Jay Leno’s Ratings Dip Below Conan O’Brien’s on ‘Tonight Show’

Filed under: Conan O'Brien,Dave Letterman,Jay Leno

Jay Leno could be looking over his shoulder again at NBC, the New York Post reported Friday.

Four months after taking back the “Tonight Show,” Leno’s ratings are behind those of the man he replaced, Conan O’Brien.

According to ratings website tvbythenumbers.com, in the four weeks that Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show” overlapped with Conan’s (2010 vs. 2009), he has finished behind Conan.

One caveat: this was during the “premiere” phase for Conan. Conan ended up settling on a ratings level of between a 1.0 and 1.1 adults 18-49 rating.

That’s exactly what Leno got last week.

Which is still better than David Letterman, who lags in third behind Leno and ratings-winner Nightline.

But there’s more.

Apparently Leno is not only getting equal-to-fewer viewers than the freakishly tall redhead, his show costs NBC $10-15 million more a year than O’Brien’s show did.

Leno’s higher salary — $30 million per year, compared to O’Brien’s $15 million — plus the cost of his bigger production staff could even be pushing the show into the red, according to insiders.

“It’s got the potential to be a huge embarrassment,” said the source.

NBC is about to be taken over in a $28 billion deal with cable giant Comcast.

“You can’t figure they’re happy about this,” the insider said.

Leno has at least two more years to go on his NBC deal.

But, as Leno himself joked at the height of the late-night mess last January, “NBC stands for ‘Never Believe your Contract.’”

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John Goodman Reveals How He Lost All the Weight

Filed under: Dave Letterman,Health

John Goodman opened up about his dramatic slim down during a Wednesday appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Last week, the often-portly actor, nearly 58, turned heads at a Hollywood event with a much thinner figure.

The Roseanne star estimated that he was “pushing 400″ pounds at his heaviest. His battle of the bulge has been an annual ritual, he explained. “I’d lose 60 pounds every spring.”

His weakness: beer. “I got too fond of the corn and barley and just started missing it too much, and that screwed everything up. I just gained it all back and then some every year.”

Friends and family were concerned, he said. (“[They said], you’re breaking furniture, for lord’s sake!”)

How’d he do it? “I’m getting a lot of exercise,” he said. His goals: “I’m gonna base it on the fat content of my body. Whatever’s healthy and right — not go nuts.”

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Amanda Peet Welcomes Second Child

Filed under: Amanda Peet,Baby News,Dave Letterman

Actress Amanda Peet delivered a healthy baby girl Tuesday, People.com reports. It’s her second child with screenwriter husband David Benioff.

Peet was scheduled to make an appearance on “Late Night with David Letterman” to promote her new film “Please Give” (opening April 30) but had to cancel when she went into labor early.

“Mother and daughter are doing great,” Peet’s rep tells People. Peet and Benioff also have a 3-year-old daughter, Frances.

The “2012″ actress recently said there was a lot of excitement in the household over the family’s newest addition. “But there’s been a lot of fighting going on in my household over names,” she said. “Frankie is very excited. She just wants to call the baby Turtle.”

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Strong Ratings For Leno’s Return To Late-Night

Filed under: Conan O'Brien,Dave Letterman,Jay Leno,Sarah Palin

After a smashing return, Jay Leno appears headed to a battle with David Letterman for late-night television supremacy.

The Nielsen Co. says Leno averaged 5.6 million viewers last week, his first back at NBC’s “The Tonight Show” following the ill-fated prime time experiment. Letterman had 3.7 million at CBS. Leno took advantage of curiosity over his return and a strong lineup of guests, including Olympic stars and Sarah Palin. It was a half-million more than he averaged his last season at “Tonight.”

It’s been much closer the second week. Through four nights, Leno is averaging 4.3 million viewers and Letterman has 4 million.

Considering Leno usually beat Letterman by a million and a half during their last season of competition, that’s a sign of erosion for NBC’s late-night franchise. Letterman consistently beat Conan O’Brien after O’Brien took over last year.

Jay’s lucky he don’t have a shitty show like the Jay Leno Show as a lead in like Conan O’Brien did. I’m betting had Leno left as planned and not fucked with the 10 o’clock hour Conan would have been fine. Leno has to be one of the dirtiest people in show business. Watch your back if you have business with this TOOL!

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Letterman’s Extortionist Pleads Guilty

Filed under: Dave Letterman,Gomez TV

The TV producer accused of blackmailing comedian David Letterman has been sentenced to six months in jail and five years probation after pleading guilty to one count of grand larceny in the second degree.

TV producer Robert Halderman was charged with attempted first degree grand larceny in October after reportedly threatening to expose The Late Show presenter’s affairs with employees unless Letterman paid $2 million (GBP1.25 million) to silence him.

Halderman, who was immediately suspended from his job as producer of CBS news show 48 Hours, claimed he was simply selling the star a “screenplay proposal relating to Letterman’s poor conduct” in a failed bid to get the case dismissed in January.

Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Charles Solomon ruled Halderman’s would stand trial before a jury. However, Halderman struck a deal with prosecutors, and entered the guilty plea on 9 March.

Under the terms of the deal, Halderman will also serve 1,000 hours of community service.

Outside court, the producer told reporters, “I apologize to Mr. Letterman and his family… and certainly to my friends and family.”

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Leno Talks About Ad With Letterman And Oprah

Filed under: Dave Letterman,Gomez TV,Jay Leno,Oprah Winfrey

CLICK HERE to see the actual ad.

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Letterman Winfrey Leno Superbowl Ad

Filed under: Dave Letterman,Gomez TV,Jay Leno,Oprah Winfrey

Click HERE to read about how this classic commercial came together.

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Leno Slams Letterman’s Marriage In Monologue

Filed under: Dave Letterman,Jay Leno

Jay Leno used his monologue on Wednesday night to attack late-night rival David Letterman’s personal life.

On “The Jay Leno Show,” he said, “Letterman had been hammering me every night,” Leno continued, “Hey Kev, you know the best way to get Letterman to ignore you? Marry him. He will not bother you. He won’t look you in the eye.” Some of the crowd cheered while others jeered. Bandleader Kevin Eubanks shook his head and replied, “Here we go!” Leno followed, “Here we go… get the ride going.”

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Female Ex-Letterman Writer Cries Foul

Filed under: Dave Letterman

A female former writer for “Late Night with David Letterman” says she left the program in part because she was uncomfortable with a work environment in which several female employees benefited from sexual relationships with high-ranking males on the program.

Nell Scovell, a veteran TV writer who wrote for Letterman while he was on NBC during the 1980s, writes on VanityFair.com that “sexual politics” was a “major part” of why she walked away from her dream job after less than a year.

“Did I believe these female staffers were benefiting professionally from their personal relationships?” Scovell writes. “Yes. Did that make me feel demeaned? Completely.”

But she stops short of confirming direct knowledge of any sexual relationship Letterman had, only saying she was “aware of rumors” at the time of an unspecified romances between the host and female staffers. She adds that while Letterman never hit on her, the “extra attention” he paid her was even noticed by another writer on the program.

Scovell writes that she never spoke of the “sexual politics” at “Letterman” until now but nearly told the host why she was leaving at the time.

“On my last day at ‘Late Night,’ Dave summoned me to his office and pressed me on why I was quitting the show. I considered telling him the truth, but with Dave’s rumored mistress within earshot, I balked.”

In the article, Scovell lays responsibility for the hostile work environment on the traditionally male-dominated world of late-night TV writers; she identifies herself as the second-ever female writer hired by Letterman.

Scovell created the ABC series “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,” and has written for series including “Monk,” “Murphy Brown” and “Coach.”

Scovell names neither the “high-ranking” males or female employees on “Late Night” engaged in relationships.

Wow, this show sounds like some nasty sexcapades go on there. Who knew Dave was such the STUD?

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Letterman Sex-Blackmail Saga Earns Ratings Bonanza

Filed under: Dave Letterman

SEX SELLS!

The David Letterman extortion affair and sex scandal is proving a late night ratings bonanza for TV network CBS.

Some 5.7 million people tuned in on Monday to hear Letterman apologize to his wife and staff for his on-air revelations last week about his sexual affairs and an alleged blackmail plot.

That was a 36 percent increase over the audience for the “Late Show with David Letterman” on Monday last week, and a 19 percent jump on the 2009-2010 season-to-date average for the talk show of 4.8 million viewers, CBS said on Tuesday.

Show business newspaper Daily Variety noted that Monday’s Letterman ratings at 11:30 p.m. were higher than anything struggling NBC had on Monday in prime time, including its returning drama series “Heroes,” new medical series “Trauma” and “The Jay Leno Show” at its new 10 p.m. slot which pulled in 4.3 million viewers.

Letterman told his audience on Monday that his wife Regina, with whom he has a 5-year-old son, had been “horribly hurt” by his behavior and that he was trying to patch things up.

On Thursday last week, Letterman stunned Americans when he said he was the target of a $2 million blackmail attempt, and then admitted having sexual affairs with women on his staff.

One day later a CBS news producer pleaded not guilty in connection with the alleged extortion. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

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