Former President Trump was convicted of 34 felonies on the afternoon of Thursday, May 30, 2024. For the Jimmy Kimmel Live! team, this represented a gift from the comedy gods.
Kimmel, a fierce Trump critic, took full advantage of the story on Thursday’s episode, and viewers flocked to his program.
The Thursday, May 30 installment of Jimmy Kimmel Live! hauled in 2,051,000 total live-plus-same-day viewers, the show’s largest live-plus-same-day audience since Nov. 27, 2023. The program gained +35% in total viewers from the day before (Wednesday, May 29), and +77% from the previous Thursday telecast (a rebroadcast). The episode’s P18-49 demo delivery, however, wasn’t quite as impressive. Yes, the show averaged more demo viewers than its timeslot counterparts (196,000), but lost -5% in the measurement relative to the day before. The episode’s 196,000 P18-49 delivery is +53% from the previous Thursday episode (a rebroadcast).
Sofía Vergara, Manolo Gonzalez Vergara, and Andres Valencia were Kimmel’s guests on Thursday, May 30. St. Vincent performed on the program.
CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon were both rebroadcasts on Thursday, May 30, and split second place in the 11:35 p.m. timeslot.
The Late Show‘s rebroadcast (its May 14, 2024 episode) averaged 1,213,000 total viewers with 181,000 P18-49 viewers on CBS this past Thursday at 11:35 p.m. That’s -9% and +6%, respectively, from the day before (also a rebroadcast), -39% and -18%, respectively, from the previous Thursday’s episode (new).
The Tonight Show‘s April 29, 2024 episode averaged 1,116,000 total viewers with 172,000 P18-49 viewers at 11:35 p.m. this past Thursday. That’s -20% and +17%, respectively, versus the day before (a rebroadcast), -9% and +15%, respectively, from the previous Thursday episode (new).
Following The Tonight Show, NBC aired a rebroadcast of Late Night with Seth Meyers‘ May 15, 2024 episode, and the telecast averaged 671,000 total viewers with 119,000 P18-49 viewers at 12:36 a.m. That’s -14% in total viewers, but +35% in P18-49 viewers from the day before (a rebroadcast), +15% and +45%, respectively, from the previous Thursday episode (a rebroadcast).
Following Colbert’s Late Show, CBS aired a rebroadcast of After Midnight‘s April 2, 2024 episode, and it averaged 573,000 total viewers with 120,000 P18-49 viewers at 12:36 a.m. That’s -1% in total viewers but +43% in demo viewers versus the day before (a rebroadcast), -6% in total viewers and +22% in demo viewers from the previous Thursday’s episode (new).
Following Kimmel, ABC aired a new episode of Nightline, which averaged 990,000 total viewers with 118,000 P18-49 viewers. That represents a +36% gain in total viewers, and a +17% gain in P18-49 viewers for the late night news program versus the previous night’s episode (new). The show also gained +18% in total viewers and +30% in P18-49 versus the previous Thursday episode (new).
Undoubtedly much to the chagrin of its fans (considering the news of the day), Comedy Central’s The Daily Show did not air on Thursday, May 30, 2024.
Live+SD ratings (18-49 demo only)
| Network | Show Name | Viewers | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | 196,000 | 2.93 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (R, 5/14/24) | 181,000 | 2.72 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (R, 4/29/24) | 172,000 | 2.61 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | Nightline | 118,000 | 2.46 |
| CBS | After Midnight (R, 4/2/24) | 120,000 | 2.72 |
| NBC | Late Night With Seth Meyers (R, 5/15/24) | 119,000 | 2.65 |
Live+SD ratings (All Viewers 2+)
| Network | Show Name | Total Viewers | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | 2,051,000 | 6.49 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (R, 5/14/24) | 1,213,000 | 3.86 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (R, 4/29/24) | 1,116,000 | 3.58 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | Nightline | 990,000 | 4.28 |
| CBS | After Midnight (R, 4/2/24) | 573,000 | 2.70 |
| NBC | Late Night With Seth Meyers (R, 5/15/24) | 671,000 | 3.12 |
