Viewers happy with return of late-night TV shows

NEW YORK – The return of television’s late-night comedy shows was greeted eagerly by viewers tired of repeats, with nearly every program drawing season-high audiences Wednesday, according to early ratings data provided by the networks.

“The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” – long the genre’s top dog – was the big winner, with 7.2 million viewers, a bump of more than 40% from his pre-strike average this season of 5 million viewers. His fellow NBC host, Conan O’Brien, had 2.8 million viewers, up from the 2.1 million who tuned in before the strike started.

On CBS – the only network whose late-night programs returned with their writing staffs – David Letterman’s “Late Show” pulled in 5.5 million viewers, up 45% from the 3.78 million viewers who watched pre-strike. “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” attracted 2.24 million viewers, compared to his 1.74 million pre-strike average.

The only late-night host to post lower viewership Wednesday than before the strike began was ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, who averaged 1.8 million viewers in his first show back on the air. Before the labor dispute, an average of 1.9 million viewers tuned into “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Kimmel show’s midnight start time puts it up against the last half of Leno’s and Letterman’s programs.

matea.gold@latimes.com