Leno Scores Massive 14.6 Million Viewers on Final Night

On his final night as host of The Tonight Show, Jay Leno brought NBC a whopping 14.64 million viewers, more than tripling his season average of 3.82 million and making it his highest total in more than 15 years.

During a show that featured Billy Crystal and Garth Brooks, along with surprise guests like Kim Kardashian and Oprah Winfrey, not to mention a video message that included President Barack Obama, Leno’s final show had the highest number of viewers since he followed the Seinfeld finale in 1998 that had 14.96 million viewers.

In the coveted 18-49 demographic, Leno had a 3.8 rating. The last time the Tonight Show topped that number was Conan O’Brien’s final show in 2010, which had a 4.4.

Leno also gave his successor, Jimmy Fallon, his biggest ratings ever, not counting a special post-Super Bowl show in 2012. Late Night had 6.01 million total viewers last night and a 2.0 rating in the demo.

Watch Leno’s tearful farewell below, via NBC, in case you missed it:

[photo via screengrab]

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