Fox News’ Gutfeld! has once again proven that traditional TV viewers aren’t necessarily following the late-night trends online. For October, Greg Gutfeld’s satirical news show continued its dominance over the broadcast networks and competitors like Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon.
Gutfeld!'s average of 2.825 million nightly viewers during October put the Fox News show comfortably ahead of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2.1 million), CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2.1 million), and NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (1.2 million). It's part of a larger trend that has seen the network continue to capture the lion's share of TV viewership.
Gutfeld! remains the undisputed ratings leader in late-night television, an impressive feat for a program that airs on a cable news network rather than one bigger broadcast channels. Gutfeld’s mix of political humor, panel discussions, and sharp monologues has struck a chord with Fox News’ core audience. And, it seems, increasingly with viewers who may feel left out by the mainstream late-night landscape.
In recent months, the late-night genre has been defined as much by political feuds as by comedy. Colbert and Kimmel, in particular, have drawn headlines for their commentary about President Donald Trump and other conservative figures. Those clashes have become stories in and of themselves, sparking conversations about free speech, government censorship, and political humor. Yet, despite all the attention those moments generated, Gutfeld’s ratings suggest that when it comes to who people are actually watching, Fox News still has the edge.
It’s an interesting divide in the late-night TV world. Kimmel, Colbert, Fallon, Jon Stewart, and Seth Meyers boast millions of followers across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Their monologues routinely rack up millions of views within hours of airing and trend online, even if the shows themselves don’t dominate the overnight Nielsen charts. Gutfeld, meanwhile, has a smaller digital influence, but a more traditional TV audience that turns out in force every night.
That split might say less about the individual hosts and more about the platforms they represent. Fox News remains one of the most-watched networks on cable, and Gutfeld! benefits from the built-in momentum of viewers who are already watching prime-time programming from the network’s opinion lineup. The show airs immediately after Hannity and The Ingraham Angle, inheriting an audience that largely sticks around for Gutfeld’s brand of irreverent humor.
On the other hand, the broadcast networks are increasingly dependent on streaming and clips to reach audiences. Many fans of Kimmel, Colbert, and Fallon may never watch their shows live, instead catching highlights online the next day. That shift in viewing habits has made direct comparisons between network and cable ratings trickier, but the numbers still tell a clear story about where late-night TV’s largest consistent audience resides.
As the late-night field continues to evolve, Gutfeld!’s success proves here’s still a loyal audience for politically charged comedy that leans to the right, even as the cultural conversation continues to tilt left. While the rest of late-night television fights for virality, Greg Gutfeld appears content to win the ratings war the old-fashioned way.