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.
CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was the No. 1 late-night show on presidential debate night.
The place for politics (as far as network late-night shows go), The Late Show hauled in average of 2,765,000 total viewers with 440,000 P18-49 viewers tuning in on Tuesday, Sept. 10. That’s up +42% in total viewers and +87% in P18-49 viewers compared to Monday’s episode; +34% and +103%, respectively, from last Tuesday’s telecast. Colbert’s Tuesday, Sept. 10 guest was CBS News’ John Dickerson. Tems performed.
Coming in second at 11:35 p.m., both in total viewers and among P18-49, was ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! The Sept. 10 episode, which had the ABC News presidential debate as its lead-in, averaged 2,119,000 total viewers with 325,000 P18-49. That’s up +9% in total viewers and -14% among P18-49 from the night before (the previous night’s Kimmel had Monday Night Football as its lead-in). However, the show gained +67% and +60%, respectively, from the week-ago episode. The post-debate episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! , which started at 11:40 p.m. ET, featured guests Jane Fonda, and George Conway. Good Neighbors performed.
NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon finished third on Tuesday, both in total viewers and in P18-49, averaging 1,313,000 and 299,000 in the respective measurements. The Sept. 10 Fallon gained +23% in total viewers and +95% in P18-49 viewers from the day before; improved by +21% and +109%, respectively, from last Tuesday’s telecast. Fallon’s guests for Tuesday’s episode were Only Murders in the Building co-stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez. Lainey Wilson performed.
Nightline out-performed its network counterparts at 12:35 a.m., both in total viewers (1,229,000) and in P18-49 (192,000). Relative to the night before, Tuesday’s Nightline gained +5% in total viewers but shed -18% in P18-49. Compared with the week-ago telecast, Nightline gained +67% in total viewers and +76% among P18-49.
NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers averaged 862,000 total viewers with 187,000 P18-49 in the 12:35 a.m. slot on Tuesday. That’s up +19% in total viewers and +89% in P18-49 viewers from the day before; up +9% and +65%, respectively, from the Tuesday before.
CBS’ After Midnight averaged 761,000 total viewers with 179,000 P18-49 on Tuesday. That’s up +25% in total viewers and +42% among P18-49 from the day before; up +15% and +69%, respectively, from the Tuesday prior.
Comedy Central’s The Daily Show went live after the Harris-Trump debate on Tuesday, and the Jon Stewart-led episode averaged 966,000 total viewers with 286,000 P18-49. That’s up +71% and +134% respectively, from the night before. The Daily Show did not air last Tuesday.
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 | 966,000 | 2.19 |
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | 2,119,000 | 6.31 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert | 2,765,000 | 8.16 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | 1,313,000 | 3.92 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | * Nightline | 1,229,000 | 5.35 |
| CBS | After Midnight | 761,000 | 3.58 |
| NBC | Late Night with Seth Meyers | 862,000 | 4.00 |
Live+SD ratings (18-49 demo only)
| Network | Show Name | Viewers | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 PM | |||
| CC | The Daily Show | 286,000 | 2.88 |
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | 325,000 | 4.33 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert | 440,000 | 5.82 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | 299,000 | 4.00 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | * Nightline | 192,000 | 3.72 |
| CBS | After Midnight | 179,000 | 3.75 |
| NBC | Late Night with Seth Meyers | 187,000 | 3.88 |
Ratings data © The Nielsen Company, used under license.
