Letterman Tops Leno In Viewers

For the first time since Jay Leno’s return, he’s been bested in the ratings by old rival David Letterman. If you listen closely you can hear not only the hoops and hollers of CBS Late Show supporters but also millions of smug I told you sos from Conan fans nationwide. I guess the only question is what the hell took so long? And what will the premiere of Conan’s TBS show do to these numbers?

According to Zap2It, Letterman also won out amongst adults 18 to 54 last week, which is the key figure when negotiating ad revenue. I applaud these developments as I am a consumer who thinks for himself and thus, can’t stand Jay Leno’s easy-way-out, lowest common denominator strategy to late night hosting.

I once asked my aunt why she preferred Jay Leno, and she said, “He’s just a lot easier to zone in and out of. I appreciate that when I’m tired.” Maybe people just pay more attention during Halloween week. Then again, maybe we’re seeing a permanent shift in late night sensibilities. Either way, Conan’s about to get in his say.

TOPICS

Mack Rawden is the Editor-In-Chief of CinemaBlend. He first started working at the publication as a writer back in 2007 and has held various jobs at the site in the time since including Managing Editor, Pop Culture Editor and Staff Writer. He now splits his time between working on CinemaBlend’s user experience, helping to plan the site’s editorial direction and writing passionate articles about niche entertainment topics he’s into. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in English (go Hoosiers!) and has been interviewed and quoted in a variety of publications including Digiday. Enthusiastic about Clue, case-of-the-week mysteries, a great wrestling promo and cookies at Disney World. Less enthusiastic about the pricing structure of cable, loud noises and Tuesdays.