Letterman Sees Boost in Viewers

CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" was the most-watched late-night entertainment show last week and had its largest margin of victory in audience size over NBC's "Tonight" since 2000, the New York Daily News reports. This past week, "Late Show" averaged 3.68 million viewers to "Tonight's" 2.8 million.

The last time "Late Show" had such a wide margin over "Tonight" was after Letterman returned from open-heart surgery in February 2000. According to the New York Times, this week was "Tonight's" least-viewed week since total viewers have been measured.

Letterman's win for the week may be partly attributed to his Wednesday night show, during which Paul McCartney returned to the Ed Sullivan Theater 45 years after the Beatles' American TV debut and performed a concert on the marquee in front of a crowd of roughly 4,000 people.

New "Tonight" host Conan O'Brien continues to have the most popularity among younger viewers, which many advertisers prefer. He has dropped to third place more regularly in total viewers, though, a spot uncommon for "Tonight."

In Emmy nominations announced Wednesday, Letterman's show received five nominations to O'Brien's one.