Note: LateNighter’s late night daily ratings reports are drawn from Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, and do not take include delayed and/or streaming views. They are generally posted on a two (business) day delay, which is how they are released by Nielsen.
CBS and ABC split the 11:35 p.m. ratings race on a repeat-heavy Friday night. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert averaged the most total viewers in the timeslot, while Jimmy Kimmel Live! averaged the largest 18-49 demo audience.
CBS re-aired Colbert’s Sept. 3, 2024 episode (featuring sitting Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson) on Friday, Sept. 13, and the telecast averaged 1,218,000 total viewers but only 153,000 P18-49. That represents a -37% decline in total viewers, and a -25% decline in P18-49 viewers from the previous night’s new episode. The telecast gained +1% in total viewers, but shed -18% in P18-49 viewers from the previous Friday telecast (another repeat).
At the same time, ABC re-aired Jimmy Kimmel Live!‘s Sept. 5, 2024 episode (featuring guests Brian Tyree Henry, and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff) this past Friday, and the telecast averaged 1,203,000 total viewers with a timeslot-high 218,000 P18-49. That represents a -17% loss in total viewers, but a +12% gain in P18-49 from the previous night’s new episode; -15% but up +36%, respectively, from the previous Friday episode (a new one).
NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon was preempted on Friday for the Cardigan Classic – a televised golf match featuring Fallon and DJ Khaled. The hour-long special, taped in July, fared well. The program averaged 1,088,000 total viewers with 197,000 P18-49 at 11:35 p.m. That’s +2% in total viewers and +3% in P18-49 viewers from the night before (a new Tonight Show episode); up +9% and +5%, respectively, from the previous Friday Tonight Show (a repeat).
Following Kimmel, Friday’s Nightline averaged a 12:35 a.m. timeslot-high 726,000 total viewers along with 133,000 P18-49. That’s -10% in total viewers but +33% in P18-49 from the previous night’s episode; -2% and +3%, respectively, from the previous Friday Nightline.
Following Fallon, NBC re-aired the Sept. 3, 2024 edition of Late Night with Seth Meyers, and the telecast averaged 619,000 total viewers with 100,000 P18-49. That’s -21% in total viewers and -10% in P18-49 viewers from the previous night’s first-run episode; +1% and -28%, respectively, from the week-ago telecast (a repeat).
Lastly, following Colbert, CBS re-aired the July 24, 2024 edition of After Midnight, and the telecast averaged only 485,000 total viewers with 88,000 P18-49. That’s -16% in total viewers and -26% among P18-49 from the previous night’s new episode; also -16% and-26 %, respectively, from the previous Friday’s telecast (a repeat).
Friday’s complete ratings charts follow below.
Live+SD ratings (All Viewers 2+)
| Network | Show Name | Total Viewers | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! (R, 9/5/24) | 1,203,000 | 4.25 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (R, 9/3/24) | 1,218,000 | 4.23 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (S) | 1,088,000 | 3.93 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | *Nightline | 726,000 | 3.35 |
| CBS | After Midnight (R, 7/24/24) | 485,000 | 2.41 |
| NBC | Late Night with Seth Meyers (R, 9/3/24 ) | 619,000 | 3.09 |
(R) = Rebroadcast
Live+SD ratings (18-49 demo only)
| Network | Show Name | Viewers | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! (R, 9/5/24) | 218,000 | 3.74 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (R, 9/3/24) | 153,000 | 2.60 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (S ) | 197,000 | 3.44 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | *Nightline | 133,000 | 2.84 |
| CBS | After Midnight (R, 7/24/24) | 88,000 | 1.99 |
| NBC | Late Night with Seth Meyers (R, 9/3/24) | 100,000 | 2.27 |
(R) = Rebroadcast
Ratings data © The Nielsen Company, used under license.
