CBS' Letterman trounces NBC's 'Tonight Show'

It seems that despite the mammoth debut of NBC's "The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien" on June 1, CBS's "Late Show With David Letterman" still trampled "Tonight" for the first time since the franchise changed hosts from Jay Leno to Conan O'Brien.

According to a Variety.com article, "According to Nielsen metered-market overnights representing 56 of the nation's largest markets, 'Late Show' averaged a 3.4 household rating/8 share to a 2.9/7 for 'Tonight.' The NBC latenight show had averaged a 3.1/8 on Monday of this week, a 3.5/8 last Friday and a 3.8/9 last Thursday."

Yet, it is believed that when Nielsen releases demographic ratings that O'Brien's "Tonight" will be late night's leader just as Leno's "Tonight" has been for years. Plus, the fact that on Tuesday, NBC's "Tonight" was up against live hockey for the first time since O'Brien took over as host didn't help the situation.

According to an article on HollywoodReporter.com, "Letterman had Julia Roberts and Black Eyed Peas as guests; O'Brien had Eddie Murphy, Angela Kinsey and Bonnie Raitt. The ratings gap between the hosts has been narrowing nearly every night since O'Brien took control of 'Tonight.' The last time 'Late Show' topped "Tonight' under Jay Leno was eight months ago."

NBC co-chair Marc Graboff was asked about O'Brien's ratings he stated that the late night battle is one that will be fought over years. Graboff also mentioned that NBC is focusing on the adult demographic ratings which have not yet been released by Nielsen.

The HollywoodReporter.com article also stated, "O'Brien attracts a younger audience than Letterman, and when those 18-49 figures become available tomorrow, NBC expects they will tell a different story than the overnights, which measure overall household viewership. Still, NBC would rather not lose this hour in any major measurement category after having easily ruled the time period for years."