NBC prime-time viewership up by 45 percent in 2 weeks without Jay Leno

NBC’s prime-time viewership improves without Leno

NEW YORK — Moving Jay Leno out of prime time is paying off immediately for NBC.

After two weeks of non-Leno programming at the 10 p.m. hour, the Nielsen Co. says NBC’s viewership is up by 45 percent then. The network’s most-watched program of the week was ‘Law & Order: SVU” Wednesday at that hour. It had 8.5 million viewers.

Five nights a week, Jay Leno’s prime-time average was 5.15 million viewers.

Two lighter NBC shows, “The Marriage Ref” and “Parenthood” had more than 6 million viewers each last week.

NBC shouldn’t get carried away, though. CBS had 17 programs in prime time with bigger audiences than “Law & Order: SVU.”