Image Credit: Margaret Norton/NBCIt’s been a month since Jay Leno took back the desk on NBC’s The Tonight Show and as expected, he’s back in the winner circle. From March 1- 26, Jay Leno was No. 1 in late night among viewers (averaging 4.9 million) and No. 1 among adults 18-49 (1.3 rating/5 share). During the same period, David Letterman ranked second with 4.1 million and tied ABC’s Nightline among adults 18-49 with a 1.0/4. Jimmy Kimmel trailed in fourth with a .5/3 and 1.7 million viewers.
Leno still has some catching up to do if he wants to attract the same amount of viewers he did during the 2008-09 season. His season average at this point one year ago was a 1.4/6 among adults 18-49 and 5.2 million viewers. The Tonight Show lost some ground during Conan O’Brien’s now infamous but abbreviated run: he averaged a 1.1 rating among 18-49 and 2.7 million viewers.
During his first month back, Leno’s guests have included Hugh Jackman, Sarah Palin, Simon Cowell, Kristen Stewart, Betty White and Brett Favre.
Number of viewers equals quality! Someone give Leno a Peabody!
Remember American Idol is still the highest rated show on TV so number of viewers DOES NOT equal quality.
Suck it losers! Leno rocks and is triumphant. So much for all Coco fans who never watched conan either protesting Leno. Go enjoy your ridiculously expensive conan stage show.
Spoken like a critical thinker. God help us!
I agree with Quirky.
@ MN – you just wasted bandwidth with your pointless comment.
Leno has the viewers b/c he used his political muscle and pushed Conan out! Leno was funny a few years ago, but not anymore. Does anybody know if his writers changed? I now refuse to watch leno. I hope we have another mortgage crisis and he losses everything including his car collection.
OMG!! it’s sasha grey!
OMG! Is it really Sasha Grey??
Why does everyone pretend that NBC just up and decided to give the Tonight Show to innocent little Conan. That greedy, grasping, over-ambitious red haired geek SOB DEMANDED the Tonight Show or he’d walk. So who stole what from who? Conan is the villain in all this, talk about playing the public for fools.
I am glad that Jay is back where he belongs. NBC did a disservice to their viewers by putting that silly Conan in the Tonight show spot. I have liked Jay Leno since he was subbing for Johnny Carson. I have always liked him even BETTER than Johnny Carson. Jay is number ONE. NBC leave well enough ALONE.
It says a lot about you, Maggie, when you debase Johnny Carson, a great comedian, by saying that he is inferior to Jay Leno, a ho-hum host who cares more about his car collection than his “comedy” gig.
Give me a break. It’s sad that Jay got the Tonight Show in the first place! Now NBC gives Conan, another great comedian, the show so that he can actually DO something with it and make it funny, but no. Viewers like crap. Maggie wants Jay Leno, the nice guy who doesn’t go for laughs and tries to keep it all family friendly and unfunny.
Since when was pushing the boundaries and being clever a bad thing?
Quirky is more than right. American Idol is the most watched show on television. That says something about the American viewership right there!
Oh hey Jay, how’s it going?
truth be told, Conan’s version of the TS was the closest to the type of show that Carson ran than anything Leno has done.
Conan never got a fair shot at improving the ratings. Remember, ratings when Leno took the show from Carson were waaaaay low for a long time, too.
Couldn’t have said it better! Conan STOLE the TS from Jay in the first place! I am SO sick of that creep Conan playing the “victim.” Underneath that “Opie” smile lurks the Chuckie Doll!
The article wasn’t about quality – it simply talked about viewership since Leno’s return. Period.
Good to have him back – does he just look a whole lot more comfortable back in this time slot or was I the one that was so uncomfortable with him on at 9:00.
Wouldn’t know. I wouldn’t watch him in either time slot if you paid me. Is he still bringing out the Dancing Ito’s?
But it wouldn’t surprise me if there was an OJ Simpson Joke said recently.
And since when do networks care about quality anyway? All they care about is money, and ratings equal advertiser dollars.
Well, there’s no accounting for taste. Seniors, rejoice!
You said the same thing a while ago. I’m on team ambient but give us more! How about: Well, there’s no accounting for taste! Seniors, rejoice?
I still question if this is a win on the money front though. If Jay is bringing in 4.9 million to Letterman’s 4.1 million is that really a big enough lead to demand higher ad rates than Letterman?
how can people watch this talentless, classless piece of corporate deep throating sh!t??
And there’s nothing else on.
Jay still sucks… He just sits there like a lump…Not funny either. Yes Im a senior AARP person
Isn’t it past your bedtime????
I love Leno
glad hes back and on top where he belongs. you go jay.now if kevin will stay.
Leno is a jerk. Plain and simple. And I wish he would stop acting like he is a victim in all of this. Ass.
And as far as his show goes: Lame Night with Jay Lame-o.
After 17 years as host of the Tonight Show which was number 1 in ratings NBC fired Jay…This is ALL NBC’s fault not Leno nor Coco’s fault!
Jay WAS the victim! Why do you keep FORGETTING
Why do people have to insult Leno? I agree that he has his shortcomings, but late at night I like my humour a bit softer. That doesn’t mean that I love shows like Tosh.0 too and even Jimmy Kimmel.
People insult Leno because he sucks.
What a thoughtful and intelligent thing way to add to a conversation. You must be a very deep thinker.
Yes because EW comment boards are full of deep thinkers. I laud your high standards of this asinine message board sir. Kudos to you.
by humor that is “softer”, you must mean “totally absent”…
Love that smirk on his face…has you thinking…”Ha, I got my way and too bad for anyone else.” What a prize!
I’m glad he’s winning the slot. I still miss getting to see his 10:00 show “live” (back to DVRing except during vacations), but I’m glad he’s beating Dave and Jimmy Kimmel. Not that I don’t like Dave and Jimmy K., but I enjoy Jay & the Tonight Show the most.
Maybe the Westboro Baptist Church creeps will protest Leno, he’s far worse than anything those losers are protesting….
I love all the Coco lovers that crash any story that Leno’s in. Bite it, Fanboys. Deal with the facts. Coco lost 30% of his audience TWO weeks into his gig, and you can’t blame Leno for that, cause he wasn’t even on yet. He wasn’t funny, so he’s gone, and Leno back to doing what he does best, kicking Letterman a** from here to Panama.
No…I don’t blame that on Leno. I blame it on the fact that it’s the middle of the summer, and I’d rather be out enjoying the warm weather than sitting my butt on the couch watching TV. There’s a reason that summer TV is mostly reruns and burn off shows.
Funny, but JAY’S ratings NEVER dropped at ALL during the summer…If you were REALLY a fan of Conan’s you would have watched so blame his demise on yourself and all his other “fair-weathered” fans!
G-Man, if getting viewers was about “being funny,” Leno would be on the bottom of the heap. Face facts – he’s the brand of safe, corporate, middle of the road comedy that appeals to middle America. He’s the “According to Jim” of late night. If you like him, good for you, but let’s not pretend that Conan lost out because Leno is a better comedian…
Conan is much funnier but unfortunatly for him he appeals to a younger audience who have better things to do than sit and watch TV at the earlier time slot like Leno’s over the hill audience. If Leno conflicted with bingo night than no one would watch him.
You are so right about those obnoxious, left wing wacko, commie loving Team Coco a-holes! Conan blew it on his own & Letterman loved it because he was #1 against Conan. Well Dave, that’s OVER NOW! Your old friend Big Jaw is a REAL comedian, not a Simpson’s writer who just got lucky & won the Lorne Michaels Lottery for show give-aways.
g string rocks knows nothing.this knee pad wearing,rush limbaugh lovin hick is just d*** ridin leno.he doesnt know you..all u hicks talk like u know a mofo..
He’s not really kicking Letterman’s a$$, .6 million? That’s not much.
I’m not a Coco-lover by any means but I do believe he got shafted. Whenever there’s a change there’s always a dip in ratings. Radio station changes format, ratings dive for awhile. TS changes hosts, ratings dive for a while. It happened when Leno took the show from Carson, it happened when O’Brien took the show from Leno.
NBC is spending gazillions to get top-notch guests to appear and that will keep Leno riding high for awhile.
But seriously, talent to talent… Leno is stale and just not that funny.
Honestly, Ferguson is the best late night host on right now.