An election to laugh about

The presidential race is proving that in telecasting a arousal election lifts all political programs — particularly the funny ones.

For late-night comedy shows specializing in topical satire, the rabid attending that 1000000 of spectator are gift to the presidential (and vice presidential) contest is providing a jolt of ratings and creative energy.

"It does feel very intense," said Lorne Michaels, the executive director producer of NBC's "Sabbatum Night Live." Thanks to widely talked-about impersonations of the campaigner, especially Tina Fey's dead-on portrayal of Governor Sarah Palin, "SNL" has seen its audience explode this fall.

"I think the gods smiled on us with the Palin thing," Michaels said. "Like if he'd chosen Romney, I think it would be wholly different." In referring to Mitt Romney, a Republican presidential rival, Michaels added, "As exciting as a Romney-Biden debate would have been, it just would have been political relation as usual."

Ratings for the show, in its 34th season, are up 50 percentage among all spectator this season, a move that defies every screening trend in web television. Last week's episode was seen by more than 10 1000000 people, a fig that would make it a hit in prime time. Look to capitalize on the surge in involvement, "SNL" will have the first of three prime-time specials Th at 9:30, devoted specifically to the presidential race.

"There's never been an election where we've been at the centre of so much, except possibly Bush-Gore in 2000," Michaels said. "It's great for comedy, and it's also great for broadcast television because it's what we do at our best."

It's not bad for cable telecasting either, in the form of the twin news-oriented late-night shows on Comedy Central. "The Daily Show With Jon Jimmy Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" reached record numbers of viewers last month, even topping some of the broadcast networks' late-night shows.

"I think people are in a highly emotional state because of the election," Stewart said. "It certainly is energizing the comedy world."

"The Daily Show" averaged just under two million viewers for September, by far its best performance ever. For the first time in the course of a month the show had more viewers per episode than NBC's "Late Night With Conan O'Brien." That show, since it's on a broadcast network, is available in about 15 million more homes than "The Daily Show" (although "Late Night" is also on 90 minutes later, in the 12:30 slot, when far fewer viewers are awake and available).

More significant, and perhaps a sign of where many of the election fanatics are coming from, "SNL" and the Comedy Central shows have been powerful draws for younger audiences.

Among viewers between the ages of 18 and 34 "SNL" has improved to almost 2.1 million viewers per episode this year, from 1.4 million viewers last year. In the category of men ages 18 to 34, the prime comedy category, "The Daily Show" averaged 486,000 viewers in September, with "The Colbert Report" at 438,000. The closest viewership among broadcast network shows in that category were "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" on NBC with 321,000 and O'Brien's show with 215,000. "Late Show With David Letterman" on CBS had just 179,000 in that group; "Jimmy Kimmel Live," which begins just after midnight on ABC, had 125,000; and "The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson," in the 12:30 slot on CBS, had 108,000.

"Everyone has been saying that more young people have been into this election," said Michele Ganeless, the president of Comedy Central. "I think we're proving it."

Leno, who has been making jokes about elections on "Tonight" since serving as a guest host in the 1980s, said, "I feel like the audience has grown up a little bit." Interest in the race is high, and the comedy targets, led by Palin, are especially rich, though "we've just been through Bush and Clinton," he said. "That's kind of the golden age for comedy."

That interest is so intense that some shows have changed production plans to accommodate it. Last week Letterman, who normally tapes two programs on Mondays so he can take Fridays off, ditched that plan and taped a show Friday to include comedy based on the vice presidential debate.

"The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" took a more drastic step, canceling long-planned vacations next week. "It's our busy season," Stewart said. (The shows will also offer a joint special live on election night, Nov. 4, at 10.)

Doug Herzog, the president of Comedy Central's parent company, MTV Networks Entertainment Group, said, "This is the equivalent of an Olympic year for us."