Note: LateNighter generally posts late night live-plus-seven monthly ratings on a seven (business) day delay, which is how they are released by Nielsen.
In the ever-shifting late-night landscape, May’s monthly ratings offered a snapshot of stability—with a few notable outliers in both total viewership and the coveted 18–49 demo.
At 11:35 PM, CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert retained the top spot in overall viewers with 2.41 million tuning in across 13 first-run episodes, despite a 5% drop from April. ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! followed with 1.75 million viewers, off just 2%, while NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon gained 1% to average 1.23 million—making Fallon the only show in the hour to post month-over-month growth.
The story in the 18–49 demo, however, was more nuanced. Colbert still led the pack with a 3.7 share, but suffered a steep 20% slide in demo viewers, dropping to 207,000. Kimmel inched up 6% to 185,000 demo viewers, while Fallon dipped slightly by 3%, settling at 160,000.
The Daily Show saw the biggest gains of the month in the demo, where it was up 11% to 189,000 viewers. The Comedy Central series dropped 2% among total viewers to 963,000.
At 12:37 AM, NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers led in total viewers (906,000) and the demo (116,000), with Nightline coming in second across both measurements. CBS’s After Midnight with Taylor Tomlinson saw the steepest declines in the time slot, dropping 9% among total viewers and 29% in the demo.
At 10 PM, Gutfeld! remained the dominant player with 3.2 million total viewers—despite a 4% drop in total viewers, and a 12% decline in the demo to 215,000. Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live fared worse, tumbling 18% in the demo and 14% in overall viewership.
Complete ratings charts for May 2025 follow below.
Note: Monthly ratings averages include only first-run episodes. Time period listed is most common airtime for show.
Live+ 7 Ratings — All Viewers (P2+)
| Avg Share (%) | Avg Viewers (000s) | Vs Last Month | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00 PM | |||
| Watch What Happens Live (BRAVO) 17 First-run episodes | 0.72 | 339 | -14% |
| Gutfeld! (FNC) 21 First-run episodes | 6.89 | 3,200 | -4% |
| 11:00 PM | |||
| The Daily Show (COM) 13 First-run episodes | 2.8 | 963 | -2% |
| 11:35 PM | |||
| Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC) 11 First-run episodes | 6.62 | 1,748 | -2% |
| The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS) 13 First-run episodes | 9.06 | 2,410 | -5% |
| The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC) 13 First-run episodes | 4.65 | 1,226 | +1% |
| 12:37 AM | |||
| Nightline (ABC) 20 First-run episodes | 4.08 | 786 | -1% |
| After Midnight (CBS) 13 First-run episodes | 3.32 | 585 | -9% |
| Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC) 9 First-run episodes | 5.12 | 906 | -1% |
Live+ 7 Ratings — In the Demo (P18-49)
| Avg Share (%) | Avg Viewers (000s) | Vs Last Month | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00 PM | |||
| Watch What Happens Live (BRAVO) 17 First-run episodes | 1.02 | 99 | -18% |
| Gutfeld! (FNC) 21 First-run episodes | 2.28 | 215 | -12% |
| 11:00 PM | |||
| The Daily Show (COM) 13 First-run episodes | 2.68 | 189 | +11% |
| 11:35 PM | |||
| Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC) 11 First-run episodes | 3.4 | 185 | +6% |
| The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS) 13 First-run episodes | 3.7 | 207 | -20% |
| The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC) 13 First-run episodes | 2.9 | 160 | -3% |
| 12:37 AM | |||
| Nightline (ABC) 20 First-run episodes | 2.32 | 94 | -2% |
| After Midnight (CBS) 13 First-run episodes | 2.26 | 83 | -29% |
| Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC) 9 First-run episodes | 3.11 | 116 | -3% |
© The Nielsen Company, used under license.
Stephen Colbert did himself in by buddying up with Jake “The $nake” Tapper, an American Traitor!
I find it hilarious that a cable talk show “Gutfeld” beats the great? “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on a major network!
Go Greg!
Only humorless retards, like you, find Gutfeld funny and talented!
The slow death of network late night. Love it.
“Gutfeld” is likely sold on the 25-54 “News” Demo. It is a CABLE Television show completely destroying the BROADCAST Network’s ratings. Do you think that ABC, CBS, and NBC would take note of why?