‘Tonight’ stays strong without Olympics

“The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon’s” continued to post good ratings Monday night without the Olympics, and it boosted the premiere of “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”

“Tonight” averaged a 4.5 household rating, according to Nielsen metered-market ratings, the best for a Monday night show without an Olympic lead-in in four years, since Jay Leno began his second stint as host on March 1, 2010.

Fallon once again topped his two biggest rivals combined, CBS’s “The Late Show with David Letterman” (2.2) and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (2.1).

He improved on “Tonight’s” season average with Leno by 55 percent.

The show posted a 2.1 adults 18-49 rating, the best non-Olympic Monday edition of “Tonight” since Conan O’Brien took over as host on June 1, 2009.

With that considerable lead-in, the new “Late Night” also posted strong numbers.

Meyers’ debut averaged a 2.6 household rating, the best for a Monday “Late Night” in nine years, since an episode in 2005 that followed a special tribute to Johnny Carson on “Tonight.”

Meyers’ first show bettered “Late Night’s” season average by 63 percent.

“Tonight” was clearly the engine behind the improvements. “Late Night” retained 58 percent of “Tonight’s” lead-in, just a smidge higher than its usual 55 percent retention rate.

So if Fallon hadn’t done so well earlier in the night, Meyers may not have had such a big debut.

Like “Tonight,” “Late Night” topped the combined competition at 12:35 a.m., with ABC’s “Nightline” posting a 1.4 and CBS’s “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” a 1.0.

Among 18-49s, Meyers posted a 1.2, the best for “Late Night” since O’Brien’s late-night debut lifted the show to a 1.4 in June 2009.

Of course, while NBC will be touting the strong numbers, media buyers and planners will be more interested in how the shows hold up over the long haul.

There’s been a lot of hype and publicity for “Tonight” and “Late Night,” and their torrid early pace is probably not sustainable in the long term.

After all, O’Brien also premiered to big numbers, and he was dumped seven months later after falling behind his late-night rivals.

But even if Fallon’s and Meyers’ numbers settle a bit lower, they could still rule late night as did Leno and Fallon for years.

Tags: jimmy fallon, late night, late night ratings, nbc, Seth Meyers, tonight, tonight show, tonight show ratings