"The Jay Leno Show" drops off 39% in Dallas

Ratings are off 39% for "The Jay Leno Show" in Dallas-- why?

"The Jay Leno Show" has struggled with its ratings since debuting several weeks ago.  And now, according to a new report, the show's ratings have dropped enough in the Top 5 markets-- Dallas, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia-- that it's causing the ratings for local newscasts to be affected.  Read on, gentle Examiner readers...

It's been no secret that Jay Leno's ratings have been in trouble the past few weeks, but up until this point we haven't had any specific information on how the show's doing in Dallas.  Now, thanks to a report from The Wrap, we have some idea of how the show's doing in our hometown.

Here, read this:

As expected, "The Jay Leno" attracted significantly fewer viewers than the 10 p.m. programming it replaced-- at least when comparing premiere week 2009 to the same five days in 2008.

The article then goes on to discuss New York and L.A.'s ratings, and how the show's premiere week was causing their newscasts to earn lower ratings than they had the year prior.  What they're saying is, the normal programming that woulda been in Jay's slot-- a police procedural, say, or some other drama or comedy show-- would have been a better lead-in to the local news.  NBC had promised the country's local newscasters that Jay's ratings would be strong enough not to jack with their numbers.

As for Dallas, here's what they have to say:

Dallas: The Leno drop-off was 39 percent in the Big D, while the news decline was 33 percent. ABC was also off 29 percent at 11, while CBS fell three percent.

Yikes.  So, it would appear that Jay's show isn't doing so hot in Dallas.  Actually, and to be more specific, it's a 39% change; for many Dallas citizens, I'm sure Jay is just what the doctor ordered.  But with the numbers for our local news stations falling like that, some action may have to be taken.  This article suggests that it's still too early to tell if NBC will have to "do something" about "The Jay Leno Show", but does say:

Although, if you're a GM at a NBC station, it couldn't to have a couple of Tums handy over the next few weeks.

What do you think, Big D?  Ya think that the local networks newscasters are going to demand some change from NBC if this trend continues?  Do you think that NBC is worried right about now, or are they cool about it?  Be sure to sound off below with a comment; we wanna hear your feedback on this situation.

And, hey, check out some of the Comedy Examiner's other recent articles, handily listed in the top right-hand corner of this page.  We have reports on David Letterman's blackmail shenanigans,   a poll asking whether or not Dave's a sleazebag,    Conan O'Brien being banned from Jersey,    a report about "The Jay Leno Show" being boycotted,    reviews of last night's episodes of "The Office" and "Parks and Rec",  and another poll about Jon Gosselin's recent appearance on "Larry King Live",   proof that The Rock is a "Fairy", and the Comedy Examiner's review of Zombieland (Which was awesome), as well as some other timely stuff.  Click any of those links to go straight to the articles, folks!

(Photo: ScrapeTV.com)