Weekly Ratings: Colbert Leads 11:35 as Fallon, Kimmel Split Second Place

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert maintained its lead at 11:35 p.m. the week of April 19, 2026, taking the top spot across both key ratings measures for the second straight week.

According to Nielsen Live+3 ratings data, the CBS late-night show averaged 2.58 million total viewers (+2 percent) and 235,000 adults 18–49 (+10 percent).

While recent months have seen The Late Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live! trade wins among younger viewers, a pair of highly rated NBA playoff lead-ins helped The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon leapfrog Kimmel into second place in the demo, with Fallon drawing a nightly average of 220,000 viewers (+46 percent) to Kimmel’s 204,000 (+11 percent).

Kimmel still held on to the No. 2 spot in total viewers, averaging 2.12 million (+5 percent) to Fallon’s 1.20 million (+11 percent).

Both Kimmel and Fallon saw delayed start times last week, with Fallon’s Monday and Tuesday episodes pushed past 2:00 a.m. ET by NBC’s NBA playoff coverage, while Kimmel began at 11:47 p.m. ET Thursday following the NFL Draft. Both shows posted gains among younger viewers on those nights, even as total audiences declined as the hour grew later.

Late Night with Seth Meyers, which saw its Monday and Tuesday broadcasts pushed past 3:00 a.m. ET, was the only sports-delayed show not to see a bump among younger viewers. Still, Late Night—returning with new episodes after a three-week break—posted week-to-week gains over the prior week’s repeats, averaging 873,000 total viewers (+28 percent) and 166,000 adults 18–49 (+49 percent).

Also at 12:37 a.m., ABC’s Nightline averaged 941,000 total viewers (flat) and 94,000 adults 18–49 (+13 percent) across five original episodes.

Switching to cable, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show averaged 995,000 total viewers (–15 percent) and 205,000 adults 18–49 (–30 percent) across four original episodes, marking a softer week for the franchise following recent gains. Jon Stewart and Michael Kosta shared the show’s anchor desk last week.

On Fox News, Gutfeld! again drew the largest overall audience among the shows we track, averaging 3.18 million total viewers (–2 percent). In the demo, the program delivered 235,000 adults 18–49 (+1 percent), tying The Late Show for the week’s top overall audience among younger viewers.

Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live averaged 370,000 total viewers (+17 percent) and 145,000 adults 18–49 (+52 percent), with gains driven in part by a highly rated Tuesday-night lead-in from Summer House.

Complete ratings charts for the week of April 19, 2026, follow below.

Note: Time period listed is the most common airtime for each show.

Live+ 3 Ratings — In the Demo (P18-49)

Ratings data © The Nielsen Company, used under license.