Davd Letterman and Jay Leno have been quietly battling to ties in the key adults 18-49 demo since the start of the new TV season -- but things have suddenly gotten less quiet now that Dave has somhow managed to top Jay for the first week of October in both the 18-49 and 18-34 demos.
In old-people news, NBC’s “The Tonight Show” still outdrew CBS’ “The Late Show” in total viewers for the same week.
Late night Oct. 1-7 averages (adults 18-49):
2.7 Saturday Night Live
0.9 Late Show With David Letterman
0.9 Nightline
0.8 Tonight Show With Jay Leno
0.7 Daily Show With Jon Stewart
0.5 Jimmy Kimmel Live
0.5 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
0.5 Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson
0.5 The Colbert Report
0.3 Last Call With Carson Daly
To give Leno his minimum due, his 10 p.m. lead-ins that week were “The Playboy Club,” “Parenthood,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Prime Suspect” and “Dateline.”
CBS’s 10 p.m. weeknight hour features more popular shows, namely “Hawaii Five-0,” “Unforgettable,” “CSI,” “The Mentalist” and “Blue Bloods.”
Then again, CBS' 10 p.m. slate has been stronger than NBC's for many seasons now. Maybe CBS affiliates just hired a bunch of better looking local news anchors? Or maybe Leno has already reasserted his dominance for the second week of October just completed?
Stay tuned.
And find The Hollywood Reporter’s story on the matter here.
