Conan's First Night Audience: Young and Plentiful

By PopEater Staff Posted Nov 9th 2010 04:00PM

Conan O'Brien's debut on TBS was welcomed by an estimated 4.1 million viewers, a massive haul for basic cable and enough eyeballs to out-gun network big boys like rival Jay Leno and former mentor David Letterman.

According to viewer tallies, released by TBS and Nielsen, 'Conan' easily bested O'Brien's primary 11PM frenemies Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

The Totals:
1. 'Conan': 4.1 million
2. 'Tonight Show': 3.5 million
3. 'Late Show': 3.4 million
4. 'Daily Show': 1.3 million
5. 'Colbert Report': 1 million

Not surprisingly, O'Brien's audience skewed young, with 2.4 million aged 18 to 34 tuning in and 3.3 million between 18 to 49. That means only about 870,000 people over 50 and under 18 were watching.

In his debut episode, Conan featured Seth Rogen, Jack White and 'Glee' star Lea Michele. Night two, he'll welcome Tom Hanks, '30 Rock' star Jack McBrayer and grunge granddaddies, Soundgarden.

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Conan O'Brien Snapshots

Conan O'Brien performs as part of the 2010 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee.

Getty Images

Getty Images North America

Conan OBrien Snapshots

TV personality Conan O'Brien arrives at the 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on August 29, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. 2010 Primetime Emmy Awards - Arrivals Nokia Theatre L.A. Live Los Angeles, CA United States August 29, 2010 Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage.com To license this image (17382594), contact WireImage.com

Conan OBrien Snapshots

Conan O'Brien (R) and wife Liza Powell arrive at the 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on August 29, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards - Red Carpet Nokia Theatre LA Live Los Angeles, CA United States August 29, 2010 Photo by Mathew Imaging/WireImage.com To license this image (61435472), contact WireImage.com

Conan OBrien Snapshots

Comedian Conan O'Brien arrives at the 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on August 29, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards - Red Carpet Nokia Theatre LA Live Los Angeles, CA United States August 29, 2010 Photo by Mathew Imaging/WireImage.com To license this image (61435424), contact WireImage.com

Conan OBrien Snapshots

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 29: Liza Powel and tv personality Conan O'Brien arrive at the 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on August 29, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Liza Powel;Conan O'Brien

Conan OBrien Snapshots

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 29: Actor Will Arnett, Liza Powel and tv personality Conan O'Brien arrive at the 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on August 29, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Will Arnett;Liza Powel;Conan O'Brien

Conan OBrien Snapshots

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 29: Conan O'Brien (R) and wife Liza Powell arrive at the 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on August 29, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Conan O'Brien;Liza Powell

Conan OBrien Snapshots

Tags: conan, conan obrien

Comments

(21)

Tuesday 09 November

By whitey08

Lowest Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

far left loonies

By fannyy12

B_l_a_c_k_w_h_i_t_e_C_u_p_i_d // C_0_M

I think it is great. I have enjoyed it for months.

I met a lot of successful friends !

★★★★★★ ;)

By ofalaska

Yawn Yawn the crowds will soon go away and Conan will be back to his boring, squirming self. Go away!

By Court

Highest Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

So glad Conan's back! I'd watch him over the others any day of the week.

By bdyftns

Glad to see him back doing what he loves. He really got screwed over by NBC. Good job Conan!

By KS

not him again...

By me

Grunge granddaddies!! Hate to break it to Rob Shuter and his cronies, but Soundgarden can run musical circles around your beloved Justin Bieber and Britney Spears.

By James

LOL Oh so funny, go Conan. I hope his ratings stay high.

Wednesday 10 November

By gobig444

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Anyone in advertising or entertainment can tell you that if those are his premiere numbers, Conan is in DEEP SH*T. Those ratings will dump to half that within 6 weeks and then it'll be bye-bye Conan...

By Lindsay

I'm so glad Conan is back!!!!

By Idiots

Young and obviously STUPID! Conan is truly TV for IDIOTS! Only STUPID IDIOTS would watch this carrot sucker.

By Mikey

Low Ranked Vote down Vote up Report this

I guess it's because I'm over 50 but there is nothing funny about Conan. Have none of you seen his TV ads, the stupid dancing , the black chair, or the desk washing three reasons why I didn't want to watch. Grow up Conan

By Diane

Exactly!! Well said!

By Cutie

Rally on the mall tomorrow for our soldiers who paid the ultimate. Where's Jon Stewart, Beck, etc. ??

By Joanie

do they know the ages of the idiots that like this boring ugly whiner???????? He sucks

By goatcars2

Once the novelty wears off ratings will drop precipitously!!!!

By pete

Didn't much care for the show. O'Reilly's "Pinhead of Patriot" votes showed 61% felt he was pinhead vx. 39% patriot. That about sums up the general feeling about his show.

By Me

I think I'll just keep recording Craig Ferguson on the DVR.

By scooter

Conan who? I watched about 20 minutes of the first show just to see what he would do, and as i suspected, he stunk, big time.
he just doesn't have it, he never had it and never will. sure the rating will be high for the first shows, but by next monday tbs will be wondering on how they can get rid of him without losing a big wad of cash

By mariejulia

Conan is an idiot - I do not find him funny.

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