According to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data for the week of May 13, 2024, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show averaged 487,000 total viewers with 121,000 P18-49. Relative to the most recent week of original episodes (May 6-10, 2024), Daily Show gained +1% in total viewers, and +17% P18-49 viewers.
Jon Stewart’s Monday, May 13 episode, his 12th since returning to The Daily Show as weekly host, averaged 690,000 total viewers with 170,000 P18-49 live-plus-same-day viewers at 11 p.m. That’s up +50% in total viewers and +102% in P18-49 viewers from Stewart’s most recent episode (Thursday, May 9). It’s -15% in total viewers but flat in P18-49 viewers relative to his live-plus-same-day Monday viewer averages in 2024.
The Daily Show correspondent Desi Lydic hosted the program’s Tuesday, May 14 through Thursday, May 17, 2024 installments. Her three episodes averaged 419,000 total viewers and 104,000 P18-49 live-plus-same-day viewers. That’s -3% in total viewers and -1% in P18-49 viewers relative to the last time she hosted The Daily Show (April 2-4, 2024).
Although this Spring has seen a decline in Daily Show ratings following the early excitement surrounding Jon Stewart’s February return, last week’s average of 487,000 total live-plus-same-day viewers per show is still relatively strong. And that doesn’t even take Nielsen live-plus-three and live-plus-seven data into account. A lot of Daily Show viewing is done on delay.
Prior to the writers’ strike in May 2023, rotating Daily Show guest hosts averaged just 369,000 total live-plus-same-day viewers per show; when The Daily Show resumed in mid-October after writers’ strike concluded, that average fell to roughly 300,000 viewers.
