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Ratings say Leno's best Friday was his last

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By WALT BELCHER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 1, 2009

Jay Leno's final "Tonight Show" telecast registered the show's highest Friday ratings in Leno's 17-year run as host.

The telecast averaged an 8.8 rating/20 share, according to preliminary numbers from Nielsen Media Research.

That's an increase of more than 100 percent over the program's average for the quarter and marks the best overnight rating for any night since Thursday, March 19, when President Barack Obama was a guest.

The rating represents 8.8 percent of the 105 million TV homes, and the share is the percentage of TV sets in use between 11:35 p.m. and 12:35 a.m.

Friday's show featured Conan O'Brien, who takes over tonight as host of the venerable late-night institution, and singer James Taylor.

The final week of "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," which featured a raft of high-profile guests including Billy Crystal performing a farewell musical medley, averaged a 5.5 rating in metered-market households, a 41 percent increase on the show's 3.9 second-quarter average.

Reporter Walt Belcher can be reached at (813) 259-7654.

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