Craig Ferguson's ratings trump Conan O'brien's - Today's News: Our Take

Craig Ferguson by Robert Voets/CBS For the first time ever, CBS' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson edged out Late Night with Conan O'Brien in a week of head-to-head competition, according to Nielsen numbers for the week ending Feb. 8. Ferguson's late-night fare averaged 1.85 million viewers, versus O'Brien's 1.82 mil for the week. The two shows tied for adults ages 25-54. How their ratings will impact Scotch-Irish relations has yet to be seen. For more on this week's ratings, check out Thursday's numbers, by the hour. — Anna Dimond Related: • Craig Ferguson Books a Dinner with the President Leave a Comment
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Posted by TV Guide Staff Feb 15, 2008 3:04 PM Report Abuse

Anna said "In their first week of head-to-head competition, " Ummm, haven't they been competing head-to-head since Craig took over as host of the Late Late Show in 2005?
Posted by Anonymouse Feb 15, 2008 3:34 PM Report Abuse

Craig Ferguson is so much funnier than Conan. He's articulate, intelligent, and witty. I know I won't be watching The Tonight Show when Conan takes over.
Posted by tvfan1957 Feb 15, 2008 6:39 PM Report Abuse

Noooo! It can't be. I refuse to trust Nielsen ratings. They're the bringer of all evil, especially to my favorite programs like FNL.
Posted by Stace Feb 15, 2008 6:47 PM Report Abuse

Anna said "In their first week of head-to-head competition, " Ummm, haven't they been competing head-to-head since Craig took over as host of the Late Late Show in 2005? There was a misplaced "first ever" in the original edit. It has since been edited for clarity.
Posted by Matt Webb Mitovich Feb 15, 2008 7:24 PM Report Abuse

I Looooove Craig. Glad he got the ratings he deserves for his wit and originality. Conan's awesome as well though.
Posted by Casper Feb 16, 2008 4:35 AM Report Abuse

Awesome. I love me some Craig. He's fantastic! I could do without his skits sometimes but his monologues and interaction with guests is top notch!
Posted by mdjones Feb 16, 2008 11:28 AM Report Abuse

Congrats to Craig, and well-deserved! His is the only monologue I bother to pay attention too anymore - he's just a natural, it's hard to tell which are the written jokes and how much is improvised stream of consciousness. He's great with guests and usually manages to get them off the prepared talking points of whatever they're promoting. Plus he just makes me giggle like a school girl... or a naughty little donkey.

Posted by Nunovyer Bidness

Feb 16, 2008 8:42 PM

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Love both my late, late night hosts! Both are original, intelligent, and actually seem to enjoy what they are doing (unlike the pointless, tedious Letterman or the dull Leno). I'll be thrilled when Conan takes over Leno, and I can watch both my boys each night!
Posted by isembard Feb 17, 2008 2:25 PM Report Abuse

It is nice to see the funnier man win. By the way, it is "Scotish-Irish" relations. Scotch is a drink, or a tape.
Posted by mhbronson Feb 17, 2008 7:54 PM Report Abuse

I agree with isembard. I like Craig and was rooting for him to get the gig. But sometimes he can steamroll over his guests and often refuses to play along (Guest: "knock knock". Craig: "Come in".). But of the four overnight hosts (I don't count Kimmel) he is the funniest on his own. Conan is extremely likeable, of the four he's the one easiest to imagine as a friend. But the strike did show up his weak points.

Leno and Letterman didn't need a strike to highliht theirs. Letterman is often prickly and rude, though still funny. Leno just keeps proving what an unfunny dope he is. And there is something going on there too. Ever notice how many attractive female stars mention how he just "happened" to pop in on them to say 'hello' before the show while that particular star was in one stage or another of undress? I have yet to hear a male star tell a similar tale.

If it were up to me, Leno would be out of the mix completely and I'd be able to watch both Craig and Conan nightly and Letterman on the weekends.

Posted by DaMess

Feb 18, 2008 2:32 AM

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