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Late Night Talk Shows: By the Numbers27

By B.Z., Feb 01, 2010 in Infographics, Twilight with Steve Cooper

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Late Night Talk Shows: By the Numbers

The Conan O’Brien/Jay Leno fiasco has left NBC with more than just a PR nightmare. Although he is now off the air, the network was forced to pay almost $33 million to buy O’Brien out of his contract. Not bad for a man who sits behind a desk and tells jokes.

Clearly we’ve come a long way since the days of Steve Allen. Now a multibillion dollar industry, late-night talk shows are on the three major networks, and perhaps Fox might soon join the mix (fingers crossed) with “Coco” as the ringleader. But most of these shows are becoming victims of their own success, seemingly apathetic to innovation and risk-taking. Cable talk shows such as “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” continue to siphon away viewers. The Internet is also fragmenting the talk show audience, allowing people to view highlights on demand rather than watch an entire episode. While it’s unclear what the future holds for the late night format, most would agree that the Internet is bound to play an increasingly pivotal role. Our own late night series, “Twilight with Steve Cooper,” may be more satirical than traditional late night television, but it’s non-traditional approach is precisely what the NBC’s and CBS’s of the world need to incorporate now more than ever. In homage to both Coco and Steve Cooper, below is an in-depth look at the history and the numbers behind the late-night talk show industry.

Update: Thanks for catching our incorrect dates, late night TV enthusiasts. The graphic has been updated.

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  • Lee Seglem

    NBC’s “Tonight Show” debacle is a clear signal that the time has come to take late-night talk and entertainment to the next level. Thank you, Steve Cooper, for stepping up!

  • Finn

    Bit of a typo in the NBC Late Night category, unless Letterman is planning a return to NBC that just hasn’t gotten much press

  • http://www.lovablevarmint.com Mark Gardner

    Seems like there’s a really solid case for changing the format of late night in general to take advantage of the different capabilities on the internet. Kudos to Twilight for taking a stab at it.

  • Trong Nguyen

    Twilight w/ Steve Cooper is very amusing and I greatly anticipate future episodes!

  • http://www.richardhuffman.com Richard Huffman

    Check your dates on Jack Paar. I think you added a decade to his Tonight Show tenure (and subtracted a decade from Johnny Carson’s)

  • http://trilobitesystems.com Big Tom

    You have a slight error with the years for Late Night with David Letterman.

    I also can’t believe Jimmy Kimmel isn’t on that list of 6 highest paid. He’s on a major network.

  • duh

    so letterman is taking over the late night show again? the graphic says 2010-current.

  • http://www.electroniccigarettesinc.com e cig

    Interesting. I was under the impression this Zucker guy was bringing in a lot more than Conan. Conan just got a pretty darn good deal from walking away.

  • Anonymous

    Good summary, but why exclude Bill Maher (both ABC and HBO)? Or “The Chris Rock Show”?

  • Scoe

    I’m sure it will be sooner than anyone could imagine that T.v. will disapear. Usually the crowd follows when a new format or console must be purchased to play new games and so on. If Conan chooses some online show scenario than Tv will see a noticable shrinkage.. But in desperation Tv might come out in better shape in the end…

    hope i haven’t been babbling

  • Jim

    In the “History” section, Late Night (1982-Present) with David Letterman (2010-Present)?? Please correct.

  • Nels

    Awesome infographics! Nice conclusions too. However, I believe you made an error with dates for “Late Night”. I think Dave did it from 1982 to 1993, not 2010 to the present.

  • Lev

    Proofing is needed. Under the “Late Night” section, Letterman is shown from 2010 to Present, when of course that should be “1982 – 1993″

  • Bradley

    Hey, this is great, but Carson started hosting “The Tonight Show” in 1962, not 1972.

  • John Davis

    Wow, no way man LENO is KING dude!

    Jess

  • magic hour

    The Magic Hour was on for 8 WEEKS, not 8 episodes. It aired 5 times a week, so that’s about 40 episodes.

  • Shelley

    Just love Twilight w/Steve Cooper

  • Kimmels cool

    How much is Kimmel making? No way he’s making less than stewart and Daly.

  • Art

    Pat Sajak is spelled wrong above (Sejak).

    What about Later with Bob Costas on NBC from 1988-1994?

  • http://thegreatgeekmanual.com/blog/geek-media-round-up-february-2-2010 The Great Geek Manual » Geek Media Round-Up: February 2, 2010

    [...] Jon Stewart only makes a twentieth of what Jay Leno is paid … or does he? [...]

  • Jason Stiles

    What about “Into the night with Rick Dees” It aired on ABC in 1990 I think.

  • Phu Weng

    Follow the latest episode of Twilight w/ Steve Cooper on Digg http://digg.com/television/Jefferson_Davis_on_Twilight_w_Steve_Cooper

  • http://www.graspingforthewind.com/2010/02/02/geek-media-round-up-february-2-2010/ Geek Media Round-Up: February 2, 2010 – Grasping for the Wind

    [...] Jon Stewart only makes a twentieth of what Jay Leno is paid … or does he? [...]

  • free movie downloads

    Apparently, his show is considered one of the bigger successes for NBC simply because he’s drawing a disproportionate number of viewers for his time slot. Of course, it can’t be that hard to win when you’re up against infomercials.

  • Capital Gold Group

    Amazing job man..great presentation.I’m sure it will be sooner than anyone could imagine that T.v.will disappear. Usually the crowd follows when a new format or console must be purchased to play new games and so on.

  • http://www.iCopywriter.com Copywriting

    I’m sure it will be sooner than anyone could imagine that T.v.will disappear. Awesome work and superb presentation.

  • http://www.designussion.com Website Design

    His show is considered one of the bigger successes for NBC simply because he’s drawing a disproportionate number of viewers for his time slot.

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