Late Night Ratings: Paul McCartney boosts David Letterman's numbers

CBS is trumpeting the news that Sir Paul McCartney's much-hyped appearance helped last night's "Late Show with David Letterman" top "The Tonight Show" by its largest margin since Oct. 16, 2008 (Sen. John McCain's even more hyped appearance). For the week of July 6-10, "Late Show" "beat 'The Tonight Show' by its largest margin in viewers since 2000, placed first in adults 25-54 (tie) and narrowed the margin in adults 18-49 opposite Conan O'Brien to just -0.3 of a rating point... In adults 18-49 (0.8/04 vs. 1.1/05), LATE SHOW continued to cut 'The Tonight Show's' lead: -1.4 in Conan O'Brien's premiere week, -0.6 in the week ending June 12, -0.5 in the week ending June 19 and -0.3 in the week ending July 10. Among adults 18-34 (0.5/02 vs. 1.1/05), LATE SHOW has cut 'The Tonight Show's' lead from -1.6 in Conan O'Brien's premiere week to -0.6 in the week ending July 10."

If NBC comes out with their own spin on the results, we'll keep you posted.

Macca provided New Yorkers with a nice treat, serenading them with a seven-song set atop the Ed Sullivan Theater's marquee. Watch the mini-concert on the "Late Show" web site.

Update: Here's NBC's version; guess what? It's all about the youth! "NBC's 'The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien' has delivered a decisive win for the week of July 6-10 in late-night's key demographic of adults 18-49, beating CBS's 'Late Show with David Letterman' on five of five nights. 'Tonight' also more than doubled 'Late Show' in the younger half of the key demo, adults 18-34." However, the New York Times' Bill Carter is not buying it, calling Letterman's ratings performance last week "impressive" and noting that "The 'Tonight' numbers represented a steep drop from those scored by Jay Leno a year ago in the same week. Mr. Leno’s 'Tonight' show had 4.6 million viewers, meaning Mr. O’Brien’s show has fallen by 38 per cent." But NBC is happy because O'Brien's viewers are younger. Lather, rinse, repeat.