Oprah Winfrey has worked her magic as she made amends with David Letterman on Thursday. Her appearance on his show was her first in 16 years, which came after years of on-air pleading by Letterman. The result: the highest ratings for CBS's 'Late Show' in more than 11 years, or an average of 13.5 million viewers and a 4.4 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic, according to preliminary estimates from Nielsen Media Research.

Winfrey's appearance marked the fourth-highest rated 'Late Show' broadcast since the show premiered on CBS in 1993 and the most-watched episode since the February 1994 night when Letterman followed CBS' coverage of the winter Olympics ice skating finals featuring Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan.

The boost from Winfrey gave "Late Show" an easy victory over NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (6.2 million viewers) and it also lifted "The Late, Late Show With Craig Ferguson" to the highest ratings ever since the "Late, Late" franchise bowed on CBS in 1993. Total viewer tallies for "Late, Late Show" were not immediately available, but the show drew 3.3 rating/12 share in Nielsen's 55 overnight metered markets, which cover more than 70% of U.S. TV households.