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The War on Late Night

Conan Says ‘Bye-O’ to McMahon

Conan O’Brien will pay tribute to the late Ed McMahon on this evening’s edition of "The Tonight Show" by airing a montage of some of McMahon’s most memorable moments from the NBC broadcast. Here’s how O’Brien introduces tonight’s package: Before…

A Guest For You… to Poop On! Plus, Shatner’s Salute

Conan O’Brien fans who wondered whether Triumph the Insult Comic Dog would make the transition to "The Tonight Show" can relax. He will. The comic alter ego of Robert Smigel is set to vist O’Brien Friday, "Tonight" staffer/blogger Aaron Bleyaert…

Ratings Watch: Dave Beats Conan, Conan Beats Dave, Reporters Beat Dead Horse

Conan O’Brien and David Letterman continue to duke it out in the late night ratings arena, with Letterman regaining the households lead and O’Brien dominating in the financially vital key demographics. In Nielsen’s overnight metered-market households, Letterman regained the lead…

Move Over, Eminem: Conan’s Got Dibs on Bruno

Just days after his controversial MTV Movie Awards appearance, Bruno has been booked for "The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien." The alter ego of comic actor Sacha Baron Cohen will make his first late-night talk show appearance on behalf of…

Dave Beats Conan: Panic at NBC?

No, there isn’t any panic at NBC, as far as I know. But don’t be surprised if somebody in the Internetosphere starts sounding alarm bells now that… David Letterman has scored his first nightly win over Conan O’Brien! Boosted by…

Letterman’s Pretty Weapon: Julia

David Letterman is bringing out the heavy artillery. As week two of the Late Night War nobody really wants but those of us in the media are hell-bent on waging gets underway, Letterman has been calling on some of his…

Late Night Ratings Watch: Conan Beats Dave– But Just Barely

The late-night race is getting closer. A lot closer. "The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien" beat "Late Show with David Letterman" Monday– but just barely. According to major market overnight Nielsen numbers, "Conan" notched a 3.1/8, just ahead of "Letterman’s"…

Live from New York, It’s… ‘The Tonight Show’!

Lorne Michaels is now longer producing Conan O’Brien’s late night antics– but "The Tonight Show" is planning to showcase a number of "Saturday Night Live" alums in coming weeks. No less than three ex-"SNL" cast members are scheduled to visit…

Conan, Night Three: Ratings Down, Tweets Up

Three nights in, Conan O’Brien is still dominating late-night– but his margin of victory is, predictably, shrinking. Wednesday’s "Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien" earned a 4.3 rating/11 share in Nielsen’s metered markets. That easily topped CBS’s "Late Show with David…

‘Conan’ Ratings, Night Two: Still the Champ, but…

Two days into his new gig, Conan O’Brien is still the king of late-night ratings. While predictably down from Monday’s much-hyped debut, Tuesday’s second edition of "The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien" averaged a stll-strong 5.0 rating/12 share in metered…