Note: LateNighter generally posts late night daily ratings on a two (business) day delay, which is how they are released by Nielsen.
NBC’s late-night programming dominated its network counterparts on Friday, May 17, 2024, with The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers winning their respective timeslots in key audience measurements.
The Tonight Show was the only 11:35 p.m. late-night talk show to air a new episode this past Friday. Not only did the program win Friday in total viewers, but it marked its seventh consecutive day at No. 1 on late-night among Adults 18-49. The program averaged 1,442,000 total viewers with 224,000 P18-49 viewers in the timeslot, per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data. That’s +1% and -9%, respectively, from the day before (Thursday, May 16), -3% and +6%, respectively, from the previous Friday episode (May 10, 2024). Gayle King, JoJo Siwa, Rachel Feinstein were Fallon’s guests on Tonight Show this past Friday, May 17.
CBS televised a rebroadcast of The Late Show’s May 6 , 2024 episode this past Friday at 11:35 p.m., and the telecast averaged 1,393,000 total viewers with 155,000 P18-49 viewers. That’s -35% in total viewers and -26% in P18-49 viewers from the previous day’s episode (a new one), +0.3% and -5%, respectively, from the previous Friday telecast (a repeat).
ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! was dark the week of May 13, and the network did not submit ratings data for its Friday, May 17, 11:35 p.m. telecast to Nielsen — a rebroadcast of its May 8, 2024 episode.
NBC televised a rebroadcast of Late Night with Seth Meyers‘ May 6 , 2024 episode this past Friday, and the telecast averaged 791,000 total viewers with 155,000 P18-49 viewers in the 12:35 a.m. timeslot. The program shed -12% in total viewers but gained +14% in P18-49 viewers from the day before, despite that episode being a new one. The program also shed -6% in total viewers but gained +50% in P18-49 viewers from the previous Friday broadcast.
CBS televised a rebroadcast of After Midnight‘s March 12, 2024 episode this past Friday, and the telecast averaged 541,000 total viewers with 86,000 P18-49 in the 12:35 a.m. timeslot. That’s -9 in total viewers and -2% in P18-49 viewers from the day before (a new episode), but -6% in total viewers and -9% in P18-49 viewers from the previous Friday (also a repeat).
Lastly, ABC’s Nightline aired a new episode this past Friday, and it averaged 783,000 total viewers with 101,000 P18-49 viewers. That represents +14% growth in total viewers, and a +1% growth in P18-49 viewers from the day before, +22% growth in total viewers and +16% growth in P18-49 from the previous Friday episode.
Live+SD ratings (18-49 demo only)
| Network | Show Name | Viewers | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! (R, 5/8/24) | n/a | n/a |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (R, 5/6/24) | 155,000 | 2.09 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | 224,000 | 3.01 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | Nightline | 101,000 | 1.71 |
| CBS | After Midnight (R, 3/12/24) | 86,000 | 1.52 |
| NBC | Late Night With Seth Meyers (R, 5/6/24) | 173,000 | 3.04 |
Live+SD ratings (All Viewers 2+)
| Network | Show Name | Total Viewers | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! (R, 5/8/24) | n/a | n/a |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (R, 5/6/24) | 1,393,000 | 4.33 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | 1,442,000 | 4.48 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | Nightline | 783,000 | 3.19 |
| CBS | After Midnight (R, 3/12/24) | 541,000 | 2.36 |
| NBC | Late Night With Seth Meyers (R, 5/6/24) | 791,000 | 3.40 |
© The Nielsen Company, used under license.
