"Nightline": Beneficiary of a "big shift happening in late night"

New York Times TV writer Bill Carter reports on "Nightline" in today's paper, stating that "viewership for the news show is up 14 percent in the last six weeks compared with the same week a year ago, and, in the most recent two weeks, the program has frequently grabbed the most viewers of the three shows." After Ted Koppel left the show in 2005, there were plenty of predictions that Jimmy Kimmel would be moved up to 11:30, or that ABC would make some other programming change to put entertainment in that time slot. However, the network stuck with "Nightline," which has resulted in successful counterprogramming.

“I think there’s another big shift happening in late night,” said executive producer James Goldston, referring to Jay Leno's move to 10 PM and Conan O'Brien taking over the "Tonight Show." David Westin, the president of ABC News, said, “When Jay left, some people were freed up to consider other alternatives.”

The "Nightline" folks deny that their ratings success is strictly Michael Jackson-driven, even though news related to the late star was featured on 12 out of 16 shows following his death. Goldston says that since moving to its post-Koppel, three-story-a-night format, "Nightline" retains 54% of the local news audience, up from 39%.

One interesting parenthetical mentioned by Carter:

One factor not often mentioned is that “Nightline” has the advantage of being rated for just a half-hour, while the other two shows run for a full hour at a time of night when many viewers are drifting away to bed as the minutes roll by. The ABC program would win less often if its ratings were compared to the first, much higher-rated half-hours of the entertainment shows.

NBC shuffles prime time lineup in effort to help Conan's ratings

One more ratings item: The New York Times is reporting that NBC is making changes to its 10 PM time slot to help provide a strong lead-in to its late night shows.

The terrorist-hunting show "The Wanted" was a ratings bust last Monday night -- and "some NBC late-night executives expressed concern that Conan O’Brien’s 'Tonight Show' had suffered as a result," writes the Times' Bill Carter. "Mr. O’Brien, who is in a tight ratings battle with David Letterman on CBS and 'Nightline' on ABC, had a promising lineup Monday with Adam Sandler as the lead guest. But his rating–even among the young adult viewers where he has been strong–did not get a boost."

Dave's Monday guests were Katherine Heigl, old buddy Jeff Altman, and rock band Spinnerette.

Next Monday, NBC will try moving "The Wanted" to 9 PM and putting an episode of "Dateline" on at 10, to see if it will help Conan's guest roster of Meryl Streep, "Funny People" director Judd Apatow and the Fray. Dave, meanwhile, will host the Dave Matthews Band, with the lead singer sitting down for an interview as well as performing.

Late Night Ratings: Conan in third place after Letterman, "Nightline"

CBS is first out of the gate again this morning with a ratings press release about the week of July 13-17, and the Eye is excited. Here's the headline:

"LATE SHOW" GOES BACK-TO-BACK WITH WINS OVER "THE TONIGHT SHOW" FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1998
"Late Show" Tops "Tonight Show" in Viewers for the Third Time in Four Weeks
The Gap in Both Adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34 Narrows to Their Smallest Difference Since Conan Became Host
"The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" Tops "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon"

Yes, Conan O'Brien is still winning over the Coveted Younger Demographic®, but CBS says Dave is catching up: "In adults 18-49, LATE SHOW was just -0.2 of a rating point behind 'The Tonight Show,' while among adults 18-34, the gap has narrowed to -0.5 of a rating point, the smallest difference between the two shows in both demographic measures since Conan became host."

But wait! Here's NBC, saying that they couldn't be happier with Conan's performance! "Despite a highly publicized appearance on 'Late Show' by former Beatle Paul McCartney, 'Tonight' more than doubled 'Late Show's' audience last week in the younger half of late-night's key 18-49 demo, adults 18-34... In adult 18-49 rating, 'The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien' finished #1 or tied for #1 on five of five nights last week and is 30 for 30 with original telecasts since Conan's June 1 debut."

Looking at the overall numbers, however, it's hard to see how NBC can be completely pleased. I mean, this looks kind of grim (and note that "Nightline" is still beating both entertainment shows, even after their Michael Jackson coverage ratings bump):

NBC "Tonight," 2.7 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 3.5 million viewers
ABC "Nightline," 3.7 million viewers
Comedy Central, 11 p.m. ET, "The Daily Show," 1.5 million viewers
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. ET, "The Colbert Report," 1.1 million viewers

ABC "Kimmel," 1.5 million viewers
NBC "Late Night," 1.3 million viewers
CBS "Late Late Show," 1.5 million viewers

Going back a month, Conan had an average of 3.3 million viewers per show during the week of June 15 -- a number that has been steadily dropping. Dave, meanwhile, was watched by 3.5 million people, exactly the same number that tuned in during the current ratings period. "Nightline" has seen big gains. Have some late night viewers decided to get a news fix at 11:30 instead of watching a traditional talk show?

The average age of Conan viewers has also crept up in the last month, from 45.8 during the week of June 15 to 47.2 during the week of July 13.

Need a Leno fix? Head to thejaylenoshow.com

Fresh content is being added to thejaylenoshow.com, including a few videos of the man himself performing stand-up (Sotomayor jokes!) and vlogs by band member Vicki Randle, who is trying to lose 10 pounds before the show debuts on Sept. 14, and a behind-the-scenes look from talent coordinator Bryan Branly. And if you really miss Headlines and Jaywalking, there are best-of videos.

Why no countdown widget, NBC? Do we have to do everything around here?

Happy birthday to Dave's mom

David Letterman's mom Dorothy, who has been such a charming presence on his show over the years, is turning 88 tomorrow (Saturday, July 18). In honor of her birthday, she will be presenting a special Top Ten list on the show tonight, via satellite from her Indiana home.

A preview of some of the Top Ten Ways Dave’s Mom Is Celebrating Her Birthday, from CBS: “Spend day fishing with Sarah Palin”; “I’m gonna watch the kid that replaced Leno”; and “Going to a ‘Fire David Letterman’ rally.” The full list will be available tomorrow on the "Late Show" web site. You can read up on Dorothy at Wikipedia.

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.

Talk show Emmy nominations

The 61st Annual Emmy Award nominations were announced this morning, and here are the talk shows that got the nod:

The Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Series nominees: "Late Show With David Letterman," "Real Time With Bill Maher," "Saturday Night Live," "The Colbert Report" and "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart."

Outstanding Writing For A Variety, Music Or Comedy Series: "Late Night With Conan O'Brien," "Late Show With David Letterman," "Saturday Night Live," "The Colbert Report" and "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart." This category was always a comic highlight of the Emmycast, since the writing staffs made their own goofy videos; while the award will still be given annually, unfortunately, it will now only be broadcast every other year. Boo, hiss, Emmy producers!

Stephen Colbert's "A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift Of All" was nominated for Outstanding Art Direction For Variety, Music Or Nonfiction Programming and Outstanding Picture Editing For A Special (Single Or Multi-Camera). The song "Much Worse Things" scored a nod for Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics. Personally, we would have gone for Colbert's duet with Jon Stewart, "Can I Interest You In Hannukah?" It'll be competing against, among others, the "Saturday Night Live" digital short tune "Motherlover" and Flight of the Conchords' "Unnatural Love."

"The Colbert Report"'s director Jim Hoskinson was nominated in the Outstanding Directing For A Variety, Music Or Comedy Series category for the show that aired on Dec. 10, 2008. Chuck O'Neil of "The Daily Show" was nominated for directing the Aug. 26, 2008 episode, taped in Denver, CO during the Democratic National Convention. Jerry Foley was also acknowledged for directing "Late Show with David Letterman"'s June 3, 2008 show.

Two "Daily Show" editors were nominated for Outstanding Short Form Picture Editing: the Aug. 28 show from Denver (Einar Westerlund) and the July 31 episode (Graham Knox Frazier).

"The Daily Show" got yet another nod for its special web content in the Outstanding Special Class - Short-format Live-Action Entertainment Programs category. "'The Late Night with Jimmy Fallon' Digital Experience" was nominated for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media - Nonfiction, and "Jay Leno's Garage" was nominated in Outstanding Special Class - Short-format Nonfiction Programs.

The lighting directors of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and "Late Show With David Letterman" were acknowledged in the Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic, Multi-Camera) For Variety, Music Or Comedy Programming category. In other technical awards, "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and "Late Show With David Letterman" will compete in Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control For A Series.