LATE NIGHT SHIFT IN TELEVISION VIEWERSHIP

With every major milestone in television history, change has come with both positive and negative effects. Ratings have often fluctuated until viewing audiences have adjusted their routines to accommodate the appearance of one program or the removal of another, the adjustment of a time slot, or the selection of a new program that suits changes in their tastes or lifestyles. Sometimes, these fluctuations subside and the network continues to see rating success despite changes; other times, ratings continue to decline as viewers take their attention elsewhere.

We can see this change occurring in broadcast late night television viewership right now. Following NBC's major milestone of the departure of Jay Leno from The Tonight Show, late night television viewership has been in flux. Ratings have shown the American late night viewing audience looking elsewhere for entertainment during the 11:30 p.m.-1 a.m. M-F time slot, with more and more turning away from the broadcast seven to ad-supported cable television for their late night entertainment needs. Ad-supported cable now has a great opportunity to offer advertisers lower prices, more targeted demographics, and more audience members turning to cable channels for late night programming than any time in recent years.

Divided Audiences
After 17 years of holding the top ratings position for his time slot nearly every weekday evening, Jay Leno left NBC's The Tonight Show on May 29, 2009. His departure from the 11:30 p.m.-1 a.m. M-F time slot and subsequent replacement by former Late Night host Conan O'Brien has had a negative impact on NBC's ratings.

According to the Cable Advertising Bureau (CAB) analysis of Nielsen Galaxy Live data, The Tonight Show has suffered a 27.7% decrease in viewership versus its standing one-year previous, when Leno was still at the helm. And while other broadcast seven affiliates have seen spillover from disenchanted audiences (CBS' Late Show with David Letterman and Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson have both shown growth since the NBC transition), the real impact is manifest in the all-time high share gap between broadcast and ad-supported cable, now at 44 points, or 6.4% more shares of late night viewership heading to cable than in 2008.

Rising Prices
As TV audiences are shifting their viewership patterns, television advertisers are also shifting their media spends, meaning high competition and high cost for national spots. According to MediaPost's Media Daily News, CBS alone has seen double-digit price increases, while ratings continue to fall. This is good news for ad-supported cable advertising, which offers targeted niche viewership in growing markets and the ability to advertise locally for less than its broadcast competitors. In fact, analysis by the CAB shows that viewership on ad supported cable is up across all age ranges in the late night market, showing increases of 11% (A 18-49), 8% (A18-34), and 12% (A25-54).

Original Programs
Ad-supported cable has always relied on its wide selection of quality original programming to achieve advertising success. The shift away from broadcast in weekday late night viewership is no exception. Since the passing of The Tonight Show's torch and the subsequent audience fragmentation, the CAB shows ad-supported cable originals experiencing double-digit growth. Original programming has seen a 19% increase in viewership across viewing households versus the same period in 2008; it has also seen an 18% increase in the 18-49 age group specifically, the same group with which The Tonight Show dropped 22% since O'Brien's inception.

With every television milestone comes change; it is up to advertisers to adjust their strategy to target their audiences with the most effective vehicles possible. The numbers are clear: since the late night transition, cable television advertising offers the strongest audiences and the most accurate targeting for the most value. Insight Media Power Of Cable offers more in-depth, comparative descriptions of how cable measures up to your other media options and how cable can work for you. Learn more about the Power of Cable.