LATE-NIGHT TV SHOWS CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE

The demise of George Lopez’s late night show has underlined the obstacles that late-night programs in general continue to face from increasing competition and from viewers watching programs that they recorded earlier in the evening on their DVRs. Today’s (Friday) New York Times observed that the first half hour of NBC’s Tonight show averaged 3.6 million viewers last week, edged out by ABC’s Nightline, which attracted 3.7 million. CBS’s Late Show With David Letterman placed third with 2.5 million. Meanwhile, The Daily Show and the Colbert Report on Comedy Central continue to draw big audiences when their cable and Internet ratings are combined. But Conan O’Brien’s audience continues to erode, falling last week to about 700,000, according to the newspaper.