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.
In the race for late night Nielsen ratings supremacy, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! wrestled first place from the 11:35 p.m. competition on Tuesday, September 17, beating both NBC and CBS in total viewers and the key P18-49 demographic.
Kimmel’s Tuesday night broadcast was an A-list affair, featuring appearances from Brad Pitt and Oprah Winfrey, alongside his guests George Clooney, Kaitlin Olson, and musical guest Smashing Pumpkins. All told, the episode averaged 1,930,000 total viewers with 214,000 P18-49 per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data. Compared to the night before (Monday, Sept. 16), Kimmel gained +14% in total viewers and +10% among P18-49. The episode was down -9% and -34%, respectively, compared to the week-ago episode, which received a massive ratings boost from the Harris-Trump debate lead-in.
CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon split second place at 11:35 p.m..
Featuring guest appearances by Jeremy Strong and former NIH director Dr. Francis Collins, Colbert’s new episode for Sept. 17 averaged 1,764,000 total viewers with 191,000 P18-49. That’s up +60% and +32%, respectively from the night before (a repeat Late Show airing); but down -36% and -57%, respectively, from the previous Tuesday, debate-boosted episode. Fallon averaged 1,103,000 total viewers with 202,000 P18-49. That’s down -9% and -16%, respectively from the night before; -16% and -32%, respectively, from the previous Tuesday. Colin Farrell and Lily Collins made guest appearances on Tuesday’s Tonight Show, and Linkin Park performed.
Moving ahead to 12:35 a.m., ABC News’ half-hour offering Nightline averaged the most total viewers in the timeslot, while NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers delivered the most Adults 18-49. Nightline averaged 927,000 total viewers but only 87,000 P18-49. That’s up +24% in total viewers, but -8% among P18-49 from the night before; -25% and -55%, respectively, from the previous Tuesday episode. Meyers’ Sept. 17 episode, which featured guest appearances from Brian Tyree Henry, and Ms. Pat, averaged 796,000 total viewers with 151,000 P18-49. That’s up +22% and +11%, respectively, from the night before (a repeat); but -8% and -19%, respectively, from the week-ago episode.
Tuesday’s After Midnight with Taylor Tomlinson featured Reggie Watts, Atsuko Okatsuka, and Dylan Adler, averaging 616,000 total viewers with 93,000 P18-49. That’s up +24% and +37%, respectively, from Monday; but -19% and -48%, respectively, from the previous Tuesday episode.
Returning to Comedy Central on Tuesday after a night off, The Daily Show was guest hosted by Ronny Chieng. Tuesday’s episode averaged 447,000 total viewers with 103,000 P18-49. That’s -54% and -64%, respectively, from the previous Tuesday’s post-debate episode—The Daily Show‘s highest-rated episode since 2017. Luis “Lue” Elizondo joined Chieng on Tuesday’s Daily Show.
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 | 447,000 | 1.28 |
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | 1,930,000 | 7.00 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert | 1,764,000 | 6.43 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | 1,103,000 | 4.08 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | * Nightline | 927,000 | 4.55 |
| CBS | After Midnight | 616,000 | 3.33 |
| NBC | Late Night with Seth Meyers | 796,000 | 4.25 |
Live+SD ratings (18-49 demo only)
| Network | Show Name | Viewers | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 PM | |||
| CC | The Daily Show | 103,000 | 1.52 |
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | 214,000 | 3.83 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert | 191,000 | 3.44 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | 202,000 | 3.69 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | * Nightline | 87,000 | 2.06 |
| CBS | After Midnight | 93,000 | 2.39 |
| NBC | Late Night with Seth Meyers | 151,000 | 3.85 |
Ratings data © The Nielsen Company, used under license.
