuinely interesting and fresh. I've been watching it the last few nights and had actually wished the show was longer. This guy Terry Moran who hosts is initially a little strange, but if you watch him night after night, you realize he's a pretty sharp guy who also offers credibility because of his independence.

[timks]

I used to never miss Dave when he was on NBC. I would record a weeks' worth of shows and watch them on Saturday. Classic TV!

I watched the first two years after he moved to CBS but he got lazy and started calling it in. Definitely not funny anymore so I quit watching. I had already quit watching Leno.

I watched the Letterman vs. O'Reilly show because I was hoping to see Letterman skewer O'Reilly like he is so capable of. God, that was terrible! I don't care for O'Reilly but I almost felt sorry for him. Dave was pathetic. He has goten even worse in the years since I quit watching: unfunny, uninspired, uninformed and unmotivated.

He really ought to retire and enjoy his dotage with his young son.

I much prefer Conan.

[Herman]

I'm so glad to hear this. I'm getting sick of Dave's politics! If I wanted politics, I'd watch the news or the Sunday morning gabfest. I watch Dave to laugh. He forget's that not everyone agrees with his politics. I hope his numbers get so low, they have to pull the show off the air.

[mike]

Dave is in his "comfort zone". He's made the money, he's become cynical, and he's ready to coast. He ought to do a 100 yard sprint and finish his career with a couple of hardworking years so he has something to hang his hat on.

[megan]

I thought I was the only one. After the O'Reilly show, I swore to never watch Dave again.

[beernuts]

O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, and Limbaugh are fake conservatives designed to placate conservative wannabes as the war machine, big oil, and the globalists dissolve the sovereignty of the United States and issue in a police state under the false pretense of imminent terrorism.

I don't watch Letterman because I don't think he's funny. I don't watch O'Reilly because he's a fake and his makeup makes him look like John Karr.

[Jim]

To the poster that said Orielly deserved his grilling...It does not matter what Oreilly does on his show. When you accept an invitation on the Factor you know what you are in for. It is the ambush that Letterman does to conservative guests that really pisses people off.

[R J Junker]

I have wondered for a long long time How David Letterman stays on the air. He is NOT the least bit funny. He sits there and makes stupid faces, talks to Paul about nothing, does, does it float, and bashes Bush. Everyone of these things are a real turn off. The worst was his interview with Bill O'Reilly. That really showed how stupid he was. How I MISS JOHNNY. He did things besides have so called stars on to plug their latest trash. He had great variety. Both Dave and Jay would do themselves a favor and take a look at the Ellen show. Now she is entertaining. Her show is different every day with all kinds of different clips and stunts.
Good bye Dave

[jojo]

Bill O'Reilly doesn't tell guests to shut up. What he does is edit the video to eliminate the statements he doesn't like (which is 1,000 times worse). To prove it see his interviews with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog - there's extra footage that was shown on Conan that proves that O'Reilly just edits out what he doesn't like. He's a scumbag.

[Raj]

I was just wondering... How soon can we expect a replacement for Dave? The sooner the better.

[sR]

I used to be the biggest Letterman fan ever. I never missed a show. His crazy sense of humor helped me relax at the end of the day.

I almost never watch his show now. I want to get away from all of the nasty political stuff that is everywhere these days. Dave's current format makes that impossible.

Were is the old Dave? The political Dave stinks!

[dodgerfan]

the point of the orig article/posting was that nightline has garnered higher ratings than Dave three weeks in succession.

W/ the departure of ted koppel, nightline was on its' "deathbed". instead of sending out bereavement cards, nightline did as many successful endeavors do: they evaluated their show and their "mission". insodoing, they emerged w/ an effective, genuine program and the viewers responded.

Late Night took a difft course. More vaca for Dave, duller humor and an inconsistent approach to invited guests. Note: i've heard no qualms about Paul/band.

Bottom line...Nightline is outperforming Late Night w/ DL. This should come as no surprise (exception might be Dave).

Go Dodgers!

[mark demaio]

I used to be a huge fan of Dave but these last few years, the political one sidedness has gotten to be to much. I've been to LATE SHOW a couple times but have given up going, I have no desire to have an entertainers views thrust upon me just because they have a TV show. You are paid to entertain not preach. I rarely tune in anymore, the no effort approach to the show is sad to watch...Rupert G is funny? Please. As far as Leno goes I could never watch that moron. I just watch Fraiser reruns now. I miss Dave, i don't know who this bored, egotist is who shows up at 11:35, but he and Rupert G. should find day jobs.