Lopez Tonight debuts with strong ratings
George Lopez's new late-night talk show drew 3.2 million viewers during its cross-network premiere on TNT, TBS and TruTv.
Having the debut on three networks skews the ratings, but the isolated TBS number is still a strong figure for 11 p.m. on a cable network. Lopez was seen by 1.7 million viewers on TBS, 1 million of whom were adults 18-49.
That's higher than the current season averages (though not the premieres) of the adult-demographic draws for talk shows like CBS' Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live and Comedy Central's The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. Using the combined three-network number, the show was sampled by more adult-demo viewers than Conan O'Brien or David Letterman's average.
TBS typically airs off-net repeats like My Name Is Earl in the slot. Lopez Tonight drew about a 70 percent higher household rating than the network's usual fare among total viewers. It doesn't hold a candle, however, to the performance of some of the shows that air during earlier time periods on the network -- for example, the network's Tyler Perry comedies.
Lopez's opening night featured guests Ellen DeGeneres, Eva Longoria Parker, Kobe Bryant and Carlos Santana.