‘Late Show’ beats the ‘Tonight Show’

Letterman scores first win in week of all-new broadcasts since 2005

Evan Agostini / AP	Nielsen Media Research says the "Late Show With David Letterman" beat the "Tonight Show" last week — the first time in more than three years.

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updated 4:05 p.m. ET June 25, 2009

NEW YORK - Nielsen Media Research says the "Late Show With David Letterman" beat the "Tonight Show" last week — the first time in more than three years.

Letterman scored a weeklong average of 3.46 million viewers, edging out the 3.32 million viewers who watched NBC's "Tonight Show," hosted by Conan O'Brien.

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC.)

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It was Letterman's first win during a full week of all-new broadcasts since December 2005, when Oprah Winfrey was his guest on the CBS late-night show. Letterman was perhaps given a ratings boost from lingering controversy over a wisecrack that targeted the family of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

O'Brien took over "Tonight" from longtime host Jay Leno earlier this month.