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)
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
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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
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