Late night ratings report: Jimmy Fallon keeps slight edge over Stephen Colbert
By Matt Moore
April was a competitive month when it came to late night ratings with The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon leading the way.
With April drawing to a close we can look back at the month in late night and see how all the shows performed. Not surprisingly, two familiar faces once again dueled for the top spot in late night.
April proved to be a tricky month for late night. Ratings overall dropped slightly in what was a continuation from a similar trend at the end of March. Holidays also meant that shows took time off which meant that fans had to tune in to reruns for content.
The last couple of days in April and the start of May should change that, however. There is a fantastic lineup of guests scheduled in late night starting tonight. And every show is back with new episodes which will be welcomed news for fans.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon spent the most time atop the ratings this month. The first week of April proved to be its best before dropping slightly during the past two.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was never far behind but did not manage to overtake Fallon for weekly numbers. Things dipped to the lowest point in the middle of the month which allowed Jimmy Kimmel to catch up to Colbert.
After that, things remained the same all month among the remaining late night shows. Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and The Late Late Show with James Corden remained in that order throughout April. Kimmel had his best showing during the week of April 15.
On the cable side, both Conan and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah had a fair share of ups and downs but that was also due in part to time off. Conan O’Brien did give fans a new travel special set in Australia while The Daily Show‘s clips performed well online.
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It is hard to imagine that too much will change in the ratings during May. Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert will continue to flip flop for the top spot despite having two very different approaches to their shows. Keep checking in with Last Night on for more news and all the highlights!