Note: LateNighter generally posts late night weekly ratings on a three (business) day delay, which is how they are released by Nielsen.
Viewers returned to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert en masse after the show’s dark week, with CBS’ 11:35 p.m. program averaging more total linear viewers and P18-49 viewers than over the competition for the week of Feb. 26, 2024.
Original episodes of The Late Show averaged 2,578,000 total linear viewers and 318,000 P18-49 viewers, per live-plus-three-day data from Nielsen. That’s up +92% and +95%, respectively, from what the program averaged during the repeat-filled week before.
NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! split second place at 11:35 p.m. Fallon, also back from a dark week, beat Kimmel in P18-49 viewing, while Kimmel beating Fallon in total viewers.
The Tonight Show averaged 1,381,000 total linear viewers and 240,000 P18-49 viewers for the week of Feb. 26, per live-plus-three-day data. That’s up +26% and +27%, respectively, from the repeat-filled week prior.
On the digital front, @FallonTonight digital platforms brought in 121 million video views across Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and X for the week of Feb. 26, per ListenFirst. Instagram video views totaled 110 million per Sprout Social.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! averaged 1,618,000 total viewers and 157,000 P18-49 viewers per live-plus-three-day Nielsen data for the week of Feb. 26. That’s -17% and -24% from the week before, when JKL’s main competition was dark.
Hitting fast-forward to 12:37 a.m., NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers and CBS’ After Midnight split first place honors. Lifted by Meyers’ Monday, Feb. 26 interview with President Joe Biden, Late Night averaged 964,000 total viewers for the week, per Nielsen live-plus-three-day data. That’s up +44% from the repeat-filled week prior. The program finished second in P18-49 viewers, averaging 149,000 P18-49 for the week, per live-plus-three data. That’s up +13% from the week prior.
CBS’ After Midnight hosted by Taylor Tomlinson beat NBC and ABC in the key P18-49 demo at 12:37 a.m. with a 193,000 viewer average (live-plus-three). That’s up a whopping +110% from the repeat-filled week before. The program finished third behind NBC and ABC in total viewers, however, with 773,000. That’s up +41% from the week prior.
ABC News’ Nightline finished second place in total viewers (856,000) and third place in P18-49 viewers (104,000) at 12:37 a.m. That’s -11% and -7%, respectively, from the week before.
Lastly, The Daily Show averaged 1,090,000 total viewers and 202,000 P18-49 viewers for the week of Feb. 26, 2024, per Nielsen live-plus-three-day data. That’s -13% and -11%, respectively, from what the show averaged the week before.
*Week of Feb. 26, 2024 Nielsen averages for Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, After Midnight and Late Night with Seth Meyers are based on four days due to each program airing a repeat on Friday. Weekly averages for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Nightline’s are based on all five days of the week, as the respective programs aired originals Monday through Friday. The Daily Show only airs four days per week (Monday-Thursday).
Live+3 ratings (18-49 demo)
Network | Show Name | Viewers | % Share |
---|---|---|---|
11:00 PM | |||
CC | The Daily Show | 202,000 | 2.42 |
11:35 PM | |||
ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | 157,000 | 2.33 |
CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert | 318,000 | 4.75 |
NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | 240,000 | 3.56 |
12:37 AM | |||
ABC | Nightline | 104,000 | 1.96 |
CBS | After Midnight | 193,000 | 4.03 |
NBC | Late Night With Seth Meyers | 149,000 | 3.06 |
© The Nielsen Company, used under license.
Live+3 ratings (Viewers 2+)
Network | Show Name | Total Viewers | % Share |
---|---|---|---|
11:00 PM | |||
CC | The Daily Show | 1,090,000 | 2.77 |
11:35 PM | |||
ABC | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | 1,618,000 | 5.27 |
CBS | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert | 2,578,000 | 8.47 |
NBC | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | 1,381,000 | 4.49 |
12:37 AM | |||
ABC | Nightline | 856,000 | 3.70 |
CBS | After Midnight | 773,000 | 3.69 |
NBC | Late Night With Seth Meyers | 964,000 | 4.54 |
© The Nielsen Company, used under license.