Arsenio Hall' Surges With Prince Appearance

Showing force during a highly competitive time in late-night, the host's Wednesday episode jumps 50 percent from recent averages and ties "Jimmy Kimmel" in the demo.

The Arsenio Hall Show got a healthy infusion of buzz on Wednesday night when the host sat down with Prince for almost the entire duration of his syndicated talk show. Prince Takes Over the 'Arsenio Hall Show,' Debuts New Funky Song Hall's late-night effort, renewed for a second season but recently a conversational afterthought with so much attention being paid to NBC's Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, jumped 50 percent from recent averages in the key adults 18-49 demographic. That puts him ahead of much of the later and smaller cable competition (Craig Ferguson, Chelsea Lately and Conan) and actually ties ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! Both broadcasts averaged a 0.6 rating. Among households, Hall grew even more. The show was up 56 percent from its February sweeps average, pulling a 1.4 rating in the overnights. That's the highest overnight Hall has earned since his September 2013 launch week. Though he recently stopped by Fox's New Girl, Prince's TV appearances are few and far between. In addition to a sit-down with Hall, Prince took audience questions and performed three songs.