The Daily Show correspondent Michael Kosta stepped in for Jon Stewart last night, and will continue to host the program through Wednesday, as Stewart prepares to host a live post-presidential debate episode this coming Thursday.
Per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, Kosta’s Monday, June 24, 2024 Daily Show averaged 458,000 total viewers with 74,000 P18-49 at 11 p.m. That’s -38% in total viewers and -55% in the P18-49 demo from the previous Monday’s Daily Show (hosted by Stewart on June 17). Last night’s episode was Kosta’s 10th as solo host in 2024. He previously solo-hosted Feb. 27-29, April 9-11, May 21-23; and co-hosted March 12-14 with Desi Lydic.
As one might expect, Kosta’s Monday Daily Show audience is much smaller than Stewart’s. However, per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, Kosta’s June 24 Daily Show episode is now his second-most-watched as solo host (per live-plus-same-day data), and +31% from his most-recent stint as host (Thursday, May 23, 2024). In terms of demo viewership, last night’s Daily Show drew only 74,000 P18-49 live-plus-same-day viewers, the show’s smallest Monday live-plus-same-day delivery in the demo, year to-date. It also happens to be up +23% from the aforementioned May 23 episode.
Another positive is that the Monday, June 24 Daily Show may see more delayed-viewing gains than usual considering it aired against Game 7 of the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Final. Nielsen live-plus-three and live-plus-seven-day data will arrive later this month and early next month, respectively.
Kosta’s Daily Show guest this past Monday was Paul W. Downs, who is the co-creator and co-showrunner of the Max comedy series Hacks. (He also co-stars on the show, playing showbiz manager Jimmy Lusaque Jr.).
