• by Wayne Friedman , March 14, 2014

Late-night stars -- and viewers -- are still coming out for Jimmy Fallon, although a bit less than in his initial weeks, which was expected.

For the week ending March 7, NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” averaged a Nielsen 4.5 million viewers -- with CBS’ “Late Show with David Letterman” (2.76 million) and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (2.74 million) well behind.

For Fallon, this is down 17% from the week before, and even lower from his strong initial weeks. His season-to-date average since Feb. 17, when he replaced Jay Leno, now stands at 6.1 million viewers; “Late Show” is at 2.7 million; and “Kimmel” has 2.5 million.

Fallon's debut episode in mid-February pulled in a massive 11.3 million viewers when he took over for Leno. In the key 18-49 viewership category, Fallon remains easily on top with a 1.34 rating/6 share. ABC’s “Kimmel” is at 0.73/3 and CBS’s “Late Show” has 0.56/3.

Looking later in the evening, for the most recent week, NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers” saw 2.1 million viewers with CBS’ “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” at 1.4 million viewers. Since Feb. 17, when Meyers and Fallon took over their new jobs, “Late Night” earned a 2.37 million viewer average and “Late Late Show” a 1.34 million.

Both “Tonight” and “Late Night” top all their respective competitors in younger adult viewers 18-34, as well as older adults 25-54.