David Letterman Finale Draws Almost 14 Million Viewers in Ratings

David Letterman closed out his 33 years in late-night television on Wednesday with one of the highest-rated shows of his career. “The Late Show” brought in 13.7 million viewers, Mr. Letterman’s biggest audience since February 1994. It also beat every network show in prime time on Wednesday. The finale represents his fourth-most-viewed show since Mr. Letterman joined CBS in 1993. Mr. Letterman had no formal guests on Wednesday night but the show featured a star-studded Top 10 list, with appearances from, among others, Chris Rock, Bill Murray, Tina Fey and Peyton Manning. Mr. Letterman delivered his final words from his desk (“The only thing I have left to do for the last time on a television program: thank you and good night”) and handed it over to the Foo Fighters. As the band performed the song “Everlong,” hundreds of still-images and clips from Mr. Letterman’s shows on NBC and CBS played on screen. Continue here