Andover’s Jay Leno did pretty well last night.
His first episode of “The Jay Leno Show” attracted 17.7 million viewers overall.
By comparison — a successful show like a “CSI” usually averages about 15 million viewers.
NBC had this to say:
“The Jay Leno Show” ranked No. 1 among the major networks in the time period in adults 18-49, No. 1 in adults 25-54 and No. 1 in total viewers and all other key ratings categories.
Versus its lead-in from “America’s Got Talent,” “The Jay Leno Show” was up 42 percent in adults 18-49 and 18 percent in total viewers (17.7 million vs. 14.9 million).
“The Jay Leno Show” delivered NBC’s highest 18-49 rating in the time period since November 3, 2008 (“Saturday Night Live Presidential Bash”), and biggest overall audience in the time slot since the August 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
From its first half-hour to its second, “The Jay Leno Show increased its 18-49 rating by 4 percent (to a 5.2 from a 5.0).
Quote from Jeff Gaspin, Chairman, NBC Universal Television Entertainment: “It’s great to launch this innovative new show with such strong initial sampling, but we realize this is just one night and that we’re going to build our business in this time period with ratings that will level out over time. Our focus is on delivering a great show and developing a consistent comedy viewing habit at 10 p.m. over the long haul.”
Preliminary 18-49 averages for Monday night are: NBC, 3.9/10; CBS, 1.8/5; Fox, 1.8/5; ABC, 1.5/5; and CW, 1.3/3. In overall total viewers, September 14 preliminary results are: NBC, 15.1 million; CBS, 5.8 million; ABC, 5.0 million; Fox, 5.0 million; CW, 2.6 million.
