Weekly Ratings: Rosie O’Donnell’s Kimmel Week Gets Even Stronger in Live+3

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Rosie O’Donnell’s strong start behind Kimmel’s desk last Monday night carried through the rest of the week, with Nielsen Live+3 ratings confirming hers as the show’s highest-rated guest-host stint of the summer.

All told, Jimmy Kimmel Live! averaged 2.167 million total viewers for the week of Aug. 16, up 40 percent from Anthony Anderson’s guest-host week immediately before it. Among adults 18–49, O’Donnell averaged 237,000 viewers, a week-over-week increase of 34 percent.

Those were Kimmel’s best weekly averages in both measures since mid-June, when Jimmy Kimmel himself was still behind the desk.

The gains didn’t come at the expense of NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, whose ratings were essentially steady. Fallon averaged 1.429 million total viewers, unchanged week to week, while growing 4 percent among adults 18–49 to 171,000. Like Kimmel, Tonight aired four first-run episodes and one repeat.

CBS’ all-repeat Byron Allen block was also largely stable. Across its full hour, Comics Unleashed averaged approximately 654,000 total viewers, up about 3 percent week to week, and 75,000 adults 18–49, up roughly 2 percent.

Funny You Should Ask averaged approximately 440,000 total viewers across its hour, down about 3 percent from the previous week, while its adults 18–49 audience was essentially unchanged at 55,000.

At 12:37 a.m., ABC’s Nightline benefited from O’Donnell’s lead-in, growing 11 percent in total viewers to 918,000 and 20 percent among adults 18–49 to 110,000. The program aired five first-run episodes.

NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers remained in repeats during its extended summer break, averaging 727,000 total viewers, up 4 percent, and 94,000 adults 18–49, up 32 percent.

Switching to cable, Fox News’ Gutfeld! averaged 2.571 million total viewers earlier in the evening, down 8 percent, and 175,000 adults 18–49, down 9 percent across five first-run episodes.

The Daily Show and Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live did not air, with their respective networks airing alternate programming in their time slots.

Complete ratings charts for the week of Aug. 16, 2026, follow below.

Live+ 3 Ratings — All Viewers (P2+)

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

Ratings data © The Nielsen Company, used under license.