Late night ratings report: Stephen Colbert stays on top
By Matt Moore
As 2018 draws to a close The Late Show with Stephen Colbert continues its lead over the competition in the ratings.
With more options then ever when it comes to late night shows, fans can get a variety of content from hosts each with his or her own sense of humor. And while good for fans it also means that all that competition makes the ratings a bit more crowded.
On any given weeknight, fans can go to any major network and find the late night show for them. If they lean more towards the political humor, then they probably tune to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert or Late Night with Seth Meyers. Looking for something a little more harmless or even silly? Then it’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon or The Late Late Show with James Corden. And for a more balanced approach there is Conan and Jimmy Kimmel Live!
At the end of November we saw that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert held its ratings lead over The Tonight Show. NBC has tried to address this gap by bringing in a new showrunner to work with Fallon. Yet Colbert’s clips on everything President Trump continued to give him viewers at night and hits online.
But with more and more political scandals and headlines coming out of the White House, viewers continued to look to Colbert. For the week ending Dec. 14, Colbert beat out Fallon and third place finisher Jimmy Kimmel. And it wasn’t even that close with Colbert logging 1.4 million more viewers than Fallon and 1.75 million more than Kimmel.
It’s not all that surprising that The Late Show has maintained it’s lead over the competition. As with everything in the country these days, it all comes down to politics.
Fallon will joke about the president a couple times during the monologue and have an occasional sketch planned out. The focus is instead on celebrity interviews, musical bits, and games. Colbert conversely dedicates entire monologues and 10-minute blocks to Trump. Any fear of exhaustion can be put to rest when you look at the ratings.
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The holidays are usually a time where things get a little more relaxed. One would think this would benefit Jimmy Fallon as The Tonight Show has debuted a Christmas-themed bit or sketch nightly this month. But people still seem fixated on the Trump circus and nobody is doing a better job at pointing out the absurdity of it all than Stephen Colbert.