Leno’s Premiere is Most-Watched Prime-Time Show

 LOS ANGELES: The first night of NBC’s The Jay Leno Show on Monday night captured an estimated 18.4 million viewers, the largest audience for an entertainment show since the American Idol finale in May.

The much-hyped premiere of The Jay Leno Show featured comedian Jerry Seinfeld and rapper Kanye West, whose presence couldn’t have been timed better. West had stirred up quite a controversy the evening before on the MTV Video Music Awards, interrupting Taylor Swift as she accepted an award. Leno’s questioning West about the incident was one of the most watched portions of the show.

There are two main challenges The Jay Leno Show faces: will Leno be able to maintain high ratings as new and returning dramas premiere in the next few weeks with the beginning of the new fall season, and will NBC be able to create a profitable business against proven hits such as CSI:Miami, CSI:NY, The Mentalist and new dramas such as The Good Wife, The Forgotten and Eastwick.

Leno had previously hosted The Tonight Show, which aired at 11:30 p.m. for 17 years, taking over from the legendary Johnny Carson.