• by Wayne Friedman , September 10, 2013

In somewhat of a surprise, the new syndicated “Arsenio Hall” late-night show rose to the top of the late-night ratings list in his debut. But one analyst warns this is similar to another recent high profile late-night launch.

Nielsen preliminary results show that CBS Television Distribution's "Arsenio" posted a 1.0 average rating among 18-49 viewers and a 1.2 rating among 25-54 viewers -- the best of all late-night shows.

ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live was next at a 0.8 rating for adults 18-49 and a 1.0 for adults 25-54. This was followed by CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman” at a 0.7 among 18-49 viewers and a 1.0 rating among 25-54 viewers, and NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” at a 0.6 in 18-49 viewers and a 0.9 among 25-54 viewers.

Brad Adgate, senior vice president and corporate media director for Horizon Media, cautioned that TV advertisers and viewers have seen some of this before. "'Conan' started out strong on TBS, speaking of another late-night host returning, with 4.2 million viewers in November 2010. [The show fell] to under 1 million. It’s more important to see how he will do in one month but for now it’s encouraging and viewers were aware about it.”

Adgate also notes that “Hall” had a bit of a head start versus other TV broadcast network late night shows:  “In New York, he was on at 11 p.m. -- so he had a half-hour head start against the other broadcasters.”

Among some key major markets where the show launched, “Hall” doubled the previous viewing ratings in similar late-night time periods a year ago .