Colbert Overtakes Fallon in Total Viewers for Week

By Jon Lafayette
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert beat TheTonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for the first time since Colbert’s premiere week on CBS in 2015.

NBC’s Tonight Show continues to win in the demos ad buyers pay attention to.

Colbert—who has been more topical on politics and the Donald Trump Administration since the election—averaged 2.77 million viewers, up 11% from a year ago. Tonight averaged 2.76 million viewers. Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC averaged 2.06 million viewers.

Among adults 18 to 49, Tonight drew a 0.67 rating, beating Late Show’s 0.48 and Kimmel’s 0.45.

Tonight was also No. 1 among adults, men and women 18-34 and 25-54.

CBS said that The Late Show is also seeing growth on digital platforms. Streams are up more than 70% from a year ago and views of Colbert clips on YouTube are up nearly 80% this season.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.