Late Night Ratings: Tuesday, Feb. 27, 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 dominated the late-night television ratings race on Tuesday, Feb. 27, averaging more than two million total viewers and 295,000 P18-49 viewers at 11:35 p.m. That’s according to live-plus-same-data data from Nielsen.

The Late Show shed -1% in total viewers but posted +20% growth in P18-49 viewers from the night before. The program improved by +31% in total viewers and +47% in P18-49 from the previous Tuesday, when the show aired a repeat.

Josh Brolin, Amanda Gorman, and Jan Vogler were Colbert’s Late Show guests.

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! and NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon split second place at 11:35 p.m., par for the course in recent years.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! averaged 1,405,000 total viewers and 125,000 P18-49 viewers on Tuesday, -1% and -23%, respectively, from the night before. The program is also down from the previous Tuesday’s broadcast, -15% in total viewers and -10% in P18-49 viewers. A week-to-week decline isn’t surprising, considering JKL’s competition was dark last week and the show likely earned a chunk of their respective audiences.

Jennifer Hudson, David Cross, Dhruv were Kimmel’s guests.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon averaged 1,036,000 total viewers and 178,000 P18-49 viewers on Tuesday at 11:35 p.m. That’s -13% in total viewers but +3% in P18-49 viewers from the night before. The show also gained +17% in total viewers and +8% in P18-49 viewers from the previous Tuesday, which featured a repeat.

Fallon’s guests included this weekend’s SNL host Sydney Sweeney, along with Joe Manganiello, Jason Reynolds, and Muni Long.

ABC’s Nightline and CBS’ After Midnight split first place at 12:37 a.m. Nightline, which airs for a half-hour, averaged 754,000 total viewers but just 68,000 P18-49 viewers on Tuesday. That’s +5% in total viewers but -25% in P18-49 viewers from the night before, -10% in total viewers and -9% in P18-49 viewers from the previous Tuesday. After Midnight won the P18-49 demo at 12:37 a.m., averaging 156,000 viewers in the measurement. That’s +11% from the night before and +64% from the previous Tuesday, a repeat episode. After Midnight finished second at 12:37 a.m. in total viewers (692,000), -4% from the previous night, but +23% from the previous Tuesday.

Caitlin Peluffo, Dulcé Sloan, Jenny Zigrino were Taylor Tomlinson’s guest on Tuesday’s After Midnight.

After a strong Monday driven by his interview with President Biden, NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers shed viewers on Tuesday. Its 633,000 total viewer average in live-plus-same-day is -26% from the night before, while its 81,000 P18-49 viewer average is -27% from the night before. The program gained +6% in total viewers but shed -39% in P18-49 viewers from the previous Tuesday’s repeat.

Chance the Rapper, Margaret Qualley, Emilio Vitolo, Fred Armisen were Meyers’ guests on Late Night.

Switching to cable, The Daily Show, hosted on Tuesday by Michael Kosta, averaged 495,000 total viewers and 149,000 P18-49 viewers, per live-plus-same-day data. That’s -44% in total viewers and -21% in P18-49 viewers from the Stewart-hosted Monday show, but an +8% improvement in total viewers and a notable +46% improvement in P18-49 viewers from the previous Tuesday.

Best-selling author Kwame Alexander was Kosta’s guest on Tuesday’s The Daily Show.

Live+SD ratings (18-49 demo only)

Live+SD ratings (All Viewers 2+)