The last time “Late Night” got numbers as big as they got last night, Michael Jackson was on trial in California. George W. Bush was president. Conan O’Brien was the host of the show.
From NBC this morning:
- At 12:35 a.m. ET, “Late Night with Seth Meyers” has delivered strong ratings with its premiere telecast, averaging a 2.6 rating, 9 share in household results from the 56 markets metered by Nielsen Media Research. It’s the highest “Late Night” rating on a Monday in nine years (since Jan. 24, 2005 for a “Late Night” encore, 4.2, which followed a high-rated “Tonight Show” tribute to Johnny Carson).
- The debut of “Late Night with Seth Meyers” is up 63% versus “Late Night’s” season average (2.6 vs. 1.6, L+SD). Monday’s “Late Night” retained 58% of its “Tonight Show” lead-in (2.6 vs. 4.5), versus the show’s 55% season average (1.6 vs. 2.9). The 2.6 topped the combined ratings in the time slot of ABC’s “Nightline” (1.4/5 for the first half-hour of the time period) and CBS’s “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” (1.0/4).
- In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, “Late Night with Seth Meyers” averaged a 1.2/8 in adults 18-49, best for “Late Night” on a Monday since June 1, 2009 (1.4, following Conan O’Brien’s “Tonight Show” premiere).