Leno’s latest Tonight Show ratings have had people talking about how his ratings now are worse than Conan’s ratings were at this time last year. And it’s sort of true, but not in the schadenfreudey way people are trying to take the news.
First of all, this week’s ratings are comparing a week of Leno reruns to a week of new Conan shows, so right off the bat it’s an unfair comparison. Secondly, these ratings are just for the 18-49 demographic that advertisers love so much; Leno is winning in overall eyeballs, they’re just eyeballs behind transitions lenses. And lastly, these crap Leno ratings are still beating Letterman, so, you know.
I want to see Leno crash and burn as much as the next guy, I swear, and it’ll happen eventually. But it isn’t happening yet.