OK, maybe I underestimated this O'Reilly fellow. Or maybe he just competes better in road games.
Whatever the reason, last night's "Colbert Report" with Bill O"Reilly returning the favor from earlier in the day, when Stephen Colbert appeared as his guest on the "Factor," was a looser, more entertaining give-and-take, with fewer awkward moments, than Colbert's turn in the no-win zone. The old sourpuss actually seemed to enjoy himself, and his attempts at humor were less strained. It's almost as if he needed some exposure to Colbert to figure out that the key to success is to let the young guy lead.
We have the overnights: "The O'Reilly Factor" blew up 67 percent in the 25-54 demo and its first run was watched by almost 3 million viewers, up nearly a million from his 4Q2006 average. And the stunt paid off for Colbert as well, with 1.6 million (versus regular 1.0 million) viewers, though his audience got slightly older, probably because of O'Reilly's geriatric audience switching over. Who knows how many more Fox News viewers would have tuned in had they been able to find Comedy Central on their dial. (I kid because I love ... watching Brit and Shep.)
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