NEW YORK — David Letterman’s imminent retirement is bringing nostalgic viewers back to check out his final shows.
The Nielsen company said Letterman’s CBS “Late Show” had more viewers last week than the “Tonight” show for the first time since Jimmy Fallon took over last year, with the exception of when Fallon’s show was in repeats.
Letterman averaged 3.82 million viewers each night last week, compared with Fallon’s 3.09 million and 2.23 million for ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, Nielsen said. Kimmel has announced that he won’t air a new show Wednesday, the night Letterman makes his final late-night broadcast.
So far this television season, NBC’s “Tonight” show has averaged 3.96 million viewers, the “Late Show” has 2.83 million and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” has 2.72 million.
The season numbers include time-shifted viewership within seven days, while last week’s numbers were for same-day viewership.
CBS on Thursday announced that actor Tom Hanks and musician Eddie Vedder will be on Letterman’s show Monday. Comic Bill Murray, a frequent Letterman foil, will appear Tuesday.
CBS promised “surprises, memorable highlights and the show’s final Top Ten list” for Letterman’s final show but announced no guests.
