‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ premiere ties Conan O’Brien

While a good many of you may have been excited to watch the season premiere of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” the early numbers also suggest that many more were interested around the country in saying goodbye to Jay Leno.

In terms of household ratings, the show, which did have the unusual disadvantage of airing at midnight rather than the typical 11:34 p.m. Eastern start time, drew a 7.4 rating. That is the same as the audience that tuned in for the start of “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” back when he had a chance with that gig, but Fallon did win out between the two with 11.3 million viewers to Conan’s 9.2. It is down, however, from the household rating and the 14.6 million who caught the last episode of Leno’s reign on NBC.

Will Jimmy be able to keep a ton of this audience nightly? Probably not, but even if he maintains a percentage of this, it will still be a win for NBC. They recognize that some of Fallon’s real appeal comes in internet money and power in delivering viral skits, and he does that much more effectively than Leno ever did. Still, his start in comparison to Conan’s is encouraging, and that should help him keep his job for a longer span of time than just the four months that Conan had the show.

Fallon’s second show tonight is set to feature such guests as Lady Gaga, Jerry Seinfeld, and Kristen Wiig, and should at least feel a little bit more like something that will take place on the show regularly. Let’s just hope that there is a little less of an introduction this time around, and more of a dive into exactly what the show is going to be.

In case you missed it, be sure to click here if you want to see what we thought of the show via our official podcast. Also, sign up now for our CarterMatt Newsletter if you want to get even more updates.

Photo: NBC