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.
The Thursday, Sept. 5 edition of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon received a massive Nielsen ratings bump from the NFL 2024-’25 season opener on NBC (Ravens vs. Chiefs), and consequently beat its late-night counterparts by a substantial margin.
Thursday’s Tonight Show averaged a whopping 2,400,000 total viewers with 747,000 P18-49 at 12:43 a.m., per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data. That’s +134% in total viewers, and a whopping +334% in P18-49 viewers from the previous day’s episode (ah, the power of the pigskin). Thursday’s episode also gained +143% and +345%, respectively, from the week-ago telecast (a rebroadcast). Kevin Hart, and Paris Hilton appeared on Thursday’s post-football Fallon. Miranda Lambert performed on the program.
Over on CBS, Thursday’s Late Show with Stephen Colbert averaged 1,632,000 total viewers with 194,000 P18-49 at 11:35 p.m., per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data. That’s -4% in total viewers and -9% in P18-49 viewers from Wednesday’s episode; but +34% and +32%, respectively, from the previous Thursday (a rebroadcast). Stephen Curry, and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly appeared on the program.
Elsewhere, Thursday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC averaged 1,199,000 total viewers with only 92,000 P18-49, per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data. Thursday’s Kimmel shed -6% in total viewers, and -38% in P18-49 viewers from the previous day’s episode; while gained +34% but shedding -30%, respectively, from the week-ago telecast (a rebroadcast). Brian Tyree Henry, and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff appeared on the program. Muni Long was the musical guest.
Following Thursday’s Tonight Show, Late Night with Seth Meyers dominated its traditional timeslot counterparts by averaging 1,295,000 total viewers with 448,000 P18-49 at 1:46 a.m., per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data. That’s +72% in total viewers, and +225% in P18-49 from the previous day’s episode; +94% and +264%, respectively, from the week-ago telecast (a rebroadcast). Don Cheadle, and Ana Gasteyer appeared on the program.
Following Thursday’s Late Show, the Taylor Tomlinson-led After Midnight averaged 522,000 total viewers with 85,000 P18-49, per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data. That’s up +7% in total viewers, and +39% in P18-49 from the day before; % and %, respectively, from the week-ago episode ( a rebroadcast). Jordan Temple, Will Miles, Suzi Barrett appeared on the program.
Following Kimmel, ABC News’ Nightline averaged 737,000 total viewers with only 57,000 P18-49, per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data. That’s up +20% in total viewers but -23% among P18-49 from the day before; +31% and -30%, respectively, from the previous Thursday Nightline.
Comedy Central’s The Daily Show was on hiatus last week and did not air on Thursday, Sept. 5.
Thursday’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! | 1,199,000 | 3.60 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert | 1,632,000 | 4.78 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | 2,400,000 | 12.12 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | *Nightline | 737,000 | 3.38 |
| CBS | After Midnight | 522,000 | 2.64 |
| NBC | Late Night with Seth Meyers | 1,295,000 | 8.92 |
Live+SD ratings (18-49 demo only)
| Network | Show Name | Total Viewers | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | 92,000 | 1.07 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert | 194,000 | 2.18 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | 747,000 | 16.44 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | *Nightline | 57,000 | 1.17 |
| CBS | After Midnight | 85,000 | 1.86 |
| NBC | Late Night with Seth Meyers | 448,000 | 12.82 |
Ratings data © The Nielsen Company, used under license.
