Devoted to show business and the entertainment industry

I wrote a couple days ago that the hype about Dave Letterman getting back writers for his show being touted as a competitive advantage, had better come through in reality. The results for the first night are in, and the Writers Guild and Letterman faltered in the first battle between the late night talk hosts, as Leno clobbered them both.

Not only did Leno clobber them, but he posted his highest ratings for the season which began in September. Leno got a 5.3 percent household rating while Letterman ended up with 4.4 rating. For Leno, it was also the highest rated Tonight Show since December 7, 2005.

Overall viewership had Leno getting 5.8 million viewers, while Letterman had about 4.7 million.

It's interesting to read a lot of the comments by viewers across the Internet who say they wish Leno would continue writing his own material, as it's far better than his writers'. When you consider that Leno and NBC (GE) pay their writers more than anyone else, with the highest paid getting around $500,000 yearly, it could also save them a lot of money.

I've mentioned it before, this is not simply a big test for the networks, but for the Writers Guild as well.

With the truth about the high pay writers already get, and the growing question of their worth, the late night battle may prove a huge crack in their armor, as they chose to take an initial stand there with a large number attacking the hosts and favoring Letterman because of his backdoor deal with the union through his own Worldwide Pants company.

Of course one night won't tell the whole story, but I think we'll see the trend continue, and eventually it'll continue to reveal the weakening position of the Writers Guild.