Note: LateNighter generally posts late night daily ratings on a two (business) day delay, which is how they are released by Nielsen.
CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon shared top honors on a repeat-filled Thursday night last week.
Colbert pulled in the most total viewers of the night with a repeat of his August 13, 2024 episode (featuring guests Bowen Yang and Nick Cave). The 11:35 p.m. telecast averaged 1,221,000 viewers per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data. That’s down -38% from the same night a week ago, and -5% versus a night earlier, but it was enough for the CBS late-night show to beat both of its timeslot competitors.
Fallon was the night’s victor among viewers aged 18-49, with a repeat of his August 22nd, 2024 episode (featuring Zoë Kravitz, Sabrina Carpenter, and Melanie Hamrick) in the top spot with 168,000 viewers, edging out both Colbert (at 131,000 viewers) and Kimmel (at 893,000 viewers). ABC re-aired Jimmy Kimmel Live! ‘s August 13, 2024 episode, which featured guest host Jeff Goldblum with guests Greg Kinnear, Janet McTeer and a performance from Waxahatchee.
At 12:35 a.m., Late Night With Seth Meyers beat its timeslot competition by both measurements. Thursday’s broadcast, a repeat of Meyers’ August 15th episode featuring guests Jean Smart, Jonathan Bailey, and Todd Sucherman, drew 666,000 total viewers, outpacing a new episode of Nightline (at 564,000), and a July 10th repeat of After Midnight at (486,000). But it was in the 18-49 demo where NBC’s Meyers truly reigned supreme, drawing nearly 50% more viewers than the competition.
Thursday’s atings charts follow below. (Note that Comedy Central did not air The Daily Show on Thursday, August 29.)
Live+SD ratings (All Viewers 2+)
| Network | Show Name | Total Viewers | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! (R, 8/14/24 ) | 893,000 | 3.15 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (R, 8/13/24) | 1,221,000 | 4.32 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (R, 8/22/24) | 989,000 | 3.51 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | *Nightline | 564,000 | 2.74 |
| CBS | After Midnight (R, 7/10/24) | 486,000 | 2.54 |
| NBC | Late Night with Seth Meyers (R, 8/15/24) | 666,000 | 3.47 |
(R) = Rebroadcast
Live+SD ratings (18-49 demo only)
| Network | Show Name | Viewers | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! (R, 8/14/24 ) | 131,000 | 2.13 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (R, 8/13/24) | 147,000 | 2.40 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (R, 8/22/24) | 168,000 | 2.75 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | *Nightline | 81,000 | 1.80 |
| CBS | After Midnight (R, 7/10/24) | 81,000 | 1.89 |
| NBC | Late Night with Seth Meyers (R, 8/15/24) | 123,000 | 2.87 |
(R) = Rebroadcast
Ratings data © The Nielsen Company, used under license.
