QUICK TAKES - June 3, 2009

To anyone who wondered if viewers would accept Conan O’Brien as the new host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show,” the answer based on his debut Monday appears to be a solid yes.

O’Brien’s premiere on “Tonight” drew a 7.1 rating/17 share among households in the top 56 “metered markets,” according to early data from Nielsen Media Research. Those were the highest such numbers for a Monday “Tonight” in more than four years and nearly twice the average rating for “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” (3.9) so far during the second quarter of this year.

Due partly to all the attention surrounding O’Brien’s takeover as host, “Tonight” trounced Monday’s “Late Show With David Letterman” (2.8 rating/7 share). The Letterman number was basically on par with that program’s second-quarter-to-date average (2.9), however, indicating that O’Brien might not have much effect on the CBS show’s performance.

Final ratings for Monday’s shows will be available June 11.

-- Scott Collins