Late-Night Shows Get Ratings Boost From Writers’ Strike

Even though the writers’ strike means every late-night talk show is in reruns, Nielsen Media Research is reporting that ratings for the shows, as well as ABC’s competing news program Nightline, have actually improved since the picketing began last week. Even with ratings up across the board, there are some winners and losers: David Letterman earned higher-than-average ratings last week and pulled ahead of perennial time-slot champ Jay Leno. Sure, some of this can explained away by the increased media attention the shows have enjoyed since the strike started, and Letterman’s boost is no doubt fueled by Leno fans disinterested in watching the same episode twice, but seriously, who knew that people would be so eager to see celebrities shill for movies that have long since been released on DVD, or the hosts serve up stale, outdated topical humor? —Matthew Perpetua

Letterman, Kimmel Perform Well In Repeats [Showtracker/LAT]