The latenight rivals put up their best numbers in more than a year as loosening COVID-19 restrictions allow their studios to fill up again.
With the news of a three-year extension for Stephen Colbert, his CBS Late Show with Stephen Colbert continues this season where it left off a year ago — easily leading all broadcast TV latenight shows in total viewers. Through three weeks, Late Show (11:35 p.m.) is averaging 3.3 million Nielsen viewers — outpacing competitors The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (1.89 million) and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live (1.84 million).
CBS announced Thursday that Colbert has signed a new contract that will keep him as the Late Show host through at least August 2023. His current pact was set to expire next August.
For the first time, Late Show with Stephen Colbert will finish the TV season as the top latenight show in the demo; he’s on track to finish about 18,000 ahead of Fallon’s in the key 18-49 age bracket, after trailing by 72,000 last season.
As latenight talk shows continue to see overall viewing declines versus a year ago, CBS’s Late Show with Stephen Colbert maintains a strong lead over NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in total viewers, as well as a slight edge in key 18-49 viewers.
Colbert brings back his tongue-in-cheek conservative pundit character to analyze President Trump’s budget on CBS’s Late Show.
Exclusives
Now five weeks in — since the start of the Trump Administration — CBS’s Late Show with Stephen Colbert continues its strong and surprising rise over other broadcast network shows in total viewers. Colbert led with 3.003 million Nielsen viewers for the week ending March 5 — just ahead of NBC’s Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, which had 2.92 million.
