"THE TONIGHT SHOW" DOMINATES LATE-NIGHT TIMESLOT COMPETITION FOR FOURTH QUARTER OF 2014

Fallon Draws Best 'Tonight Show' Fourth Quarter in 18-49 and Total Viewers in Six Years

NEW YORK - Jan. 6, 2015 - "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" has dominated late-night ratings for the fourth quarter of 2014, with Fallon delivering the top "Tonight Show" fourth-quarter results in six years in 18-49 and total viewers.

Fallon equaled the combined rating of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" in adults 18-49, averaging a 1.17 rating for the quarter versus the combined 1.17 of "Kimmel" (0.65) and "Late Show" (0.52).

Fallon's 1.17 rating in 18-49 is "Tonight's" best average for a fourth quarter since a 1.35 in 2008. Its 4.051 million viewers overall is "Tonight's" top fourth-quarter result since the 2008 average of 5.026 million persons.

At 12:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Seth Meyers" finished just a hundredth of a rating point behind CBS's "Letterman" for the quarter in adults 18-49 (with a 0.51 vs. Letterman's 0.52), despite starting an hour later, and outrated Letterman in adults, men and women 18-34.

Head to head in the 12:35 a.m. ET hour for the fourth quarter, Meyers prevailed over CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" in all key measures - adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, plus total viewers - and topped "Late Late Show" in adults 18-49 by a +46% margin (0.51 vs. 0.35). Meyers also beat ABC's "Nightline" in their head-to-head half-hour from 12:30-1 a.m. in all key categories, with a +39% margin in adults 18-49 (0.57 for Meyers that half-hour vs. 0.41 for "Nightline").

Fallon closed the quarter with his two highest-rated weeks in six months. His 1.16 rating in adults 18-49 for both the weeks of Dec. 15-19 and Dec. 22-26 are "Tonight's" top two weeks since June 9-13 (1.24).

During the closing week of the fourth quarter, "Late Night with Seth Meyers" tied ABC's "Kimmel" in adults 18-49 (0.55 rating each) and beat CBS's "Letterman" (0.47).

Note that Wednesday through Friday telecasts were excluded or preempted during Christmas week. Meyers and Letterman were in rebroadcast that week while Kimmel aired a Monday original and Fallon ran Monday and Tuesday originals.

WEEKLY AVERAGES

(According to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research for the week of Dec. 22-26. Ratings reflect "live plus same day" data from Nielsen Media Research unless otherwise noted. 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" 1.16 rating, 5 share *
CBS "Late Show," 0.47/2 (R)*
ABC "Kimmel," 0.55/2 *
12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 0.32/2 *
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.55/3 (R)*
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.28/2 (R)*
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.30/2 (R)*

TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 4.159 million viewers *
CBS "Late Show," 2.478 million viewers (R)*
ABC "Kimmel," 2.514 million viewers *
12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 1.699 million viewers *
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.678 million viewers (R)*
CBS "Late Late Show," 1.304 million viewers (R)*
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.907 million viewers (R)*

* All Wednesday through Friday late-night programming on ABC, CBS and NBC was excluded or preempted due to the Christmas holiday. Tuesday's "Kimmel" was an encore.

FOURTH-QUARTER 2014 AVERAGES

ADULTS 18-49
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 1.17 rating, 6 share
CBS "Late Show," 0.52/2
ABC "Kimmel," 0.65/3
12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 0.41/2
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 0.51/3
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.35/2
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.31/3

TOTAL VIEWERS
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 4.051 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 2.719 million viewers
ABC "Kimmel," 2.784 million viewers
12:35-1:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Nightline," 1.709 million viewers
12:35-1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.588 million viewers
CBS "Late Late Show," 1.457 million viewers
1:35-2:05 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.888 million viewers

SELECTED CABLE RESULTS, WEEK OF DEC. 22-26

NATIONAL ADULT 18-49 RATING
Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m. ET, "The Daily Show," pre-empted
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.-midnight ET, "The Colbert Report," pre-empted
TBS, 11 p.m.-midnight, "Conan," 0.30 **
Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 0.84
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 0.56

Each adult 18-49 rating point equals 1.27 million viewers.

TOTAL VIEWERS
Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m. "The Daily Show," pre-empted
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.-midnight ET, "The Colbert Report," pre-empted
TBS, 11 p.m.-midnight, "Conan," 0.675 million **
Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 1.864 million viewers
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 1.218 million viewers

** Pre-empted on Wednesday.