First on LateNighter: Last Thursday night’s NFL Kickoff-delayed installment of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon wasn’t just the show’s latest-starting episode ever—it also delivered Fallon’s best ratings share since he took over the franchise in 2014.
According to Nielsen live-plus-three-day data, the September 4, 2025 broadcast captured 15.45% of all TV viewers aged 2+ who were watching at the time—the show’s highest reach since Jay Leno’s Tonight Show finale in February 2014.
In the advertiser-coveted 18–49 demo, Fallon performed even better, commanding a whopping 23.59% share. That’s the show’s strongest performance in the demo in over two decades, dating back to May 6, 2004, when Leno welcomed the cast of Friends on the night of the sitcom’s series finale.
Given its start time—officially 1:11 a.m., per Nielsen—the raw numbers were also impressive. The episode, which featured guests LL Cool J, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Riley Green, averaged 2.28 million total viewers and 773,000 in the demo. That’s Fallon’s largest audience since last Thanksgiving, when Tonight also benefited from an NFL lead-in (a Dolphins–Packers game).
NFL adjacencies have long been a reliable ratings booster for late night, with Jimmy Kimmel Live! routinely winning Monday nights thanks to Monday Night Football. The Tonight Show appears to be leaning into that phenomenon this season, planning four special Sunday night editions following Sunday Night Football and local newscasts.
The first is set for Sunday, September 21, after the Kansas City Chiefs–New York Giants matchup. Future Sunday installments will follow the Packers–Steelers game on October 26, the Lions–Eagles game on November 16, and the Texans–Chiefs game on December 7.
Below is a list of The Tonight Show‘s ten most-watched episodes since September 1, 2024.
Live+ 3 Ratings — All Viewers (P2+)
| Rank | Date (Notes) | Avg Viewers (000’s) | Avg Share (%) |
| 1 | 11/28/24 (NFL Thksgiving) | 2,733 | 12.40 |
| 2 | 9/06/24 (NFL Kickoff ’24) | 2,561 | 12.94 |
| 3 | 9/05/25 (NFL Kickoff ’25) | 2,281 | 15.45 |
| 4 | 8/07/25 (Greg Gutfeld guests) | 2,196 | 9.25 |
| 5 | 11/17/24 (Sun NFL lead-in) | 1,824 | 9.74 |
| 6 | 9/24/24 (AGT finale lead-in) | 1,570 | 5.65 |
| 7 | 1/29/25 (One Chicago lead-in) | 1,563 | 5.73 |
| 8 | 2/12/25 (One Chicago lead-in) | 1,503 | 5.06 |
| 9 | 11/27/24 (Thanksgiving Eve) | 1,498 | 5.28 |
| 10 | 10/02/24 (One Chicago lead-in) | 1,490 | 5.43 |
Ratings data © The Nielsen Company, used under license.
