Conan O'Brien Conquers Late Night, Sort Of

According to numbers recently released by TBS, Conan is the number one show in late night television in the coveted 18 to 49 demographic.

When you include time-shifted numbers from DVR viewing (And let’s be honest, why wouldn’t you?), O’Brien sits at 1.44 million viewers, about 100,000 in front of Leno’s 1.35 million and even further ahead of Letterman’s 1.16 million. The gap is even larger for Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert’s numbers (approximately 829,000 for the hour), though online streaming numbers are not included in any of this data.

Also of note is O’Brien’s average viewer age sits far lower than his competitors. Stewart carries an average age of 42, Letterman and Leno 56, while O’Brien’s audience sits at a much lower average of 33.

With all the caveats, it’s hard to say anything definitive, but we may be seeing the new King of Late Night slowly ascending to his throne.

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.