Note: LateNighter generally posts late night daily ratings on a two (business) day delay, which is how they are released by Nielsen.
CBS’ NCAA March Madness coverage provided the network’s late-night programming with a substantial boost in P18-49 viewers this past Friday, March 22, 2024.
CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy split first place in the Friday late-night Nielsen ratings race. The Tonight Show averaged the most total viewers (1,471,000) while The Late Show averaged the most P18-49 (390,000), despite airing a repeat.
The Late Show aired a rerun of its Feb. 29, 2024 episode this past Friday beginning at 12:45 a.m. ET. The program was pushed back due to a late finish for CBS’ second night of 2024 NCAA men’s basketball tournament coverage. The Feb. 29 Late Show airing averaged 1,233,000 total viewers and 390,000 P18-49 viewers on Friday. That’s up +23% in total viewers and +25% in P18-49 viewers from the previous night’s repeat, down -17% but up a whopping +118%, respectively, from the previous Friday airing (also a repeat but without a March Madness lead-in).
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’s 1,471,000 total viewer average is down -6% from the previous day’s original episode, and -6% from the previous Friday original episode (March 15, 2024). The program’s 213,000 P18-49 viewer average is past Friday at 11:35 p.m. is down -5% from the day before, but up +4% from the previous Friday airing.
Alicia Keys, Tony Goldwyn, Maleah Joi Moon, a performance from Hell’s Kitchen were all featured on the Friday, March 22 edition of Tonight Show.
ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! aired a repeat of its March 12, 2024 episode this past Friday, and it delivered a 1,465,000 total viewer average and a 189,000 P18-49 viewer average this past at 11:35 p.m. That’s -17% and -11%, respectively, from the day before (an original episode), but up +28% and +17%, respectively from the from the prior Friday episode (also a repeat episode).
Hitting fast-forward, ABC News’ Nightline aired an original episode this past Friday at 12:37 a.m., which averaged 785,000 total viewers and 111,000 P18-49 viewers. That’s -5% in total viewers and -18% in P18-49 viewers from the previous night’s episode, but up +16% in total viewers and +73% in P18-49 viewers from the previous Friday episode.
CBS’ After Midnight and NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers were both dark last week and aired repeats of their Feb. 6, 2024 and Jan. 30, 2024 episodes, respectively, on Friday.
Per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, Late Night averaged 765,000 total viewers and 133,000 P18-49 viewers on Friday at 12:37 a.m. ET. That’s -4% and +4% , respectively, from the previous night’s repeat, -0.3% and +15%, respectively, from the previous Friday (also a repeat).
CBS did not submit Nielsen viewer data for Thursday’s airing of After Midnight, but did for the show’s Friday airing of its Feb. 6 episode. After Midnight’s Friday airing averaged 641,000 P18-49 viewers and 219,000 P18-49 — more than NBC’s The Tonight Show in the latter measurement. After Midnight. That’s up +8% and a whopping +121%, respectively, from the previous Friday’s airing (also a repeat).
Live+SD ratings (18-49 demo)
| Network | Show Name | Viewers | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! (R, 3/12/24) | 189,000 | 2.16 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (12:45 a.m.; R, 2/29/24) | 390,000 | 6.34 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | 213,000 | 2.47 |
| 12:37 AM | |||
| ABC | Nightline | 111,000 | 1.68 |
| CBS | After Midnight (1:45 a.m.; R, 2/6/24) | 219,000 | 4.94 |
| NBC | Late Night With Seth Meyers (R, 1/30/24) | 133,000 | 2.09 |
© The Nielsen Company, used under license.
(R) = Repeat
Live+SD ratings (Viewers 2+)
| Network | Show Name | Total Viewers | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! (R, 3/12/24) | 1,465,000 | 4.11 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (12:45 a.m.; R, 2/29/24) | 1,233,000 | 5.12 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | 1,471,000 | 4.17 |
| 12:37 AM | |||
| ABC | Nightline | 785,000 | 2.97 |
| CBS | After Midnight (1:47 a.m.; R, 2/6/24) | 641,000 | 3.70 |
| NBC | Late Night With Seth Meyers (R, 1/30/24) | 765,000 | 3.04 |
© The Nielsen Company, used under license.
(R) = Repeat
