"JKL" Tops its Late-Night Competitors in Adults 18-49 For the Week

Some early points on Jimmy Kimmel Live's weekly numbers, ahead of the regular press release.

During the week of April 18, 2011, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live grew over the year-ago week by 15% in Total Viewers, by 14% in Adults 18-49 and by 4% in Adults 18-34, turning in its 6th consecutive week of year-to-year increases in viewers and growing over the year-ago week for the 5th time in the last 6 weeks in Adults 18-49. In fact, JKL stood as the only late-night broadcast program to deliver yearly gains in all three measures.

Also standing as the only late-night entertainment broadcast program to see week-to-week increases in all three measures, JKL built its Adult 18-49 audience for the 2nd consecutive week, while also scoring weekly gains in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-34.

· For the week of April 18, among key Adults 18-49, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live beat TBS' Conan (+2%) and Lopez Tonight (+107%), NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (+3%) and Last Call with Carson Daly (+58%), CBS' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (+14%) and Comedy Central's The Daily Show (+57%) and The Colbert Report (+107%).

· ABC's JKL drew a larger overall audience than NBC's Jimmy Fallon (+15%) for the 5th straight week, beating the NBC late-night program in Adults 18-49 (+3%) for the 4th time in 5 weeks. Further, JKL topped Fallon in 4 of the 5 nights of the week in Total Viewers: Monday (+29%), Tuesday (+47%), Wednesday (+11%) and Thursday (+5%).

· For the 6th week running, ABC's JKL outperformed CBS' Ferguson in Total Viewers (+6%). In addition, JKL topped Ferguson by double-digit percentages in both Adults 18-34 (+12%) and Adults 18-49 (+14%), marking the ABC late-night program's 4th win in 5 weeks over the CBS late-night program in Adults 18-49. In fact, JKL topped Ferguson in 4 out of the 5 nights of the week both key Adult demos.

· In its 5th straight win, ABC's JKL outperformed TBS' Conan in Adults 18-49.

· JKL's Tuesday telecast (4/19/11), which featured guests Dwayne Johnson, Sammy Hagar, Dancing with the Stars' Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin and The Belle Brigade, posted the ABC late-night program's 3rd-best Adult 18-49 number and attracted its 4th-largest overall audience on any night in late-night this season. On that evening, JKL topped NBC's Fallon by a solid 20% in Adults 18-49 and beat CBS' Ferguson by a massive 61% in the young adult demo.

Ratings Report for ABC News' "Nightline" For the Week of April 18, 2011

"Nightline" #1 in Total Viewers for 9th Week in a Row and for 8th Time in 9 Weeks among Key Adults

Season to Date "Nightline" Ranks First in Late-Night among Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49

Season to Date "Nightline" Drawing Largest Overall Audience in 8 Years

During the week of April 18, 2011, ABC's "Nightline" ranked No. 1 across all key target demos for the 2nd consecutive week: Total Viewers (4.087 million), Adults 25-54 (1.650 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.270 million), according to Nielsen Media Research. "Nightline" ranked No. 1 in Total Viewers for the 9th week in a row, while taking the top position in both key adult demos for the 8th time in the last 9 weeks.

"Nightline" was up over the previous week across all key demos: Total Viewers (+6%), Adults 25-54 (+3%) and Adults 18-49 (+1%). The ABC news program built on the prior week's performance in both key adult demos for the 5th time in the last 6 weeks.

"Nightline" saw year-over-year increases in all key demos: Total Viewers (+20%), Adults 25-54 (+15%) and Adults 18-49 (+8%). Additionally, "Nightline" improved on its year-ago performance for the 10th consecutive week in Total Viewers and for the 6th week in a row in Adults 25-54.

Season to date, "Nightline" ranks first in late-night among Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49. This is the first time ever that "Nightline" has been in first place at this point in the season since at least the 1993-94 season, when "Letterman" began on CBS. In addition, "Nightline" is up by +4% in Total Viewers and by +4% in Adults 25-54 compared to the same point last year. Season to date "Nightline" is drawing its largest overall audience in 8 years - since the 2002-03 season.

Note: Due to NBC's sneak preview of its new vocal competition "The Voice," "The Tonight Show" was delayed and re-titled on Thu (4/21/11); ratings are excluded from the averages.

ABC News' "Nightline" is anchored by Cynthia McFadden, Terry Moran and Bill Weir. John Donvan and Vicki Mabrey are correspondents. Jeanmarie Condon is the Executive Producer. The program airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m., ET on the ABC Television Network.

(Week of April 18, 2011)

TOTAL VIEWERS A25-54(000)/ Rtg A18-49(000)/ Rtg

ABC "Nightline" 4,087,000 1,650,000/ 1.3 1,270,000/ 1.0

CBS "Late Show" 3,078,000 1,323,000/ 1.1 976,000/ 0.7

NBC "Tonight Show" 3,259,000 1,406,000/ 1.1 1,126,000/ 0.9

Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 & Adults 18-49 Live+SD weeks of 4/18/11, 4/11/11 & 4/19/10. Live+7 (where available) & Live+SD for Season-to-date 10-11 vs. 09-10 (9/2/10-4/22/11 vs. 9/21/09-4/23/10).

Fringe Ratings Report: ABC Late-Night Programming Week of April 18, 2011

ABC is No. 1 in Late-Night in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

ABC's "Nightline" is No. 1 in Total Viewers for the 9th Week in a Row and for the 8th Time in 9 Weeks Among Key Adults

"Nightline" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Stand as the Only Two Late-Night Broadcast Programs to Grow Their Overall Audiences Year to Year by Double-Digit Percentages

ABC's "JKL" Tops CBS' "Ferguson" in 4 of 5 Nights of the Week in Key Adults

"JKL" Bests "Conan" for the 5th Week Running in Adults 18-49

Tuesday's Airing is "JKL's" 3rd-Best of the Season in Young Adults

ABC Late-Night (Monday - Friday)

During the week of April 18, 2011, ABC saw week-to-week increases in late-night in both Total Viewers (+3% - 2.377 million vs. 2.300 million) and Adults 18-49 (+1% - 893,000 vs. 884,000), standing as the only broadcast network to post weekly gains in late-night (NBC was down -5%/flat, respectively; CBS was down -5%/-9%, respectively).

Building over the same week last year by double-digit percentages in Total Viewers (+16% - 2.377 million viewers vs. 2.043 million viewers) and Adults 18-49 (+12% - 893,000 vs. 799,000), ABC grew its overall audience in late-night for the 14th time in 16 weeks -- including the last 6 consecutive weeks -- and for the 5th time in the last 6 weeks in young adults. ABC was the only broadcast network to post year-to-year increases in late-night (NBC was down -11%/-12%, respectively; CBS was down -2%/-8%, respectively).

· For the 2nd time in the last 3 weeks, ABC posted a first-place finish in late-night in Total Viewers, outdrawing CBS by 2% (2.338 million) and NBC by16% (2.046 million).

· ABC also ranked No. 1 in late-night in young adults, topping CBS by 10% (813,000) and NBC by 9% (819,000).

"Nightline" (Monday - Friday)

During the week of April 18, 2011, ABC's "Nightline" ranked No. 1 across all key target demos for the 2nd consecutive week -- Total Viewers (4.087 million), Adults 25-54 (1.650 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.270 million) -- according to Nielsen Media Research. "Nightline" ranked No. 1 in Total Viewers for the 9th week in a row, while taking the top position in both key adult demos for the 8th time in the last 9 weeks.

"Nightline" was up over the previous week across all key demos: Total Viewers (+6%), Adults 25-54 (+3%) and Adults 18-49 (+1%). The ABC news program built on the prior week's performance in both key adult demos for the 5th time in the last 6 weeks.

"Nightline" saw year-over-year increases in all key demos: Total Viewers (+20%), Adults 25-54 (+15%) and Adults 18-49 (+8%). Additionally, "Nightline" improved on its year-ago performance for the 10th consecutive week in Total Viewers and for the 6th week in a row in Adults 25-54.

· Season to date, "Nightline" ranks first in late-night among Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49. This is the first time ever that "Nightline" has been in first place at this point in the season since at least the 1993-94 season, when "Letterman" began on CBS. In addition, "Nightline" is up by 4% in Total Viewers and by 4% in Adults 25-54 compared to the same point last year. Season to date, "Nightline" is drawing its largest overall audience in 8 years - since the 2002-03 season.

"Jimmy Kimmel Live" (Monday - Friday)

During the week of April 18, 2011, ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" grew over the year-ago week by 15% in Total Viewers (1.768 million vs. 1.544 million), by 14% in Adults 18-49 (759,000 vs. 663,000) and by 4% in Adults 18-34 (263,000 vs. 254,000). "JKL" turned in its 6th consecutive week of year-to-year increases in viewers and grew over the year-ago week for the 5th time in the last 6 weeks in Adults 18-49. In fact, "JKL" delivered the largest yearly growth of any late-night broadcast program in Adults 18-49, standing as the only program to earn yearly gains in all three measures.

Also standing as the only late-night entertainment broadcast program to see week-to-week increases in all three measures, "JKL" built its Adult 18-49 audience for the 2nd consecutive week (+1% - 759,000 vs. 749,000), while also scoring weekly gains in both Total Viewers (+2% - 1.768 million vs. 1.734 million) and Adults 18-34 (+3% - 263,000 vs. 256,000).

· For the week of April 18, among key Adults 18-49, ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" (759,000) beat TBS' "Conan" by 2% (743,000) and "Lopez Tonight" by 107% (367,000), NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" by 3% (735,000) and "Last Call with Carson Daly" by 58% (481,000), CBS' "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" by 14% (666,000) and Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" by 57% (484,000) and "The Colbert Report" by 107% (367,000).

· ABC's "JKL" drew a larger overall audience than NBC's "Jimmy Fallon" (+15% - 1.768 million vs. 1.542 million) for the 5th straight week, beating the NBC late-night program in Adults 18-49 (+3% - 759,000 vs. 735,000) for the 3rd time in 4 weeks. Further, "JKL" topped "Fallon" in 4 of the 5 nights of the week in Total Viewers: Monday (+29% - 1.908 million vs. 1.475 million), Tuesday (+47% - 2.215 million vs. 1.508 million), Wednesday (+11% - 1.669 million vs. 1.502 million) and Thursday (+5% - 1.516 million vs. 1.440 million).

· For the 6th week running, ABC's "JKL" outperformed CBS' "Ferguson" in Total Viewers (+6% - 1.768 million vs. 1.666 million). In addition, "JKL" topped "Ferguson" by double-digit percentages in both Adults 18-34 (+12% - 263,000 vs. 234,000) and Adults 18-49 (+14% - 759,000 vs. 666,000), marking the ABC late-night program's 4th win in 5 weeks over the CBS late-night program in Adults 18-49. In fact, "JKL" topped "Ferguson" in 4 out of the 5 nights of the week in both key Adult demos.

· In its 5th straight win, ABC's "JKL" outperformed TBS' "Conan" in Adults 18-49 (+2% - 759,000 vs. 743,000).

· "JKL's" Tuesday telecast (4/19/11), which featured guests Dwayne Johnson, Sammy Hagar, "Dancing with the Stars'" Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin and The Belle Brigade, posted the ABC late-night program's 3rd-best Adult 18-49 number (1.013 million) and attracted its 4th-largest overall audience (2.215 million) on any night in late-night this season. On that evening, "JKL" topped NBC's "Fallon" (842,000) by a solid 20% in Adults 18-49 and beat CBS' "Ferguson" (629,000) by a massive 61% in the young adult demo.

· On average for the season to date (31 weeks), "Jimmy Kimmel Live" is up over its performance at the same point last year by 4% in Total Viewers (1.723 million vs. 1.656 million) and by 4% in Adults 18-49 (714,000 vs. 688,000).

· Season to date, ABC's "JKL" is drawing more Adult 18-49 viewers than CBS' "Ferguson" (+3% - 714,000 vs. 694,000).

Late-Night Rank (Week of April 11): TOTAL VIEWERS A18-49(000)

ABC 2,377,000 893,000

CBS 2,338,000 813,000

NBC 2,046,000 819,000

Source: The Nielsen Company, Live + Same Day National Program Ratings for week of 4/18/11 and 4/19/10 or as dated. Live+7 (where available) & Live+SD for Season-to-date 10-11 vs. 09-10 (9/2/10-4/22/11 vs. 9/21/09-4/23/10). Comparisons based on 000s. ABC Late-Night = "Nightline" and "JKL"; CBS Late-Night = "Letterman" and "Ferguson"; NBC Late-Night = "Tonight Show," "Fallon" and "Carson Daly."