TONIGHT‘S RATING DROP TO HISTORIC LOW

Ratings for The Tonight Show over the summer have fallen to their lowest level in history, published reports observed today (Friday), citing Nielsen figures. Among 18-49 year olds, they’re 23 percent lower than they were last year when Conan O’Brien hosted the show (although they’re up 12 percent among total viewers). Nevertheless, the Jay Leno-hosted talk show continues to beat David Letterman by 22 percent, as Letterman’s ratings remain virtually unchanged from last year. Both shows have faced intense competition from ABC’s Nightline, which beat both of them last week. (The Tonight Show was in reruns.) Nightline averaged 3.33 million viewers versus 3.14 million for Leno’s The Tonight Show and 3.11 million for Letterman’s Late Show. Nightline also was No. 1 among viewers 25-54 and 18-49. Ratings for all three shows will be impacted by competition from TBS’s Conan beginning in November.