Premiere of Jay Leno Show Draws Nearly 18 Million Viewers

[MadBadger]

The debut of "The Jay Leno Show" led NBC to a ratings victory Monday night, drawing an audience of nearly 18 million people for its premiere.

Leno's show, which featured Jerry Seinfeld and an unplanned interview with musical guest Kanye West about his much-talked-about Video Music Awards appearance, averaged 17.7 million viewers. That compares favorably to Leno's "Tonight Show" farewell in may, which brought in 11.9 million people.

NBC led the prime-time race by a wide margin, averaging 15.1 million viewers and a 9.3 rating/15 share in households for the night. CBS -- which had coverage of the U.S. Open men's final bleed into primetime -- was a distant second with 5.9 million viewers and a 3.8/6. ABC (5.01 million, 3.3/5) narrowly beat FOX (4.95 million, 3.3/5) for third. The CW's Monday premieres averaged 2.6 million viewers and a 1.7/3.

NBC also led the adults 18-49 demographic with a 3.9 rating. CBS and FOX tied for second at 1.8. ABC scored a 1.5 and The CW a 1.3.

http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2009/09/tv-ratings-the-jay-leno-show-debuts-to-17-million-plus.html

The show only lost about 800,000 viewers from the first half hour to the second half hour.

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/09/15/tv-ratings-the-jay-leno-show-premieres-big/27165

[brendan120678]

1. I forgot it was on. Did I miss anything exciting? (nt)

[annabanana]

4. No. It was pretty much Leno telling a few moldy jokes,

a couple of interviews, a rap song and his headlines segment..

Sorry, I don't see it "changing the face of primetime".

[MadBadger]

6. I dont think that was ever his intention

His intention was to be himself and do what he does best. He'll do a show very similar to the tonight show because it was successful.

[annabanana]

13. It has been pushed in the PR as something "new"...

The promos had been incessant that this was something special...

[MadBadger]

19. Comedy at 10PM, I agree it is something special.

[ashling]

42. Well, to be "comedy"

it needs to be funny:shrug:

[paulsby]

2. the interview with Kanye was good

when he asked kanye the question about what his mother would say, it became very emotional on kanye's part.

[Lex]

12. Very Barbra Walters-y. Leno knew it would choke him up.

It was predictable.

[paulsby]

23. it was good television

in that i actually felt SORRY for kanye.

that says a lot lol.

[Lex]

32. seemed scripted

planned out, even the "golly gee I'm sorry" by Kanye

[Captain Hilts]

3. Wow. A chat show must be a nice change of pace at that hour. nt

[SoCalDem]

14. not really.. Many people out here on the west coast have already gone to bed

or will flip over to a local news show at 10, so they can watch the news and then go to bed.

People out here will probably DVR it, and whiz past the commercials to see a little of it, but probably will not watch it religiously.

In a perverse way, we better hope it's not too successful, or you'll see the "late night" talk shows disappear, move earlier, and there will be even less "new series" being made...and that means even more layoffs in the entertainment industry.. This type of show is super-cheap to produce, compared to a regular 1-hr drama

[LisaM]

35. Huh? I live on the West Coast and I stay up very late

It's the central time zone where they retire early. I never watch the news at ten o'clock. In fact, I'm a bit peeved because I used to watch Letterman, then Conan; now they are on opposite each other and I generally watch neither (and I can't bear Craig Ferguson or Jimmy Fallon's shows).

Why do you think people on the West Coast go to bed early?

[SoCalDem]

37. When I commuted, the 60 was a "parking lot" at 3.25 AM

Most people in my neck of the woods, commute long distances, and that alarm goes off around 3:30 AM..

[LisaM]

39. Maybe it's an LA thing

I live in Seattle, also on the West Coast, and I do not go to bed early.

[SoCalDem]

40. Oh, to live in Seattle

My son lives there and loves it.. Unfortunately, we are still in the "drive-zone".

My son who lives in Ontario-Mira Loma area, commutes to San Diego some days, to El Segundo on other days. Some days, his commute is 2 hours each way :(.. and his actual work day starts at 6AM:(

[LisaM]

43. My commute is a 15-minute bus ride!

And the bus stop is in the floor of my building.

[rvablue]

5. Whatev. Check back when the fall shows start. n/t

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

7. must have been the flag pin he was wearing

because the show was not very funny.

i wonder how long it will last.

[question everything]

33. The only funny part was his "inverview" with Obama

clever editing. Why is the "View" so popular" Reply: the loudest, shrillest noise

What about the car companies? Reply: "I own it."

I did not know anything about Rihanna - except for her face being in the way of a rapper - but found her to have a sweet, melodious voice. Did not understand why they had to pair her with a pair of crotch grabbing rappers.

But, hey, I remember the time when entertainers were accompanied with a pleasant music.

[SoCalDem]

8. People like the shiny

Let's see the graph ...... about 2-3 weeks in.


I'd hate to be Conan O'Brien about now.. former boss gets first crack at news-of-the-day..an hour & a half earlier..

and Conan's the one who moved his family across the country for his new gig..

[Lex]

15. Conan's show has been really weak.

I've tried to watch, but cannot.

[SoCalDem]

18. I think I watched it once..and it creeped me out

This was when he took over when Letterman jumped ship to CBS.

Letterman IS the heir-apparent to Johnny Carson..everyone else is a pael imitation

[paulsby]

26. i gotta disagree

letterman is way too nasty to be the heir to carson.

letterman has a different schtick and i LIKE it, but leno is much more in the carson mold than letterman is.

when i think letterman, i think snarky, crotchety, and biting.

that's not what i think when i think the tonight show, or carson.

[onehandle]

9. Television writers are up in arms over Leno's selfish move.

One less hour a week where writers could thrive. Reality shows have been cutting in on their craft and now this.

Go retire, you dinosaur.

[MadBadger]

16. Except they arent thriving, and thats why NBC did this

[Freddie Stubbs]

21. What about all of those selfish viewers who watched it last night?

:shrug:

[jbnow]

45. Leno's selfish move? When he signed his last contract his ratings

were down so they used it to push him out (a few years later) to not lose his replacement to another network.
Over the next few years his ratings were very good and NBC didn't want to lose him either...and Leno didn't want to retire.

TV is having problems too with ad revenues down and Leno type show is less expensive. True it is less for drama or sitcom writers...but Leno's staff and writers have a job (although it's one show rather than 5).
I'm guessing he draws an older audience than Letterman or comedy central, 10 PM might be a better time. (And the dinosaur is 3 years younger than Letterman.) If he wants to keep working and people like it it's a good deal

If I were a TV executive and this works...I'd be doing a great job

[Auggie]

10. I watched out of curiosity -- two thumbs down

:thumbsdown: :thumbsdown:

Neither Mrs. Auggie or I found it particularly worth the time.

[Kadie]

17. I fell asleep watching it.

His show didn't seem to have any spark to it.

[Auggie]

24. LOL

I'm sure it will get better, but I'm just not a Leno fan.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

30. I was never a Leno fan but gave it a shot last night because of Seinfeld.

The show, IMHO was awful.

[MadBadger]

31. I think its clear that if you liked Leno, you are going to like the show

If you didnt like the show before, you wont enjoy it.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

44. That's what I have been thinking. Although the couch is gone it seems

to be a similar show to the Tonight Show.

On the other hand, I love Letterman, but I don't watch him that often anymore because of Colbert. Dreamworld calls to me at about midnight! :)

[merh]

11. I was one of the 800,000 that turned away.

He isn't funny, the show sucked.

I only turned it on because there was nothing else on t.v. but reruns, wrestling and movies I had seen before. As desperate for something new to watch, his show was not new, it was just more of his crappy humor. I turned off the show and the t.v., listened to some music and did some laundry.

[texasleo]

20. By this time in two months, the viewership will be no more than 4-5 million.

[MadBadger]

22. He regularly got over 5 million at 11:30 on the tonight show

My bet is you are wrong.

[texasleo]

46. He wasn't going up against prime time shows, he was going up against Dave and Kimmel.

[Pab Sungenis]

25. The question is not how well it does first episode

but how it does on the second, then the fifth, then the sixth. First episode numbers include curiosity seekers.

Remember, "Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip" got 20 million viewers in the exact same slot a few years ago. How long did that last? Not long at all, because it couldn't hold the viewers.

We'll see how he does tonight, then Friday and next Monday.

[MadBadger]

27. Studio 60 only drew 13 million in the pilot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_60_on_the_Sunset_Strip#U.S._television_ratings

Then it hovered around 6-6.5 million until it went on a hiatus. If Leno gets 8-10 million viewers a night, NBC will be very happy

[Pab Sungenis]

29. I stand corrected on the number.

I was going from memory. Still, it was a huge number that cut in half for the second episode and dribbled from there.

Sad, too, because I loved "Studio 60."

[monmouth]

28. He'll never see numbers like that again. The smartest thing said

during the show was Jerry Seinfeld's "back in the 90s when you quit, you stayed quit."..Hahaha, Jay, give it up, you were lame the first time, and neither Seinfeld or Oprah can help you.

[Cleita]

34. A lot of that may have to do with the fact the other channels were

showing junk and re-runs. I doubt if he will get that viewership when the new TV season starts. I'm sure it will be something for viewers to fall back on when there isn't anything else on that they want to see, but I think his regular viewership, people who want to watch him five days a week, won't be that great. I didn't care for his opening monologue, finding it weak. Jon Stewart is so much better at the political joking than Leno. Of course Leno is probably censured by his corporate masters GE, while Stewart can do what he does because he's not beholden to them. Well, good luck to him, anyway. I know I won't be watching much.

[Romulox]

36. Jay Leno is not funny and never has been. nt

[onehandle]

41. Amen. He belongs in a museum with Rich Little. nt

[global1]

38. If I Were Conan I'd Be Pretty Pissed At NBC........

First they made him give up his later spot for the earlier Tonight Show slot - but that meant he had to tone down his style of comedy. He lost some good bits and characters that made his later show really funny.

Then - I thought him moving to California would help him snag some top name guests. That doesn't seem to be true. 4 out of 5 nights Letterman's guests beat out Conan's guests. Come on - Letterman even had Paul McCartney.

Most of Conan's guests are from the NBC family - like current or former cast members of SNL - or stars from shows that appear on NBC.

I thought bringing Andy back to the show would be great - but Andy hasn't had the opportunity to contribute like he did when he was on Conan's old show. Seems Andy has been reduced to just laughing at Conan's jokes.

Now NBC brings Jay back at the earlier time slot. Looks like he's going to have a better quality of guests - and Conan seems to be getting beat in the ratings against Letterman.

In fact - because I've been watching Letterman more now - I discovered Craig Ferguson. Ferguson is really irreverent and funny. He's come to be my favorite late night host over all of them now.

And Jimmy Fallon - loser!!!!! Can't stand to watch him. Too nervous.