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Fallon’s Debut Ratings Less than Leno’s Finale

Fallon’s Debut Ratings Less than Leno’s Finale

Jimmy Fallon’s debut as the host of The Tonight Show may have won some fans online, but when it comes to actual TV ratings, it looks like the jury’s still out. More than 11 million people tuned in for Fallon’s first show—those are strong ratings, but still down significantly from the final show of former host Jay Leno just weeks ago. By comparison, just over 9 million watched the first show of Conan O’Brien during his short stint as host in 2009. It’s too early to tell if Fallon will maintain Leno’s old fanbase and still draw in younger viewers from his Late Night days. As EW notes, “The big test for Fallon, of course, is not in this heavily promoted post-Olympics premiere slot, but the weeks, months and years to come” …

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