Jimmy Fallon began his tenure as The Tonight Show's newest host last night with a bang—in the ratings, that is. The bit in which a ton of A-list stars had to pay up for losing a $100 bet—one that questioned if Fallon would ever host The Tonight Show, geniusely—definitely went viral, and it shows in the ratings: Fallon's first episode garnered a 7.1/20 in the overnight metered market, which ties with never forgotten, short-lived Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien's debut back in 2009 (you know, before they kicked him off the network and brought back Jay Leno, only to see ratings drop even further).
Furthermore, Fallon absolutely annihilated competition from David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel on CBS and ABC, by drawing in 80% more viewers than both of them combined.
As expected, though, Fallon didn't top Leno's final show on February 6, which earned a 9.6/22 market rating. However, he did beat Leno's 2010 debut that drew in a 5.4/14 in ratings. Off to a good start!
[via Deadline]
