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.
Each broadcast network carried CBS News’ 2024 Vice Presidential Debate this past Tuesday, October 1 in primetime. Such a high-profile lead-in meant most (but not all) late-night offerings saw more viewers than usual, and no show benefited more from the CBS News debate than the network’s own late-night program, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
The post-debate Late Show was live , and featured guests Chris Hayes, and Brittany Howard. The episode went on to average an 11:35 p.m. timeslot-high 2,333,000 total viewers with 261,000 P18-49, per Nielsen-live-plus-same-day data. That’s up +19% and +31%, respectively, from the day before (Monday, Sept. 30); up +12% and +5%, respectively, from the previous Tuesday (Sept. 24).
ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! featured Lady Gaga and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this past Tuesday. The broadcast averaged 1,654,000 total viewers with 182,000 P18-49 at 11:35 p.m. That’s down -27% and -68%, respectively, from Monday’s Kimmel (boosted by its Monday Night Football lead-in). However, the debate lead-in gave Kimmel a +4% lift, both in total viewers and in P18-49, from the previous Tuesday’s episode.
Unlike Colbert and Kimmel, NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon was pre-taped on Tuesday, Oct. 1, and the episode featured guests Sarah Paulson, and Jack Antonoff with Teddy Swims as the musical guest. The episode went on to average 1,078,000 total viewers with 203,000 P18-49. That’s down -5% but up +17%, respectively, from Monday’s Tonight Show; -26% and -20%, respectively, from the previous Tuesday’s episode.
Hitting fast-forward, the Tuesday, Oct. 1 episode of NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers averaged 747,000 total viewers with 140,000 P18-49. Featuring guests Kate McKinnon, and Zachary Quinto, the episode shed -10% in total viewers but gained +2% among P18-49 from the night before; shed -18% but gained +1%, respectively, from the previous Tuesday’s episode.
Unlike its Late Show lead-in, CBS’ After Midnight did not go live on debate night. The pre-taped Tuesday, Oct. 1 episode averaged 685,000 total viewers with 117,000 P18-49. The Taylor Tomlinson-led program gained +28% and +52%, respectively, from the previous night’s episode; but shed -4% and -2%, respectively, from the previous Tuesday episode. Preacher Lawson, Rachel Scanlon, and Ian Karmel appeared on the Tuesday, Oct. 1 edition of After Midnight.
Following Kimmel, ABC’s late night half-hour news program Nightline averaged 938,000 total viewers with only 76,000 P18-49 at 12:35 a.m. That’s down -28% in total viewers and -76% among P18-49 from the night before (which benefited from a MNF ratings halo effect). Additionally, the Tuesday, Oct. 1 Nightline gained +16% in total viewers but shed -30% in P18-49 viewers from the previous Tuesday’s episode.
Lastly, guest-hosted by Michael Kosta, Tuesday’s live, post-debate Daily Show averaged only 405,000 total viewers with 109,000 P18-49, per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data. That’s down -36% in total viewers but actually up +18% among P18-49 from the night before (hosted by Jon Stewart). The episode shed -13% in total viewers and -11% in P18-49 viewers from the previous Tuesday’s Daily Show (guest-hosted by Desi Lydic). Political journalist Paola Ramos was Kosta’s guest on the program.
Tuesday’s complete ratings charts follow below.
Live+SD ratings (All Viewers 2+)
| Network | Show Name | Viewers | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 PM | |||
| CC | The Daily Show | 405,000 | 1.06 |
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | 1,654,000 | 5.44 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert | 2,333,000 | 7.78 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | 1,078,000 | 3.61 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | * Nightline | 938,000 | 4.37 |
| CBS | After Midnight | 685,000 | 3.50 |
| NBC | Late Night with Seth Meyers | 747,000 | 3.76 |
Live+SD ratings (18-49 demo only)
| Network | Show Name | Viewers | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 PM | |||
| CC | The Daily Show | 109,000 | 1.37 |
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | 182,000 | 2.92 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert | 261,000 | 4.25 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | 203,000 | 3.32 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | * Nightline | 76,000 | 1.69 |
| CBS | After Midnight | 117,000 | 2.80 |
| NBC | Late Night with Seth Meyers | 140,000 | 3.31 |
Ratings data © The Nielsen Company, used under license.
