• by Wayne Friedman , January 14, 2008

Write this up: Jay Leno's return to late-night television has meant little change concerning the top late-night TV programs. He still gets the best ratings--all without the benefits of writers.

Media agency Magna Global says for the first four days of the new year--January 2 to January 6--late-night telecasts of "The Tonight Show" have earned a 1.7 rating among 18-49 viewers, 11% higher than his pre-strike numbers (September 24 to November 4), and 54% more than during the strike period when the show was in reruns (November 5 to December 30).

Although the "Late Show with David Letterman" is in second place, the show is a bit closer to Leno--sitting three-tenths of a rating point behind, at a 1.4 among 18-49 viewers. That's 21% more than his pre-strike numbers and 34% higher than his rerun strike-period numbers.

"Letterman" and "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" are the only late-night shows that have struck an agreement with the writers' union.

Virtually all other late-night shows have also shown improvement since returning. "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" had a 1.0 rating, some 14% higher than its pre-strike numbers and 52% more than his reruns' strike numbers. "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" earned a 0.6 rating, a 7% pre-strike gain and an 11% hike from strike reruns. "Last Call with Carson Daly" took in a 0.5 rating--9% higher than his pre-strike numbers and 24% more than those strike reruns.

Only ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" went in the other direction, earning a 0.6 rating--down 14% from its pre-strike levels and off 3% from its strike reruns.

Magna Global notes that Turner Broadcasting's Adult Swim late-night programming block has also been hurt--down double-digit percent decreases in most demographics.

For example, among 18-49 viewers, Adult Swim programming is down 15% from its pre-strike numbers to a 0.40 rating, and 18% lower than its strike programming period. Even its core young viewers have dropped away. Its 0.62 rating among 18-34 viewers has tumbled 13% from before the strike and 15% from ratings during the strike period.