THE BUSINESS Poll Intelligence

When Conan O’Brien takes the stage Nov. 8 for his new TBS talk show, late-night viewers will be presented with yet another candidate vying for their votes. Will fans of Coco’s aborted Tonight Show endorse his move from NBC? Will he siphon

ratings from Leno, Letterman or fellow cable stars Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert? And, more important, in an age of increasingly fractured tele-vision audiences, who exactly are these late-night

viewers, and why do they watch what they watch? To � nd out, The Hollywood Reporter commissioned Penn Schoen Berland, a global research company that specializes in political and entertainment consulting. The � rm conducted an online survey Oct. 15-17 from a sample of 700 regular late-night TV viewers ages 18-65 (the sample was provided by uSamp, one of the world’s fastest-growing technol-ogy and online sampling companies). The results show that who people watch under the covers at night says a lot about who they are during the day.

THE GREAT LATE-NIGHT POLL

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THR analyzes the audiences of after-hours TV as Conan, Jay and the rest scramble for increasingly fragmented viewers By Matthew Belloni

TEA PARTY-O-METER Do late-night viewers support the Tea Party movement? Depends on who they watch

BOOZE OF CHOICEType of alcoholic beverage late-night viewers are more likely to drink:

Conan O’BrienCore demo: 18-34 (56%)

Income over $75,000: 22%

Largest political a  liation: Independent (34%)

In 2012, intend to vote for: Obama (43%)

Believe country is on the right track: 44%

Preferred cable networks: Comedy Central, Cartoon Network

Lifestyle: More likely to be single, tech-savvy, atheist and own a Volkswagen

Favorite TV shows: Breaking Bad, The Colbert Report, The O� ce

More likely to listen to: Rap

David LettermanCore demo: 25-44 (47%)

Income over $75,000: 20%

Largest political a  liation: Democratic (40%)

In 2012, intend to vote for: Obama (41%)

Believe country is on the right track: 35%

Preferred cable networks: Show-time, Spike TV

Lifestyle: More likely to be di-vorced, watch CNN and drive a Toyota

Favorite TV shows: Criminal Minds, How I Met Your Mother

More likely to listen to: Classic rock

Jay LenoCore demo: 45-plus (50%)

Income over $75,000: 29%

Largest political a  liation: Republican (39%)

In 2012, intend to vote for: GOP candidate (46%)

Believe country is on the right track: 32%

Preferred cable networks: Fox News, ABC Family

Lifestyle: Wealthiest, most likely to be religious and drive a Chevy or Pontiac

Favorite TV shows: Dateline,The Biggest Loser

More likely to listen to: Country

Jon StewartCore demo: 35-54 (49%)

Income over $75,000: 22%

Largest political a  liation: Democratic (59%)

In 2012, intend to vote for: Obama (70%)

Believe country is on the right track: 60%

Preferred cable networks: MSNBC, HGTV, AMC

Lifestyle: Most likely to be married, Catholic and drive a GMC truck

Favorite TV shows: Rescue Me,30 Rock, Mad Men

More likely to listen to: Classical

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

37% JAY LENO VIEWERS

27% DAVID LETTERMAN VIEWERS

9% JON STEWART VIEWERS

24% CONAN O’BRIEN VIEWERS

WHO IS WATCHING THEIR SHOWS?

LENORed wine

LETTERMANMalt beverages

O’BRIENVodka-based drinks

STEWARTBeer

www.thr.com | THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER | 71

THE BUSINESS Poll Intelligence

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WHO WOULD YOU WATCH IF ALL WERE ON AT SAME TIME?

WORD ASSOCIATIONS The viewers were asked to say the one word they most associate with each host.

The bigger the word below, the more o� en they said it.

Where do they stand on thethe issues?THR asked the viewers to weigh in on some of the hot-button political topics that dominate the news — and the late-night monologues.

funnyboredhilarious

weird quirkyokstupid

annoyinggoofy

silly

fun

awesome

old

dumbwitty

odd

average

new

entertaining

young obnoxiouscrazycool

fresh

great

exciting

interesting

screwed good

CONAN O’BRIEN

fun funnyboring

oldok

goodchin

entertaining coolinterest

corny

lameoutdated unfunny

stale

sarcasticdumb

nice

tired

arrogant

humorousoverratedquirky

ass

loud

dated

bestgreatannoying

likable

JAY LENO

DAVID LETTERMAN

funny

oldbored

oksleazy good

great

tired aged

annoying witty

smartdry

arrogant

goofy

rude

outdated

amusing

obnoxious

lame

intelligent

cheater

sarcastic

interesting

entertaining

classic

hilarious

cool serious

fun

Support Obamacare Repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Build the Muslim Cultural Center Allow Gay Marriage

LENO

CONAN

LETTERMAN

STEWART

47%

80%

55%

60%

LENO

CONAN

LETTERMAN

STEWART

20%

54%

25%

42%

LENO

CONAN

LETTERMAN

STEWART

47%

75%

42%

56%

LENO

CONAN

LETTERMAN

STEWART

45%

74%

50%

61%

71% of Jon Stewart’s viewers support legalizing marijuana.

72 | THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER | 11.10.10

7%… jumps to 13% among 18- to 34-year-olds

CHELSEA HANDLER

10%… but only 38% know Lopez is on TBS

… but only38%is on TBS

GEORGE LOPEZ

8%… but 12%of 35- to 49-year-olds prefer Craigof 35- to 49-year-olds prefer Craig

CRAIG FERGUSON

7%… rises to 10% among 18- to 34-year-olds

STEPHEN COLBERT

3%… only small uptick (4%) for 18- to 34-year-olds

… only small uptick18- to 34-year-olds

JIMMY KIMMEL

6%… drops to 3%among 50- to 65-year-olds

23%… but jumps to 34% of 50- to 65-year-olds

JAY LENO

2… but jumps toto 65-year-olds

JAY LENO

15%… only trails Leno21%-18% with 35- to 49-year-olds

DAVID LETTERMANDAVID LETTERMAN

11%… and 16%of 18- to 34-year- olds pick Conan

11… andof 18- to 34-year- olds pick Conan

CONAN O’BRIEN

10%… but only 8%of 18- to 34-year- olds pick Stewart

10… of 18- to 34-year- olds pick Stewart

JON STEWART

7%… jumps to13%to 34-year-olds

CHELSEA HANDLER

JIMMY FALLON

THE BUSINESS Poll Intelligence

74 | THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER | 11.10.10

Viewers whothink Letterman is the best interviewer:

… but only 22% would want to have a beer with him.

45%

Viewers who believe that Lettermanprovides the smartest politicalcommentary:

... but 39% say Leno is the funniest about politics.

37%

THE PERSONALITY BATTLEGROUNDGiven a list of adjectives, viewers were asked to select as many as

they felt apply to each late-night personality. Among 18- to 49-year-olds:

LATE NIGHT AS A PROMOTIONAL TOOL Viewers were asked what e� ect, if any, seeing an actor on a late-night talk show has on their decision to see the movie he or she is promoting.

outdatedLENO

60%O’BRIEN

24%LETTERMAN

56%

smartLENO

46%O’BRIEN

59%LETTERMAN

66%

trustworthyLENO

43%O’BRIEN

51%LETTERMAN

45%

whinyLENO

50%O’BRIEN

40%LETTERMAN

33%

THE FUTURE OF LATE-NIGHT TV:Do you think each of these personalities is

on his or her way up or down?

AMONG WOMEN:Which personality is on his or her way up?

AMONG NON-WHITES: Which personality is on his or her way up? 35% of viewers

correctly placed Conan O’Brien with TBS.

THEY LIKE YOU, BUT WHERE ARE YOU?

TONIGHT SHOW FALLOUT: WHO WON AND LOST?O’Brien’s messy public divorce from NBC le� a bad taste in viewers’ mouths, but the vast majority of them blame the network, rather than Jay or Conan, for the situation.

Did the situation between O’Brien and Leno make you want

to watch The Tonight Show?

Did the situation between O’Brien and Leno make you want to

watch programming on NBC?

Who do you feel is the most at fault for the situation between O’Brien and Leno?

Who do you feel came out of the O’Brien-Leno

situation as the winner?

MORE14%

LESS40%

NO EFFECT 46%

MORE7%

LESS29%

NO EFFECT 64%

O’BRIEN9%

LENO18%

NBC73% O’BRIEN

21%

LENO36%

LETTERMAN 15%

TBS 14%

NBC 14%

LENO

41%O’BRIEN

35%LETTERMAN

49%

mean-spirited

51% MORELIKELY

JonStewart

StephenColbert

GeorgeLopez

ConanO’Brien

JimmyKimmel

62%

62%

60%

58%

55%

Jimmy Fallon

ChelseaHandler

CraigFerguson

DavidLetterman

JayLeno

55%

53%

50%

52%

60%

GeorgeLopez

ChelseaHandler

JonStewart

StephenColbert

JimmyFallon

66%

61%

61%

60%

58%

GeorgeLopez

StephenColbert

ConanO’Brien

JonStewart

JimmyKimmel

76%

65%

62%

61%

59%

29% of viewers correctly placed Chelsea Handler with E! network. Jon

Stewart

JonStewart

JonStewart

of viewers

ChelseaHandler

ChelseaHandler

FALLOUT: TONIGHT SHOW FALLOUT: TONIGHT SHOW FALLOUT: TONIGHT SHOW FALLOUT: TONIGHT SHOW

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