Business

Mad Ave. manhunt: Late-night TV ad $ seeks younger male demo

Jay Leno

Jay Leno (PhamousFotos / Splash News)

It’s an old joke — too old.

While the talk in TV circles is that NBC is maneuvering to replace Jay Leno, 62, with the younger Jimmy Fallon, Madison Avenue cash is already onto the scent of generational change.

Several advertisers told The Post that they’re moving money to cable in search of younger viewers — in particular 18- to 34-year-old males who are typically light TV viewers.

That move of Madison Avenue moolah was behind ABC’s decision this year to put Jimmy Kimmel, 45, into the 11:35 p.m. slot opposite Leno and the 65-year old David Letterman on CBS.

Kimmel has come out of the gate strong since moving to his new time in January, drawing an average of 931,000 viewers in the younger 18- to 49-year-old category that advertisers covet.

Kimmel is closing the gap with NBC’s “Tonight Show,” which attracted an average of 1.02 million viewers in that same category — and is beating the worldwide pants off Letterman’s “Late Show” and its 878,000 viewers.

“It’s turned into a three-horse race,” said Horizon Media research chief Brad Adgate.

NBC shot down a report that it is looking to push Leno out when his $20 million-a-year contract ends in 2014, even though a move ahead of the critical “upfronts” in May could energize ad buyers.

“It’s a great idea for them to [move Fallon],” said one top TV ad buyer. “He has a younger following; he can bring in younger audiences.”

Plus Fallon, 38, who earns $5 million a year now and is likely to earn not less than $12 million if he’s “promoted” to the 11:35 slot, would be less expensive to Comcast, the cost-conscious owner of NBC.

To be sure, Fallon will struggle to move the needle, even with his dance-off with first lady Michelle Obama, dubbed “Evolution of Mom Dancing,” going viral. The video hit 14.2 million views.

Marketers spent $322 million through the first nine months of 2012 on late night, compared with some $425.8 million for all of 2011. New figures are out next week.

The late-night TV crowd is old and getting older, leading broadcast networks to shuffle programs around with the potential to attract the younger audience advertisers crave.

The average age for a “Tonight Show” viewer is 58.1 years, while Letterman’s is 57.3. Even Kimmel’s younger audience has an average age of 54.3. Fallon attracts the youngest, average 53.1 years, an hour later.

“Young people just aren’t watching these comedy variety shows,” observes Adgate.

For NBC entertainment chief Bob Greenblatt, moving Leno could be risky.

Despite a graying audience, he is still the top-rated late-night host. After NBC’s “Today” lost its ratings crown to ABC’s “Good Morning,” the network doesn’t need another setback later in the day.

“It’s a pretty risky move,” Adgate said. “At some point you have to make the decision sooner rather than later.”

A few years ago, the network’s attempt to put Leno in primetime and Conan O’Brien in his late-night perch was a disaster.

NBC ended up alienating O’Brien, who is now on TBS, and bringing Leno back at 11:35 p.m.