The debut of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” brought in 11.3 million viewers — enough to pack the Carrier Dome nearly 230 times.

While Fallon’s bright and shiny novelty seems to have worn off, his viewership holds steady. He averaged more than 4.5 million viewers for the week of March 3–7. That’s enough to fill the audience of his competitors David Letterman or Jimmy Kimmel more than 1.5 times. For the same time period, each host trailed Fallon by nearly 1.8 million viewers despite being veterans in the game — Letterman began hosting in 1982 and Kimmel started “Live” in 2003.

So what tricks can Fallon’s competitors learn from the new kid on the late-night block?

Fallon has become the king of interacting with his audience via social media. A sentiment appreciated by Scott Schiller, the executive vice president of digital advertising sales for NBC Universal.

“Late-night is the most ripe for innovation…content is viral and interactive by nature,” Schiller said in a Feb. 13 Ad Age article.

Each Wednesday, Fallon tweets a new hashtag topic where users can share their thoughts and experiences in 140 characters or less. A recent subject, #BadSpringBreak was a trending topic in the US in only 20 minutes.

Fallon’s popularity can be attributed to the 12.1 million Twitter followers receptive to the links he shares of show segments.  As of Tuesday, “The Tonight Show’s” YouTube channel had close to 2.8 million subscribers. These videos strike a chord with millennials entertained by Fallon’s ability to draw star power and reflect on ‘90s pop culture. “Evolution of Hip-Hop Dancing,” a video featuring Will Smith, garnered more than 12.7 million views.

But Fallon isn’t the only host who knows a viral video can jimmy an opening for viewers. The “Jimmy Kimmel Live” YouTube channel boasts more than 1 billion views, featuring videos like “I’m F**king Matt Damon” and several comical renditions of “I Told My Kids I Ate All Their Halloween Candy.” Videos like this are built around audience-generated content showcasing the lengths Kimmel’s devout following will go to, even if it means lying to their own kids.

And compared to Letterman, that’s what Kimmel and Fallon are — kids. Letterman will be 67 in April, while Kimmel and Fallon are wading in the fountain of youth at 46 and 39, respectively.

This is not to discount Letterman’s credibility as a host in the slightest. Last year he signed a contract with CBS ensuring his position behind the desk through 2015. In January, CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler told TV critics “Late Show” is not ready to roll over and play dead, according to a Jan. 15 TV Page article.

“(We’re) thinking way ahead and how we can make it more exciting and really promote Dave being there,” she said in the article.

One suggestion would be to modernize “Late Show” segments. Like Fallon replaced Jay Leno’s “Headlines” with hashtags, Letterman could benefit from connecting with the millennial audience. On Tuesday, the “Late Show” only had 271,000 Twitter followers and less than 35,000 subscribers.

By the numbers it’s clear to see social media and user interaction translate to a bigger audience for Fallon. Each retweet and share of a viral video means free promotion for “The Tonight Show” and even more traction for the host.

Erin Jensen is a graduate student in broadcast and digital journalism. Her column appears weekly. You can reach her at ejense01@syr.edu or on Twitter at @erinrjensen.

 

Published on March 20, 2014 at 1:04 am