Leno’s ratings worse than Conan’s

The embattled Tonight Show host is capturing less audience in key demographics than the comedian he deposed earlier this year.

Jay Leno has been the stand-up community’s whipping boy ever since he took over the Tonight Show 20 years ago and toned down his edgy material at the request of NBC executives. He became positively hated by many comedians when he gave up the coveted Tonight Show gig to Conan O’Brien last year, only to agree to depose him in March after NBC was unhappy with his ratings. O’Brien may have the last laugh however, as Leno has lost 21 per cent of overall audience share since 2008 and in the key demographic of viewers aged 18-49 is performing worse than O’Brien. O’Brien’s new talk show debuts on TBS on Nov. 8.