Manhattan Adult Entertainment: As O’Brien nears deal to leave NBC, his ratings soar
Settlement talks continued yesterday on a deal that would let Mr. O’Brien leave NBC and restore Mr. Leno to the 11:35 p.m. time slot he occupied for 17 years through last spring.
Mr. O’Brien’s ratings have been rising through the week, which was an extraordinary one in late-night television and saw Mr. O’Brien and Mr. Letterman hurling barbed remarks at Mr. Leno, who fired back.
Mr. Leno averaged 5.2 million viewers per night on his last season at the “Tonight” show, Nielsen said. Mr. O’Brien is averaging 2.5 million this season.
Mr. O’Brien’s team sees the ratings as vindication. His manager, Gavin Polone, compared it to when Mr. Leno, trailing Mr. Letterman in the ratings in the mid-1990s, drew attention for the memorable appearance of Hugh Grant after his arrest for soliciting a prostitute. Mr. Leno passed Mr. Letterman in popularity and never looked back.