Seth Meyers and ‘Late Night’ premiere: Highest ratings in nine years

This “Late Night� thing might work out OK for Seth Meyers. The former “Weekend Update� newscaster on “Saturday Night Live� delivered the NBC talk show’s highest ratings in nine years with his premiere on Monday.

Well, technically it was Tuesday morning — 12:35 a.m. to be exact. But “Late Night With Seth Meyers� delivered a 2.6 rating/9 share in households from the top 56 markets in the nation, according to Nielsen. That compares with the 1.6 rating that “Late Night� has been averaging this season.

PHOTOS: Seth Meyers’ debut on ‘Late Night’

Of course, “Late Night� is just part of NBC’s master plan to reinvigorate its late-night lineup. Last week, Jimmy Fallon — the former host of “Late Night� — took over the “Tonight Show� from Jay Leno. “Tonight� put some impressive numbers on the board for the week, but much of that may have been due to the Winter Olympics, which gave NBC higher-than-usual ratings in prime time.

But Fallon still looked strong on Monday, with a 4.5 rating in those top TV markets. That’s the best “Tonight� rating (besides on Olympics nights) since 2010, when Leno returned to the show after Conan O’Brien had hosted for less than a year.

So far, NBC’s bet is paying off. But it’s still early.

What do you think of Meyers and Fallon?

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