Advertisers Stick By Letterman Through Revelation

EMILY FREDRIX

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Major TV advertisers are sticking by late night talk show host and comedian David Letterman after he tried to head off bad publicity from a failed extortion attempt by revealing that he had sex with female staffers.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus and DirecTV Group Inc. said they were staying put, emphasizing the "Late Show" audience over the host's personal life.

Some media buyers pointed out that the sex, though with subordinates, appeared to be consensual and that he was forthright with his millions of viewers in a 10-minute monologue Thursday night.

Besides that, ratings for Thursday were 38 percent higher than the same night a week ago, The Nielsen Co. said.

"We haven't seen any clients nor do we anticipate any clients looking to move inventory out of the show," said Laura Caraccioli-Davis, an executive vice president at Starcom Entertainment. "We believe that he handled it with full transparency. Consumers are looking for that authenticity and honesty."

Starcom clients Allstate Corp. and The Walt Disney Co. are among the top 20 advertisers on the program.