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.
ABC and NBC split the 11:35 p.m. ratings race on a repeat-heavy Friday night. ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! averaged the most total viewers in the timeslot, while NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon captured first in the P18-49 demo, edging CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert by only +1,000 viewers in the measurement. Kimmel finished third in the demo behind Fallon and Colbert on Friday, September 20.
ABC re-aired Kimmel’s Sept. 6, 2024 episode this past Friday (featuring guests Kumail Nanjiani, Calif. Rep. Eric Swalwell, and musical guest Rex Orange County), and the telecast averaged 1,179,000 total viewers with 124,000 P18-49 at 11:35 p.m. That represents a -13% decline in total viewers, and a -20% decline in P18-49 from the previous night’s new episode (Thursday, Sept. 19); a -2% decline and -43% decline, respectively, from the previous Friday telecast (a repeat).
NBC re-aired The Tonight Show‘s Sept. 4, 2024 episode this past Friday (featuring guests Justin Theroux, Simone Biles and musical guest Cage The Elephant), and the telecast averaged 1,032,000 total viewers with 171,000 P18-49 at 11:35 p.m. That’s unchanged in total viewers and up +8% among P18-49 from the night before; down -5% and -13%, respectively, from the previous Friday’s 11:35 p.m. NBC telecast (Fallon’s Cardigan Classic special).
CBS re-aired Colbert’s Sept. 5, 2024 episode this past Friday (featuring Steph Curry and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly), and the telecast averaged 1,169,000 total viewers with 170,000 P18-49. That represents a -40% drop off in total viewers, and -27% in P18-49 viewers from from the previous night’s new episode. The Friday, Sept. 20 telecast shed -4% in total viewers, but gained +11% in P18-49 viewers from the previous Friday telecast (also a repeat).
ABC’s Nightline and CBS’ After Midnight split first place in the 12:35 a.m. timeslot on Friday, with the former winning in total viewers and the latter edging NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers in the 18-49 demo by only +1,000 viewers. ABC finished third in the 18-49 demo, behind both CBS and NBC.
Following Colbert, CBS re-aired the Sept. 3, 2024 edition of After Midnight this past Friday (featuring guests Thomas Lennon, Kimia Behpoornia, Sandy Honig), and the 12:35 a.m. telecast averaged 542,000 total viewers with 108,000 P18-49. That’s -4% in total viewers and -10% among P18-49 from the previous night’s new episode; but up +12% and +23%, respectively, from the previous Friday’s telecast (a repeat).
Following Fallon, NBC re-aired the Sept. 10 2024 edition of Late Night with Seth Meyers (Day Drinking with Kevin Hart; guest James McAvoy), and the telecast averaged 569,000 total viewers with 107,000 P18-49. That’s a -20% decline in total viewers, but a +14% improvement in P18-49 viewers from the previous night’s new episode; -8% and +7%, respectively, from the week-ago telecast (a repeat).
Lastly, following Kimmel, ABC aired a new episode of Nightline, and the half-hour-long news program averaged 721,000 total viewers with 86,000 P18-49. That’s unchanged in total viewers and up +10% among P18-49 from the night before; -1% and -35%, respectively, from the previous Friday’s Nightline.
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, 9/6/24) | 1,179,000 | 3.99 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (R, 9/5/24) | 1,169,000 | 3.98 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (R, 9/4/24) | 1,032,000 | 3.52 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | *Nightline | 721,000 | 3.24 |
| CBS | After Midnight (R, 9/3/24) | 542,000 | 2.64 |
| NBC | Late Night with Seth Meyers (R, 9/10/24) | 569,000 | 2.78 |
(R) = Rebroadcast
Live+SD ratings (18-49 demo only)
| Network | Show Name | Viewers | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! (R, 9/6/24) | 124,000 | 1.95 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (R, 9/5/24 ) | 170,000 | 2.69 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (R, 9/4/24) | 171,000 | 2.71 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | *Nightline | 86,000 | 1.72 |
| CBS | After Midnight (R, 9/3/24) | 108,000 | 2.29 |
| NBC | Late Night with Seth Meyers (R, 9/10/24) | 107,000 | 2.28 |
(R) = Rebroadcast
Ratings data © The Nielsen Company, used under license.
