Maybe he should do this rally thing more often.

For the first time, Jon Stewart -- whose "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" drew hundreds of thousands to Washington on Saturday -- has become the top late-night host among viewers aged 18 to 49, according to the Nielsen Co.

For October, Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" was the No. 1 show in that demographic, the first time since at least 2000 that the victory has not gone to either NBC's "The Tonight Show" or CBS' "Late Show."

Stewart drew 1.3 million viewers aged 18 to 49, compared with 1.2 million apiece for both Leno and Letterman.

The move is another sign that the late-night battle is increasingly tilting toward cable. Conan O'Brien, the former host of "Tonight," is headed to a new TBS talk show that starts Monday.

-- Scott Collins (Twitter: @scottcollinsLAT)

Photo: Jon Stewart; credit: Frank Ockenfels 3/Comedy Central