Letterman moving to ABC? (1 Viewer)

One senior ABC executive had said privately as long ago as last summer that the network was considering finding an entertainment alternative to "Nightline" and "Politically Incorrect." The executive said the two programs together were losing about $10 million a year, while both Mr. Letterman's "Late Show" on CBS and Jay Leno's "Tonight Show" on NBC were highly profitable.

The big reason for the discrepancy in revenue is differences in composition of the audiences. The half-hour "Nightline," which is half as long as "Late Show," attracts a sizable audience of more than four million viewers a night, comparable with what Mr. Letterman brings in to CBS.

But "Nightline" does not perform nearly as well among the younger audience groups of people ages 18 to 34 and 18 to 49. Those groups are more prized by advertisers than older viewers who make up the bulk of the audience for "Nightline." ABC builds its advertising sales efforts around reaching those young adult viewers and has struggled to find programs that reach them, especially those younger than 35.

"Late Show" brings in almost 30 percent more viewers from ages 18 to 49 and about 50 percent more viewers younger than 35 than the ABC late-night hour of "Nightline" and "Politically Incorrect."

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