‘Jimmy Kimmel Live” got off to a quick start on its first night of going head-to-head with David Letterman and Jay Leno.
Kimmel — who picked up more than 1 million new viewers by moving from midnight to 11:35 — beat Letterman decisively, with 3.1 million viewers versus 2.9 million for Letterman.
But he ran slightly behind Leno, who drew about 3.3 million total viewers.
The opening night ratings suggest the new late-night wars are going to be very close among the three — at least in the beginning.
“Jimmy Kimmel” — which used to air after “Nightline” — even beat the average rating for the longtime news show by about 100,000 viewers, according to ABC.