“Nightline” finished the 2009-10 as the most-watched late-night show, according to Nielsen. It’s the first time in 15 years it’s beaten both “The Tonight Show” and “Late Show ” in total viewers.
For the season, “Nightline” (11:35 p.m.) averaged 3.7 million viewers, compared to David Letterman’s “Late Show” (3.6 million) and “The Tonight Show” (3.5 million). That 3.5 million viewership number for “Tonight” includes five months of Conan O’Brien’s time hosting the show; Jay Leno resumed hosting “Tonight” last March.
“Nightline,” by the way, will also get 13 hours of prime-time airtime this year (beyond the hours and specials produced by its ABC stablemate, “20/20“).
“The addition of 13 new hours in prime time should be celebrated as a reflection of the ‘Nightline’ team’s success — an expansion of the program’s reach and a serious boon to the [news] division,” ABC News president Ben Sherwood said in a statement.
Last, but not least:
* Wendy Williams will host a 32-episode GSN show, “Love Triangle,” premiering in April. It’s described as focusing on “a dater caught in a real-life love triangle.” She’ll continue hosting “The Wendy Williams Show” . . . I pulled a wrongo: “MI-5: Volume 8” won’t be out on DVD until this Tuesday, Jan. 25. The sixth season of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” will be out on DVD April 19 . . . Documentary Channel airs “Kurt Cobain: About a Son,” on Feb. 20 (8 p.m.) on what would’ve been Cobain’s 44th birthday. He committed suicide (or did he?) in 1994 . . . Writer/producer Jeff Kline (“Transformers: Prime,” “G.I. Joe: Renegades”) has inked a series development deal with Hasbro Studios . . . Jeanne Meyer is the new executive VP, corporate communications, at Current Media.