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[03/29/12 - 01:21 PM]
Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon Finish #1 for the First Quarter of 2012 vs. the ABC and CBS Competition
NBC spins the numbers for the week of March 19-23 and the quarter to date.

[via press release from NBC]

JAY LENO AND JIMMY FALLON FINISH #1 FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2012 VS. THE ABC AND CBS COMPETITION

IN ITS TIME PERIOD, 'TONIGHT' DELIVERS BIGGER AUDIENCES THAN 'LATE SHOW' OR ABC'S 'NIGHTLINE'-'KIMMEL' COMBO IN EVERY RATINGS CATEGORY: ADULTS, MEN AND WOMEN 18-34, 18-49 AND 25-54, PLUS TOTAL VIEWERS

JIMMY FALLON OUT-DELIVERS 'LATE LATE SHOW' BY EVERY KEY MEASURE AND BEATS 'KIMMEL' FOR THEIR HEAD-TO-HEAD HALF-HOUR IN ALL KEY CATEGORIES

VERSUS THE YEAR-AGO QUARTER, JAY DOUBLES HIS TOTAL-VIEWER LEAD OVER 'LATE SHOW' TO 16 PERCENT FROM 8 PERCENT AND JIMMY FALLON STRETCHES HIS MARGIN OVER 'LATE LATE SHOW' TO 16 PERCENT FROM 3 PERCENT

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - March 29, 2012 - NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" have delivered #1 finishes for the first quarter of 2012 over the ABC and CBS competition in their time periods in viewers 18-49 and total viewers. For the quarter, "Tonight" averaged a 0.9 rating, 3 share in adults 18-49 and 3.7 million viewers overall and "Late Night" earned a 0.6/3 in 18-49 and 1.8 million viewers overall.

Jay delivered bigger first-quarter audiences in the time slot than CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" and ABC's combination of "Nightline" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in every key ratings category: adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, plus total viewers. Jimmy Fallon also attracted bigger audiences than CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" in every key category, and from 12:30-1 a.m. ET, Jimmy Fallon out-delivered "Kimmel" head to head by every key measure.

For the first quarter of 2012, "Tonight" increased its total-viewer margin over "Late Show" to 16 percent (3.740 million vs. 3.229 million), doubling the year-ago advantage of 8 percent. Jimmy Fallon established a total-viewer lead over "Late Late Show" for the quarter of 16 percent (1.763 million vs. 1.526 million), up from 3 percent one year ago. Jimmy also increased his first-quarter lead over "Late Late Show" in adults 18-34 to 37 percent (258,000 vs. 189,000), up from last year's 26 percent, and in adults 25-54 up to 13 percent (873,000 vs. 772,000) from 4 percent for the first quarter of 2011.

The quarter ended with the week of March 19-23, during which "Tonight" averaged a 0.8/3 in 18-49 and 3.7 million viewers overall, tying "Late Show" in 18-49 rating and topping it by an 11 percent margin in total viewers (3.680 million vs. 3.323 million). Jimmy Fallon averaged a 0.5/3 in 18-49 and 1.6 million viewers for the week, beating "Late Late Show" by a tenth of a rating point in 18-49 and by a 4 percent margin in total viewers (1.600 million vs. 1.532 million).

WEEKLY AVERAGES

(According to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research for the week of March 19-23. Ratings reflect "live plus same day" data from Nielsen Media Research unless otherwise noted. First-quarter and season-to-date figures are averages of "live plus seven day" data except for the two most recent weeks, which are "live plus same day.")

ADULTS 18-49
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 0.8 rating, 3 share
CBS "Late Show," 0.8/3*
11:35 p.m.-12 midnight ET
ABC "Nightline," 0.8/3
12 midnight-1 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 0.5/2*
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.5/3
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.4/2*
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.3/2*

TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 3.7 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 3.3 million viewers*
11:35 p.m.-12 midnight ET
ABC "Nightline," 3.6 million viewers
12 midnight-1 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 1.6 million viewers*
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.6 million viewers
CBS "Late Late Show," 1.5 million viewers*
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.9 million viewers*

FIRST QUARTER 2012

ADULTS 18-49
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 0.9 rating, 3 share
CBS "Late Show," 0.8/3
11:35 p.m.-12 midnight ET
ABC "Nightline," 0.9/3
12 midnight-1 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 0.5/2
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.6/3
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.5/3
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.3/2

TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 3.7 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 3.2 million viewers
11:35 p.m.-12 midnight ET
ABC "Nightline," 3.8 million viewers
12 midnight-1 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 1.7 million viewers
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.8 million viewers
CBS "Late Late Show," 1.5 million viewers
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.9 million viewers

SEASON TO DATE

ADULTS 18-49
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 0.9 rating, 3 share
CBS "Late Show," 0.9/3
11:35 p.m.-12 midnight ET
ABC "Nightline," 0.9/3
12 midnight-1 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 0.5/2
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.6/3
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.5/3
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.3/2

TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 3.8 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 3.3 million viewers
11:35 p.m.-12 midnight ET
ABC "Nightline," 3.9 million viewers
12 midnight-1 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 1.8 million viewers
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.8 million viewers
CBS "Late Late Show," 1.6 million viewers
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 1.0 million viewers

SELECTED CABLE RESULTS, WEEK OF MARCH 19-23

NATIONAL ADULT 18-49 RATING

Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m. ET, "The Daily Show," 0.4 (in encore telecasts)

Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.-midnight ET, "The Colbert Report," 0.3 (in encore telecasts)

TBS, 11 p.m.-midnight, "Conan," 0.5**

Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 0.9

Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 0.6

Each adult 18-49 rating point equals 1.28 million viewers

TOTAL VIEWERS

Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m. "The Daily Show," 0.9 million (in encore telecasts)

Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.-midnight ET, "The Colbert Report," 0.7 million (in encore telecasts)

TBS, 11 p.m.-midnight, "Conan," 1.0 million**

Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 2.1 million

Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 1.5 million

** Thursday's "Conan" was delayed by NCAA basketball and is excluded from these averages.





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