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 won late night’s 11:35 p.m. slot on Wednesday by a substantial margin, performing especially well among adults 18-49.
Featuring guests Bill Gates, and Jane Goodall, the Wednesday, Sept. 25 Late Show averaged 2,099,000 total viewers with 276,000 P18-49. Not only is that No. 1 at 11:35, it’s also up +1% in total viewers and +11% among P18-49 from the night before (Tuesday, Sept. 24). The episode did shed -0.5% in total viewers but gained +21% among P18-49 from the previous Wednesday’s episode (Sept. 18).
NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! split second place at 11:35 p.m. on Wednesday.
Featuring guests Shaquille O’Neal, and Chloë Sevigny, with musical guest MJ Lenderman, Wednesday’s Tonight Show averaged 1,373,000 total viewers with 200,000 P18-49. That’s down -6% in total viewers and -21% among adults 18-49 from the night before. On the positive side, the Sept. 25 Tonight Show did gain +32% in total viewers and +38% among P18-49 relative to the previous Wednesday’s episode. Featuring guests Sebastian Stan, and Will Reeve, with musical guest Los Lonely Boys, Wednesday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! averaged 1,388,000 total viewers with 179,000 P18-49. That’s down -12% in total viewers but up +2% among P18-49 from the night before; up +0.3% and +21%, respectively, from the previous Wednesday’s episode.
NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers and CBS’ After Midnight split first place on Wednesday in the 12:35 a.m. timeslot.
Featuring guests Andy Samberg, and Shailene Woodley, the Sept. 25 Late Night averaged 842,000 total viewers and 132,000 P18-49. That’s down -7% in total viewers and -5% among P18-49 from the night before; but up +10% and +18%, respectively, from the previous Wednesday’s episode. The Sept. 25 After Midnight hosted by Taylor Tomlinson averaged 694,000 total viewers with 137,000 P18-49. That’s down -3% in total viewers, but up +15% among P18-49 from the night before; +11% and +40%, respectively, from the previous Wednesday. Jess McKenna, Pete Holmes, and Echo Kellum were guests.
Elsewhere, the Wednesday, Sept. 25 edition of Nightline averaged 814,000 total viewers with 114,000 P18-49 at 12:35 a.m. That’s up +0.2% in total viewers and +6% among P18-49 from the night before; up +7% and +13%, respectively, from the previous Wednesday’s episode.
Lastly, guest-hosted by Desi Lydic, Wednesday’s episode of The Daily Show struggled from a viewership standpoint. The program averaged 372,000 total viewers with only 56,000 P18-49, per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data. That’s -% in total viewers and -% from the night before (also hosted by Lydic). It’s also -% and -%, respectively, from the previous Wednesday’s Daily Show (guest-hosted by Jordan Klepper). British singer-songwriter RAYE made a guest appearance, and performed on the program.
Wednesday’s complete ratings charts follow below.
Live+SD ratings (All Viewers 2+)
| Network | Show Name | Viewers | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 PM | |||
| CC | The Daily Show | 372,000 | 1.00 |
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | 1,388,000 | 4.88 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert | 2,099,000 | 7.40 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | 1,373,000 | 4.88 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | * Nightline | 814,000 | 3.86 |
| CBS | After Midnight | 694,000 | 3.54 |
| NBC | Late Night with Seth Meyers | 842,000 | 4.25 |
Live+SD ratings (18-49 demo only)
| Network | Show Name | Viewers | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 PM | |||
| CC | The Daily Show | 56,000 | 0.73 |
| 11:35 PM | |||
| ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | 179,000 | 2.97 |
| CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert | 276,000 | 4.57 |
| NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | 200,000 | 3.34 |
| 12:35 AM | |||
| ABC | * Nightline | 114,000 | 2.45 |
| CBS | After Midnight | 137,000 | 3.14 |
| NBC | Late Night with Seth Meyers | 132,000 | 2.98 |
Ratings data © The Nielsen Company, used under license.
