Huge Premiere Numbers For Conan

Conan O’Brien’s Long-Awaited Return to Late-Night Television Attracts a Young Audience with Median Age of 30

TV By the Numbers reports, Conan O’Brien’s new TBS talk show was a hit with young viewers Monday night, delivering an audience with a projected median age of just 30.  Conan – which featured guests Seth Rogen, Lea Michele and Jack White – was watched by

• 2,451,000 adults 18-34
• 3,285,000 adults 18-49
• 4,155,000 adults 25-54

By contrast,  Conan on TBS was also tops among younger viewers, drawing 3.285 million in the 18-49 demographic, beating Late Show with David Letterman with 1.336 million and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno with 952,000. TBS' Lopez Tonight, which aired after Conan, was the fourth ranked talk show, drawing 883,000 viewers in the demo, and besting Comedy Central's duo of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart with 687,000 and The Colbert Report with 551,000.

Of course, the ratings for O'Brien will likely drop in the coming weeks, but he and TBS can still cheer about the figures for his debut.  O’Brien has a strong following among younger viewers, and social media has proven to be a key way for him to connect with his fans.  “Conan’s audience has been very vocal online, and he clearly made a smooth transition from Twitter to TBS,” said Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks.  “Conan delivered an extraordinary audience and stands out as the youngest late-night talk show on television.”

Also read here:

How Conan O'Brien Beat Leno And Letterman: Social Media (FactCompany.com)