New episodes of Conan O’Brien’s The Tonight Show might be dominating the advertiser-coveted youth demographics, but they still can’t beat overall viewership numbers for repeats of David Letterman’s The Late Show, according to the New York Times. The margin is small — Letterman averaged just 7,000 more viewers than O’Brien — but the news is interesting because Letterman was airing repeats, while O’Brien was debuting new episodes. Such a feat has not been accomplished in more than 14 years. The good news for O’Brien, however, is that the kiddos love him. He only upped his dominance among younger viewers, beating Letterman by 62 percent in the 18-49 demographic. O’Brien’s median audience age is 46.8, which seems rather youthful compared to Letterman’s median audience age of 57.
Aug 14
2009
06:03 AM ET
Letterman repeats beat new Conan episodes in total viewers
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connan is vary funny. hes sillyness and style is more relaxing than lettermen’s. I like Letterman two but he is more serious I think.
I like Conan,I have been watching since the days of Late night with Conan O’Brian. I have always found him funny,silly at times,but that’s what makes a great late night host right? Being funny yet relaxed. Letterman is good too,don’t get me wrong, but I always thought Conan was funnier.
I am in the younger age demographic and to me, Conan is terrible, juvenile, immature and a poor interviewer. Johnny Knoxville would be a better choice. His content is poor and the bigger stars seem to be on everyone else’s shows and not his now that his honeymoon period is over. It is Katie Couric all over again, maybe the network will get a grip before they destroy the Tonight Show for years to come.