‘Nightline’ #1 Five Weeks in a Row

ABC’s “Nightline” has now been number one in late night five weeks in a row in Total Viewers topping David Letterman on CBS and Jay Leno on NBC.  Letterman and Leno each won in younger viewers — Leno in A18-49, Letterman in A25-54 — but “Nightline” was second in both demos.

Season-to-date, “Nightline” ranks first among Total Viewers, A25-54 and A18-49. This is the first time “Nightline” has been in first place at this point in the season since at least the 1993-94 season when “Letterman” began on CBS. (Which was three years after Pat Sajak left the CBS late night lineup)

We’ll be talking with “Nightline” co-anchor Bill Weir next week for our MediaBeat web series. Of the show’s success, and his recent arrival, Weir tells TVNewser, “I feel like I got traded to a pennant contender. A pennant winner, really. It’s fantastic.”

Ratings for Tuesday, election night, are excluded from the averages as “Nightline” and “The Late Show” were coded specials and “The Tonight Show” was preempted. For the other four days, ABC’s ratings are based on a 30-minute broadcast, while CBS and NBC are based on one hour.