NEW YORK - Recently sworn-in U.S. citizen Craig Ferguson is being embraced by his new countrymen: The late-night comic hit a ratings milestone last week with his first victory over NBC's Conan O'Brien.
ADVERTISEMENT
The CBS "Late Late Show" averaged more viewers than O'Brien's "Late Night" (1.88 million to 1.77 million) for the first week during which they each competed with all-original shows since Ferguson started in January 2005.
It caps a slow and steady climb for Ferguson and raises a red flag for future "Tonight" show host O'Brien, although NBC says it is still happy with O'Brien's audience.
"He's getting looser and looser all the time and for the last few months it's clear that he's having such a good time that you can't resist it as a viewer," said veteran late-night hand Peter Lassally, Ferguson's executive producer.
NBC acknowledged Ferguson's victory but noted O'Brien — the designated successor to Jay Leno when Leno steps down next year — still led among viewers aged 18-49, the youthful demographic the network bases its advertising sales on. Among the younger half of that demographic, O'Brien gets more viewers than David Letterman, NBC said.
joke post...?REAL TALK