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’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers and Comedy Central’s The Daily Show all went dark on Monday, September 16, as their respective staffs traveled back from Los Angeles after attending the previous night’s Emmy Awards.
Colbert and Meyers presented repeats Monday, while Comedy Central aired an episode of The Office in The Daily Show‘s usual 11 p.m. time slot. Conversely, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on NBC, Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC, and the Taylor Tomlinson-led After Midnight on CBS all aired new episodes on Monday.
Kimmel and Fallon went on to split first place on Monday night. Kimmel averaged 1,699,000 total viewers with 194,000 P18-49, per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data. That’s down -12% in total viewers and -49% among P18-49 viewers from the previous Monday’s Kimmel, which benefited from a Monday Night Football season premiere lead-in. Kimmel welcomed guests Chris Hemsworth, and Elizabeth Olsen to the program this past Monday. Green Day performed.
The Tonight Show trended in a better direction, having averaged 1,211,000 total viewers with a timeslot-high 240,000 P18-49 at 11:35 p.m. on Monday. That’s a +14% gain in total viewers and a +57% gain among P18-49 from the previous Monday’s episode. Fallon welcomed guests Justin Timberlake, and Meghann Fahy to the program this past Monday. Yseult performed.
CBS re-aired The Late Show’s Aug. 22, 2024 episode featuring guests Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mavis Staples, Jeff Tweedy, Jennifer Hudson, and Chicago Cubs’ Ian Happ, Nico Hoerner, Jameson Taillon on Monday. The 11:35 p.m. telecast averaged 1,102,000 total viewers with 145,000 P18-49 viewers. That’s -44% in total viewers and -38% among P18-49 from the previous Monday night (a first-run episode).
ABC’s Nightline and NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers split first place at 12:35 a.m. on Monday, despite the latter program re-airing a past episode. The Sept. 16 Nightline averaged 745,000 total viewers with 95,000 P18-49. That’s -37% and -59%, respectively, from the previous Monday’s Nightline, which benefited from a Monday Night Football premiere ratings halo effect.
Meyers averaged 650,000 total viewers with 136,000 P18-49, which is -10% but +37%, respectively, from a week ago. The Sept. 5, 2024 episode re-broadcast featured guests Don Cheadle, and Ana Gasteyer.
Without a new Late Show lead-in to provide a boost, After Midnight‘s Monday episode struggled in the viewership department. The Sept. 16 broadcast, featuring guest panelists Paul Feig, Ayden Mayeri, and Taylor Ortega, averaging 496,000 total viewers with just 68,000 P18-49. That’s -19% in total viewers and -46% among P18-49 from the previous Monday.
Monday complete ratings charts follow below.
Live+SD ratings (All Viewers 2+)
| Network | Show Name | Viewers | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | 1,699,000 | 6.10 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (R, 8/22/24) | 1,102,000 | 3.98 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | 1,211,000 | 4.43 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | * Nightline | 745,000 | 3.66 |
| CBS | After Midnight | 496,000 | 2.64 |
| NBC | Late Night with Seth Meyers (R, 9/5/24) | 650,000 | 3.42 |
(R) = Rebroadcast
Live+SD ratings (18-49 demo only)
| Network | Show Name | Viewers | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | 194,000 | 3.32 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (R, 8/22/24) | 145,000 | 2.49 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | 240,000 | 4.18 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | * Nightline | 95,000 | 2.23 |
| CBS | After Midnight | 68,000 | 1.72 |
| NBC | Late Night with Seth Meyers (R, 9/5/24) | 136,000 | 3.39 |
(R) = Rebroadcast
Ratings data © The Nielsen Company, used under license.
