Late Night Ratings: Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024

Note: LateNighter generally posts late night ratings on a two (business) day delay, which is how they are released by Nielsen.

CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert earned first place in the late-night TV ratings race on the final day of February, 2024.

According to live-plus-same-data from Nielsen, Late Show was the most-watched program at 11:35 p.m., both in total viewers and among P18-49 viewers, averaging 2,015,000 and 264,000 in the respective measurements. Thursday’s episode gained +4% in total viewers and +29% in P18-49 viewers from the night before. It also gained +69% in total viewers and +109% in P18-49 from the most-recent Thursday, which, to be fair, featured a repeat.

Rebecca Ferguson, and Denis Villeneuve were Colbert’s Late Show guests this past Thursday, Feb. 29.

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! and NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon split second place at 11:35 p.m. ABC’s late-night offering averaged 1,452,000 total viewers and 166,000 P18-49 viewers on Thursday, while the Tonight Show averaged 1,317,000 total viewers and 241,000 P18-49 viewers on Thursday, per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data. JKL gained +4% in total viewers and +43% in P18-49 viewers from the night before, but shed -13% in total viewers and -24% in P18-49 viewers from the most recent Thursday. A week-to-week decline for Jimmy Kimmel Live! isn’t surprising, considering its competition was dark last week and the show likely earned a chunk of their respective audiences.

Eugene Levy, Anna Sawai, The Kid LAROI were Kimmel’s guests this past Thursday.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon saw the opposite trend — a day-to-day decline but week-to-week gains. After a solid Wednesday, Tonight Show shed -9% in total viewers and -20% in P18-49 viewers on Thursday. The program gained +11% in total viewers and +16% in P18-49 viewers from the previous Thursday, which featured a repeat.

Fallon’s guests this past Thursday included Millie Bobby Brown, Gordon Cormier, ScHoolboy Q.

NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers’ roller coaster ratings week continues. Monday was a big night with President Biden stopping by. The program saw a substantial ratings drop-off on Tuesday, shot up to No. 1, both in total viewers and in P18-49, on Wednesday, but shed viewers again on Thursday. NBC’s 12:37 a.m. offering averaged 792,000 total viewers (No. 2) and 145,000 P18-49 viewers (No. 1) on Thursday. Those figures represent a -7% drop in total viewers and a -7% drop in P18-49 viewers from the night before. The program gained +6% in total viewers but shed -5% in P18-49 viewers from the previous Thursday, which featured a repeat.

Jamie Dornan, and Fred Armisen were Meyers’ guests Thursday on Late Night.

ABC’s Nightline, the late-night news offering which airs for a half-hour, averaged 812,000 total viewers and 91,000 P18-49 viewers on Thursday at 12:37 a.m. That’s up +1% in total viewers and +23% in P18-49 viewers from the night before, but -2% in total viewers and -18% in P18-49 viewers from the previous Thursday broadcast. The Feb. 29 Nightline focused on how weight loss drugs, including Ozempic, are changing relationships.

CBS’ After Midnight averaged 125,000 P18-49 viewers and 614,000 total viewers on Thursday, per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data. That’s -5% in demo viewers and -3% in total viewers from the night before, but +18% in total viewers and +81% in P18-49 viewers from the previous Thursday, a repeat episode.

W. Kamau Bell, Nish Kumar, and  Anjelah Johnson-Reyes were Taylor Tomlinson’s guests on Thursday’s edition of After Midnight.

Switching to cable, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, hosted Thursday by correspondent Michael Kosta, averaged 348,000 total viewers but just 70,000 P18-49 viewers, per live-plus-same-day data. That’s down -23% in total viewers and -31% in P18-49 viewers from the Wednesday episode, -25% in total viewers, and -20% in P18-49 viewers from the previous Thursday.

Rex Chapman was Kosta’s guest on the Thursday, Feb. 29 edition of The Daily Show.

Live+SD ratings (18-49 demo only)

Live+SD ratings (All Viewers 2+)